Catherine de’ Medici, Queen of Cuisine and Etiquette
26 October 2019
Salted anchovy tart, ox-tongue fricassee, puff pastries filled with sweetbreads… and that’s just the beginning: eel-and-spinach pie, pheasant pâté, quince jelly—and wines, white and red, in endless supply. This was no ordinary wedding feast but the banquet held in honor of Catherine de’ Medici’s marriage to Henry of Valois. On October 28, 1533, the French heir to the throne wed Lorenzo II de’ Medici’s daughter in Marseille, forging with his bride a gastronomic alliance that mirrored the political ties between their nations.
The Fork’s Cross-Border Journey
As part of the 500th-anniversary celebrations of Cosimo and Catherine’s births, this event—running through October 29—is being hosted at the Istituto Français in Florence, within Palazzo Lenzi. Throughout 2019, a series of Franco-Italian gatherings will spotlight our shared heritage. Legend holds that Catherine introduced the fork to court tables, while Florentine chefs gifted artichokes, melons, sorbets, and frangipane cream to French cuisine, reshaping dining and table-setting customs with recipes once jealously guarded by the duchess.
A Century-Long Re-Creation
To commemorate the occasion, the menu, the ceremonial, and the entire wedding setting have been meticulously reconstructed. Every course of the feast has been reenacted—entertained by musicians, dancers, and actors at the royal table. This journey through time was brought to life through detailed research and the expertise of Enoteca Pinchiorri, which recreated the original sophisticated dishes.
Of course, there’s a dress code. Ladies are invited to wear autumnal shades—orange, ochre, deep green, burgundy, and brown—while gentlemen don dark suits with bow ties or neckties in season-appropriate tones.
Music, as at any proper wedding, is central. An ensemble from the early-music department of Florence’s Cherubini Conservatory provides a Renaissance-flavored soundtrack, performing pieces that bridge the 15th and 16th centuries.
Of course, there’s a dress code. Ladies are invited to wear autumnal shades—orange, ochre, deep green, burgundy, and brown—while gentlemen don dark suits with bow ties or neckties in season-appropriate tones.
Music, as at any proper wedding, is central. An ensemble from the early-music department of Florence’s Cherubini Conservatory provides a Renaissance-flavored soundtrack, performing pieces that bridge the 15th and 16th centuries.
Catherine, Pawn of Papal Politics
But who was Catherine? Destined for royalty as a Bourbon heir, she was orphaned young and placed under the guardianship of Pope Leo X and later Clement VII, who turned the eleven-year-old Duchess of Urbino into a valuable bargaining chip in Curial intrigues. The Habsburg-Valois rivalry for Italian dominance made her marriage to Henry of Orleans—the second son of King Francis I of France—a strategic move.
After her husband’s death, Catherine ruled alone and emerged as a pivotal figure in governance, diplomacy, and cultural patronage. Her remarkable influence was yet another testament to her indomitable and unconventional spirit. Long thought barren, she gave Henry ten children in twelve years—and famously insisted on mourning in black, defying the custom of white as the royal color of grief.
After her husband’s death, Catherine ruled alone and emerged as a pivotal figure in governance, diplomacy, and cultural patronage. Her remarkable influence was yet another testament to her indomitable and unconventional spirit. Long thought barren, she gave Henry ten children in twelve years—and famously insisted on mourning in black, defying the custom of white as the royal color of grief.
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