Why The Italians Cosplayed The Romans - Ada Palmer

Ada Palmer discusses how the Medici family's takeover of Florence required careful political maneuvering due to the citizens' deep attachment to republican institutions. The Medici understood they needed to respect and maintain the appearance of existing republican structures to maintain legitimacy. A key example is the lucco fiorentino, a mandatory red robe worn by office holders in the Florentine Republic. While modern observers see it as typical Renaissance attire, contemporaries viewed it as resembling a Roman toga - essentially cosplaying the Roman Republic. Palmer notes the historical irony that this mirrors what happened when the Roman Republic transitioned to the Roman Empire: the Senate and other republican institutions were preserved in name and form even under imperial rule. This strategy of maintaining republican facades while exercising monarchical power occurred in both ancient Rome and Renaissance Florence. The practical consequence of this careful approach was that Florentines retained more rights and freedoms compared to citizens of other contemporary monarchies, because the Medici rulers knew they had to tread carefully with a population that valued republican ideals.