The ladies are very good at this stuff, this time it's Louise McNutt rather than Vanessa.
From Messy Nessy Chic, April 9:
Medici Fountain, Jardin de Luxembourg
As if plucked from a 17th century Mediterranean estate waiting to transport Parisians to the hills of Florence; tucked away in a corner of Paris’ Luxembourg gardens is one of the city’s most underrated beauty spots. The Medici Fountain, crowned with an Italian grotto and flanked by ivy drapes, is an impossibly romantic place alluding to the story of a troubled, homesick queen. In fact, throughout the iconic Jardins de Luxembourg, you’ll find clues to the legacy of a woman far from home, nostalgic for the surroundings of her beloved Florence. And this forgotten Italian connection is perhaps most evident in the near-replica of a Tuscan palace she had built right at the heart of Paris’ most famous park…
Palais du Luxembourg
The Palais du Luxembourg may not be up there with the most iconic of Parisian landmarks, taking a backseat to the Eiffel Tower and the Sacré Cœur when it comes to the sites that visitors traditionally flock to. Home to the French Senate since the 1950s, on a Sunday afternoon, you’ll find dapperly-dressed children sailing toy boats out on the front pond and couples strolling arm in arm enjoying the surrounding gardens, largely unaware of its intriguing Italian backstory.
*****
You could indeed be forgiven for thinking that this typically Parisian scene is the result of just another French regent with expensive taste, but this extravagantly ornate palace with all its lavish embellishments is in fact modelled on the Tuscan childhood home of an Italian princess, Maria de’ Medici, who incidentally became France’s most hated queen.
*****
Marie de’ Medici (born Maria) was a member of the notoriously powerful Florentine banking family; the daughter of Francesco I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Her childhood was filled with the sort of tragedy and scandal one might expect from a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. When Marie was just a toddler, her mother, the Archduchess Joanna of Austria fell to her untimely death while heavily pregnant with her unborn child. Her deathbed was still warm when Marie’s father took up with the woman who would become her stepmother (many suspected that his late wife’s unfortunate tumble may have been more of a push). The Grand Duke however didn’t have to endure the suspicion for very long because within a few years, both he and his second wife were dead too – some historians say they were poisoned by Marie (hence her historical nickname: the “Poison Queen”), while some believe they were killed by malarial fever. Whatever their cause of death, it now made Maria de’ Medici the richest heiress in Europe.
*****
Despite her rather morbid reputation, Marie still remained somewhat of a hot prospect on the royal European dating scene thanks to the significant newfound wealth. The fact that she was also considered quite the looker didn’t hinder her chances either....
....MUCH MORE
The paintings alone are worth the price of admission but when you add in Marie being described as a hottie, well say no more....
