Tra commercio e diplomazia: mercanti fiorentini verso l’India alla ricerca di pietre orientali per la Cappella dei Principi di Firenze (1608-11)

At the turn of the seventeenth century, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany tried to penetrate the trans-oceanic commercial networks controlled by the major European states. In 1608 there was an attempt to send four men to Asia in search of exotic stones to be used for the decorations of the Cappella dei Principi in Florence. Notwithstanding the initial optimism and pressing diplomatic efforts, the Spanish crown did not allow for departure, and after waiting months in the Iberian peninsula the Florentines were left to no avail and had to make their way back home empty handed.