CHICCHI Gualberto Ristretto di tavole vestite et adornate, molto utile e necessario ai dilettanti di cucina, credenza, e bottiglieria. D’invenzione le tavole e trionfi di Gualberto Chicchi fiorentino. La cucina, credenza e bottiglieria invenzione di Franco Borri cuoco dell’A. R. del Ser.mo Gio. Gastone Gran Duca di Toscana. A petizione di Pietro Angiolo Paoleri.

An exceptional unpublished manuscript of this fascinating gastronomic memoir dedicated to Giovanni Battista Gastone de Medici.

This fascinating work, written by the chef of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Giovanni Battista Gastone de Medici, not only provides a large number of Tuscan recipes, but also contains a substantial section devoted to the ordering of meals and table setting: it thus provides an excellent description not only of Tuscan cuisine in the first half of the 18th century, but also of certain aspects of the customs and society of the time.

Among the recipes, there are numerous ways of cooking “minestre” (soups), sauces, and several dishes prepared “alla francese”; as well as typically Italian dishes: Ragu di piccioni teneri con ragù alla tartaruga, Arrostor di pollastri senza osso et fagiol., Carciofi con salsa e capperi, Pasticci di maccheroni, Lepre messa in fusione con aceto e vin rosso, Pasticcio di prosciutto alzato, Ravioli, Fricassea di agnello.

The authors also provide interesting details on menus to prepare for different occasions and according to the number of guests.

It is illustrated with 15 watercolor drawings depicting different table settings.

This remarkable manuscript was dedicated by his chef to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Giovanni Battista Gastone de Medici (1671-1737). He died without children and was the last of the Medici family to rule Tuscany. Born in 1671, Giovanni Battista Gastone de Medici grew up in an artistic and academic environment, becoming a fervent antiquarian and one of the most cultured members of the family. He loved botany, conducted his own scientific experiments, and spoke more than six languages, including German, Spanish, and English.

Gian Gastone was the only member of the Medici family whose passion for boys was apparently exclusive; he was the first and only openly gay grand duke in the Medici family. Due to the sectarian views of his father Cosimo III, the latter strongly disliked his second son and refused to grant him the same privileges as his brothers and sisters. This lack of paternal support plunged Gastone into a state of depression and melancholy from which he would suffer throughout his life.

In 1697, he was forced to marry Anna Maria of Saxe-Lauenburg and leave Florence to settle in a small village in Bohemia. Isolated and cut off from his friends, family, and intellectual circles, the young prince began to abuse alcohol, gained a lot of weight, and started gambling uncontrollably, accumulating significant debts. He eventually returned to Florence in 1708, much to his father’s dismay, and separated from Anna Maria.

In 1723, Gastone succeeded his father to the throne, inheriting a Florence that was bankrupt, politically weak, and plagued by growing poverty. The Grand Duke breathed new life into a weakened government and economy and established a more tolerant regime.

Gastone remains famous for his table and feasts, to which he sometimes invited more than 400 guests. Unfortunately, the prince sank into a life of debauchery, frequenting the underworld and surrounding himself with a “creature” who exploited his weaknesses. He succumbed to syphilis after a life of debauchery devoted to alcohol, food, and sex.

This unpublished text, unknown to all specialized bibliographies (Vicaire, Simon, and Westbury), is in perfect condition.

Provenance: Ginori-Conti (bookplate)