Sweets at Court

Winner of the "Libri da gustare" competition, 2002

This is a fascinating guide to the iconography of sweets as depicted in works found in Florentine collections. An aesthetic pleasure, and at the same time a "matter of gluttony:" Through sight, the senses tied to taste are aroused, stimulated, enhanced. The symbols tied to sweets are unveiled. The role of sweets throughout history is made explicit in the detailed descriptions of dinner tables, banquets, and feasts. Famous artists and celebrated paintings reveal ambiguous sweet presences! Never before published descriptions in the form of recipes complete the enchantment of a visit among wafers, sponge cakes, sugared almonds, sorbets, chocolates, and much more. The porcelain services intended for these delights, together with the instruments used to make them and the places in which they are prepared and preserved, allow us to glimpse at the complex world of court ceremonial.

This book is edited by Giovanna Giusti Galardi, an art historian who also once worked for the Uffizi Gallery. Her background and studies in literature, art, and archive keeping have guided her interests in studying the collections. She also teaches Art History at the California State University studies program in Florence.