The Medici Archive Project, the Gallerie degli Uffizi and the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz - Max-Planck-Institut (KHI) are partnering on a broader research initiative dedicated to Ottaviano de’ Medici (1484–1546), a crucial yet still overlooked figure in the political and cultural milieu of early sixteenth-century Florence. This overarching project is connected to the exhibition on Ottaviano’s collection at the Gallerie degli Uffizi (Fall 2027).
Under this aegis, the Medici Archive Project is organizing an international workshop on 6 November 2026. Conceived as a research-oriented and discussion-driven event, this workshop will be held in conjunction with a conference at the KHI in Florence (5 November 2026).

The principal goal of this workshop is to reassess the breadth and gravitas of Ottaviano de’ Medici’s political, economic, familial, artistic, and intellectual networks. Particular attention will be paid to his relations with the members of the Medici establishment—including, Leo X, Clement VII, Ippolito, Alessandro, Cosimo, and Catherine—as well as with all those figures that gravitated around epicenters of dissent and anti-Medici tenets. His role as broker in between constituencies, collections, factions, generations, and traditions will also be examined. Another goal of this workshop is to better visualize the extent to which Ottaviano’s contributions have shaped the cultural patterns and political trajectories of the Medici principate. Finally, equal importance will be given to mapping out Ottaviano’s archival legacy, which is still patchy and impressionistic.

The organizers invite proposals for 20-minute papers, in English or Italian, that present new, unpublished, and innovative research. Contributions may address a range of topics, including but not limited to:

- Diplomatic Strategies and Gift-Giving Culture
- Collecting Patterns and Display
- Ottaviano’s Artists and Sites
- Anti-Medici Allegiances and Medici Partisanship
- Ottaviano and His Familial Networks
- Court Engagement and Transregional Trajectories
- Humanist and Post-Humanist Discourse
- Medici and Farnese Papacies
- Ottaviano After Ottaviano
- Mercantile Activity and Cultural Brokerage
- Material Culture and Antiquarian Practices

Date and Venue: The Medici Archive Project, Palazzo Alberti, via de’ Benci 10, Florence; 6 November 2026.

Submission instructions: Please send a single PDF including title and abstract (max. 250 words) and a short bio (max. 100 words) by 15 July 2026 to: educationmedici.org.
Successful applicants will be notified by 1 August 2026.

Publication: Selected papers will be considered for publication in an edited volume in the Medici Archive Project Series (Brepols/Harvey Miller).