The children of the Medici Granduches of Florence: embalming in Renaissance Italy (XVI-XVII century)

The exploration of the unknown crypt of Gian Gastone de Medici, the last Grand Duke (1671-1737), under the floor of the Medici Chapels in San Lorenzo (Florence), brought to light the remains of several unidentified children of the family. In particular, the skeletons of a 5-year-old child, probably a male, and of a newborn, showing evidence of autopsy and artificial mummification, were discovered and examined. Comparison of the anthropological data and the information provided by archival and documentary sources allowed us to suggest an identification with infant members of the family. In the thoraco-abdominal cast of the 5 yearold child and in the endocranial and endothoracic cast of the newborn we observed the presence of filling material of vegetable origin which was sampled and submitted to palynological analyses. The results of this study are presented here and compared with contemporary medical literature, which describes the embalming method practised during the Renaissance Age and the vegetable material used to preserve bodies.