Archaeoparasitological Analysis of Viscera from the Medici Family (Saint Lorenzo Basilica, Florence, Italy)

Abstract

The Medici family played a central role in the Italian Renaissance through the patronage of artists, architects, and scientists. Many family members were buried in the Basilica of Saint Lorenzo, where human remains and embalming jars containing internal organs were exhumed in 2010 during a research project. Samples from jars belonging to the last generations of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany were analyzed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln using archaeoparasitological concentration methods. No evidence of intestinal parasites was identified. This absence is unusual compared with other European remains from the same period, which commonly show traces of parasitic infection. Possible explanations include unfavorable taphonomic conditions as well as the privileged lifestyle, hygiene, and dietary habits associated with the Medici family.