The Prince’s Body

In this monograph, Valeria Finucci turns the spotlight on the restless and narcissistic prince Vincenzo Gonzaga of Mantua (1562–1612), using his bodily ailments, affectations and desires to bring into focus the surprising variety of medical experiences that a wealthy and powerful patient might have in the late Renaissance. These revolved around chronic conditions, which required extended care and often provided a canvas for both traditional and innovative therapies. Although it might only have been available for the richest and most powerful, what was cutting-edge medicine in this period? How did medicine in the period meet the demands of a patient and, at the same time, shape the desire for bodily restoration and enhancement? How did medicine intersect with the ideas and practices of manhood, honour and nobility that were so crucial to Gonzaga’s life? Conceptions of health vary widely in history, but in this work, Finucci explores the nature of that variety—its disciplinary quality and its aspirational character—in a single, extraordinary life, in order to showcase the intersections between medicine, sexuality, beauty, pain management and ageing

Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Beauty · Discipline · Honour · Human sexuality · Humanism · Nobility · Period (music · Political science · Social science · Sociology · The Renaissance · Theology · Variety (cybernetics · Empathy and Medical Education · Gender Studies · History · History of Medicine Studies · Law · Medicine and Dermatology Studies History · Philosophy