Walking Florence’s Mona Lisa Path
The home of Lisa and Francesco del Giocondo, located at 23 via della Stufa in Florence, is still standing, albeit in a somewhat different condition.
Lisa Gherardini was up in a modest environment in Florence’s Oltrarno neighborhood. Her father had a lot of land but little money. Lisa, the infant, is listed as having no dowry in the Florence baptistery’s registers.
Nevertheless, Lisa’s marriage was planned to Francesco del Giocondo, a prosperous merchant who had just lost his first wife to the horrors of childbirth.
It must have been a wonderful stroke of luck for Lisa to move across the river to this lovely house. I picture her at sixteen, riding in a bridal carriage through the streets. I’m looking forward to what the future may hold. She would be posing for a portrait by Leonardo da Vinci in roughly eight years.
If you have interest to discover more secrets about Florence come with us, we are running an amazing free walking tour of Florence, so book your tour and come with us.
