The Power Of Putti's

Festina Lente is Cosimo de' Medici's motto. The tortoise is its symbol.
 A total of FIVE putti are busy around her. What are they doing? What are they standing for? 

It takes a long time to notice something beautiful that we had always had at hand. This is what's happening to me. I can appreciate valuable things around me based on what happens to me in real life. It's an amazing life experience. 

As an example, I have had one of my favorite fresco's detail from Palazzo Vecchio in Florence under my eyes for quite some time now. However, only recently I have noticed something truly interesting that caught my attention. 

The putto holding the inflated veil 

My insight's subject is the tortoise. There are about one hundred tortoises in Palazzo Vecchio. They are scattered everywhere under different materials and shapes. Cosimo I de' Medici loved them. Tortoises represented his motto: FESTINA LENTE. But this tortoise has something special (image above).

                       

Image description:  The scene is on the move. We see a tortoise heading forward to the right. She is keeping her pace. She cannot speed up any faster. Five busy putti around it. They are all doing something. One putto is holding an inflated veil and is transported by the tortoise. The scene is inscribed in a circle. 

The five putti mean something. They are telling us something. Why five putti? I had no doubt when I eventually counted them in the number of FIVE. But I had never thought about counting them before. So I immediately discovered what they were the figures for. They represent Cosimo I' de Medici's virtues! What's most important is that they are necessarily part of the cryptic motto: Festina Lente (make haste slowly). They explain the oxymoron. They help this important oxymoron make perfect sense! I will tell you why they do as my next step. 

But let me go back for a moment to where I first found this source of information. 

Cosimo I de' Medici studying the plans for the conquest
of Siena, Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), Palazzo Vecchio Florence.

This is what I had originally learned about virtues.  It all started with Cosimo I de' Medici's motto: Festina Lente (make haste slowly).  That's where I started. 

Then this painting came to help me make go a step further. Cosimo I de' Medici is surrounded by other people who are not real people though. They are his qualities at work, Cosimo's virtues. Each figure is depicting a virtue for a total of five: 1. CAREFULNESS 2. PATIENCE 3. SILENCE 4. STRENGTH 5. WISDOM.

We may add that the putti above the scene were probably meant to represent guardian angels as it was in use in the Renaissance in Italy, during which the putto was first revitalized. 

Painting's Detail. The putto had classical origins and was revived during the
Renaissance in Italy. They were believed to influence human lives.

Additionally, something important to remember is that in the Renaissance period virtuosity was considered as the quality of doing this well. It didn't depend on the accomplishments' level. It was not a matter of accomplishing impossible endeavors. Anything could be done "ad arte" (artfully). That was one secret to success in one's goals. In detail, such a quality was divided into five speciality virtues. 

This said, let's call the chubby putti over again and translate them into the virtues they are representing. I am listing them alphabetically as above: 

1. CAREFULNESS

2. PATIENCE 

3. SILENCE 

4. STRENGTH 

5. WISDOM  

I have highlighted STRENGTH because the five virtues are divided into two families. Strength is a family by itself. it stands alone. It is the quality of the ACTION. It guarantees SPEED (HASTE). 

The putto carried by the tortoise stands for STRENGTH, the virtue of action.
It generates SPEED (haste). Speed is represented by the inflated veil. 

The rest of the qualities (care, patience, silence, wisdom) are the virtues of the mind and are related to SLOWNESS. 

The balance of HASTE (action) and SLOWNESS (mind) is the secret of success according to Cosimo I de' Medici: Festina Lente, make haste slowly. Isn't it a little better now? Does it make a little more sense to you than it does to me? There would be so much more to write about. I have the material to keep writing forever. But first I wanted to stick to my original wish to write to actual scholars to double-check if they ever noticed this detail in the above fresco. Will they get back to me? Let's give it a try. Let's see what happens. We publish this post in the meantime. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. 

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