Medici giraffe

The Medici giraffe was a giraffe presented to Lorenzo de' Medici in 1486 possibly by al-Ashraf Qaitbay, the Burji Sultan of Egypt, in an attempt to win the support of the Medici.

It caused a great stir on its arrival in Florence: although the Medici maintained a large menagerie, and had previously featured a giant mannequin of a giraffe in the animal entertainments they provided to the citizenry, this was the first time a living example had been seen in the city. It was also reputedly the first living giraffe to be seen in Italy since the days of Ancient Rome. It did not survive for long and another giraffe was not seen in Europe for almost 300 years.

In 46 BC Julius Caesar had celebrated his triumphs in Egypt by returning to Rome with a vast menagerie, the star attraction of which was a giraffe, the first ever seen in Europe. The Romans did not know what to make of such an animal and named it the cameleopard, for it seemed to them to embody characteristics of both the camel and leopard. Caesar had the animal torn to shreds by lions in the arena, probably to emphasize his power by the disposal of such a rare creature in a casual manner. Lorenzo had read of the success of the spectacle of Caesar's giraffe and saw a way to cement his reputation in Florence by emulating it. He also realised that he could gain further political influence by passing the animal on and promised to send it to Anne of France, after its sojourn in Florence.

Whether the giraffe was provided by Qaitbay is uncertain as there is no record of its procurement, but it seems likely: he is known to have had giraffes in his menagerie; he appealed for Lorenzo for help against the Ottomans around the time of the giraffe's arrival in Florence and Lorenzo did intercede on his behalf shortly afterwards.

The giraffe was an immediate sensation when it arrived in Florence. Although Cosimo de' Medici, Lorenzo's grandfather, had maintained a large menagerie, and had previously featured a giant mannequin of a giraffe in the animal entertainments he provided for the citizenry, this was the first time a living example had been seen in the city. Although there are reports that Frederick III of Sicily had been given a giraffe in 1261 by the Sultan of Egypt in exchange for a white bear and that the Duke of Calabria, Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Ferdinand I of Naples, all owned giraffes, if they had existed they had certainly not had the success that Lorenzo's giraffe enjoyed: it was immortalised in paintings by Botticini, Vasari and Bacchiacca, frescos and poetry. The poet Antonio Costanzo described it freely roaming the streets:

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