Medici Villa La Petraia, courtyard: “Cosimo I associates his son Francesco with the government”, fresco from the cycle of the Fasti Medicei by Volterrano (Baldassarre Franceschini), 1636-1647.Set in the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio, the scene shows Cosimo I extending the nomination that associates him with the government to his son Francesco on the throne. Francis then receives homage from the Florentine senators, among a varied crowd of onlookers. On the wall you can see the Festina lente tortoise, Cosimo's emblem and, anachronistically, the rhinoceros, which will be the emblem of Cosimo's other son, Ferdinando I. The statues of Peace and Abundance, on the sides of the throne, represent a good omen about the new government, close to court officials pouring bags of coins into a chest. On the left you can see a warrior in the foreground, sitting with a dreamy expression on a broken war drum, because he will no longer have to play it.
