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Acknowledgements

THE EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY provided for the first time a clear direction as it defined the elusive ‘genre’, the foundation on which the full meaning of Botticeli’s creation rested. The pursuit of the full meaning and intent of the painting gradually began to evince a remarkable thematic consistency with what existed but remained unseen in La Primavera. Its chapters may be read independently of footnotes for those who seek the historical insights and the journey, and the same may be said of the appendices.

I am indebted to Maura Lane for her unstinting support throughout and in particular for reading and researching in parallel with me and bringing to bear a particular clarity of thought and perspective which I found invaluable.

I thank Dr Gabrielle Langdon for her sound advice as the scope of the inquiry was being established. I thank Dr Alison Brown for her time and for her generosity with her knowledge of the cadet branch of the Medici, and Valery Rees and Professor Francis Ames-Lewis, each of whom read an early draft. Thanks to Matthieu Ricard, and to Dr Paola Tinagli for her scrutiny of the second draft two years ago and for her heroic patience, and Dr Andrea Gáldy and Dr Ada Palmer for their critical examination and advice on the final draft. I thank Jean Maughan and Jill Baikoff for their sterling contributions to editing. I am endebted to each of these respected professionals for their encouragement and generous use of their valuable time.

I wish to thank The British Institute of Florence; Villa I Tatti, Florence, the Harvard Centre for Italian Renaissance Studies; the Bibliotheca Nazionale Centrale, Florence; The Warburg and Courtauld Institute, London; Archivium Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum (Vatican Secret Archives); the Strozzi archives and the Florentine State Archives and their staffs for their helpfulness and the use of their resources.

I also acknowledge permission from Shepheard-Walwyn (Publishers) Ltd to reproduce extracts from various volumes of The Letters of Marsilio Ficino.