Francesco Redi, the highest-ranking doctor at the Court of the Medici who elevated wine to culture

Physician, the highest-ranking doctor at the Court of the Medici, scientist and man of letters who was a member of Accademia della Crusca, Francesco Redi (Arezzo, February 18th 1626 - Pisa, March 1st, 1697), one of the most important Tuscan intellectuals, was a key figure in the birth of modern science, the “father of modern parasitology”, and the author of the famous refutation of the theory of spontaneous generation. He demonstrated that worms originate from fly larvae and that living organisms therefore cannot arise spontaneously from non-living matter, in his renowned work “Esperienze intorno alla generazione degl’insetti” - “Experiences around the genetation of insects” (1668). But he was also the “poet of Tuscany wine” for excellence as well as a remarkable communicator: a follower of the Galilean method, Redi was able to combine scientific rigor, literary sensitivity, and profound knowledge of wine culture in the famous verse dithyramb “Bacco in Toscana” - “Bacchus in Tuscany” (1685). This masterpiece of escapist literature enjoyed enormous success throughout Europe thanks to its vivid description of Bacchus intoxication as he imagines tasting the wines of the region, narrated as if in an “ante litteram catalogue”. It begins with the wine of Montepulciano, memorably celebrated with the solemn proclamation that it is “king of all wines”. By bringing together his important studies, and within the context of the Medicean seventeenth century, marked by the commitment of Ferdinando II and Cosimo III de’ Medici to the promotion of viticulture in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Redi was an attentive observer of natural processes, wine practices, and the cultural and therapeutic dimensions of wine.
“Montepulciano, king of all wines” is the verse chosen by Consorzio del Vino Nobile, in collaboration with Società Storica Poliziana, Fondazione Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte, and Piero Calamandrei Library and Historical Archive, to celebrate in 2026 the anniversary No. 400 of the birth of Francesco Redi and of “Bacco in Toscana” with an entire year of diverse initiatives taking place in the city of Poliziano, an authentic “pearl of the Renaissance” which still preserves its historic “walled” cellars within the city walls, inside noble palaces designed by architects such as Michelozzo, Antonio da Sangallo, Vignola, and Baldassarre Peruzzi, and whose culture is indissolubly linked to the figure of the scholar. The celebrations begin with the exhibition “Francesco Redi a Montepulciano. La cultura e la scienza del vino dopo Galileo” - “Francesco Redi in Montepulciano. Culture and science of wine after Galileo”, held in the ancient Fortress of Montepulciano (March 20th, 2026 - June 19th, 2027), curated by scholar Lorella Mangani and Giovanni di Pasquale, deputy director of the “Galileo Galilei” Museum of Science and Technology in Florence (with the participation of WineNews, contributing rare and original books by the author).
To follow, on June 19th, the “Summer Solstice” will become a true “banquet” featuring the three-Michelin-starred cuisine of the Cerea brothers of the restaurant Da Vittorio in Brusaporto, accompanied by Vino Nobile in the glasses, set in the exceptional Piazza Grande, one of the most beautiful squares in Italy, often used as a film set, yet still a place where one can almost hear the voices of Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola, Leon Battista Alberti, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo, illustrious friends of Poliziano, personal secretary to Lorenzo the Magnificent and a central figure of his renowned intellectual circle. It was in this milieu that the well-known verses of the Magnifico carnival song Trionfo di Bacco e Arianna “How beautiful is youth, which nevertheless slips away! Let those who wish be joyful; there is no certainty of tomorrow”, sparked the flame of the Renaissance.
Finally, on October 9th, again in the Fortress, the conference “When Bacchus arrived in Tuscany - Francesco Redi, experimental science, the arts, and culture of wine in the Grand Duchy of the last Medici” will be held, paying due tribute to the legacy of Francesco Redi and to the prestige of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano: science, poetry, and wine.