February 14, 2026 • 11 mins
Florence, 1563. Forbidden from practicing her herbal cures in Venice, the young noblewoman Bianca Capello flees to Florence, where the ruling Medici family practices alchemy. There, she wins herself an invitation to their palace, and, as well as a path to duke regent Francesco’s bed. The impassioned bond between Francesco de Medici and Bianca is at the core of this fact-driven dive into medicine, politics, love, and ultimately death in Renaissance Florence.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Arrow dot net isn't just a podcast. It's twenty different
podcasts a r r oe dot net, something for every
flavor and need, such as view from the Writing Instrument.
It's all about those of us that have been chosen
to write, to hear from the authors, to go into
your deep way of thinking, to understand your paths, situations
(00:23):
as well as you're healing. It's called view from the
Writing Instrument on Ero dot net. Ar r oe dot net.
Enjoy your exploration.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Ero. Good morning, Hi.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Good morning to you. How are you doing today, because
this is definitely a day of celebration. We get to
find out more about you and everything that fell through you.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Oh yes, thank you, glad to share. Yeah, well it's
a great day.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
It's very interesting Beyonca's cure because it almost feels like
it should be taking place today. And I realize the
history on this, but I mean, we're talking about Italy,
which is where the Olympics are right now in Italy,
And the thing is is that it's also about medication.
It's about cures that were forbidden back then. You gotta
be kidney. That sounds so much like today.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
No kidding, and in foc In fact, there is one other.
There's an interesting Olympic connection. So on Friday, the opening
of the Olympics, for the cultural program, an exhibit opened
in Milan called the Women Alchemists Forgotten Women Alchemist no
kidding in Italy. So some of those same people in
(01:34):
my book are pictured in an exhibit hall for the Olympics.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
What is that like for you in the way that
I mean to me now, I'm seeing that you are
a visionary, that your hand is on the pulse of
where we're growing. And as that writer, you heard the
vibration of the planet and you chose to listen.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Well, well, thank you. Yeah. I mean, I think one
thing is to think about Florence today. So I teach
in Florence. I've spent so many summers in Florence teaching.
So many people go to Florence. Florence is a tourist destination.
But what I saw was something more, something a little
(02:22):
deeper in Florence, a little, a little more I don't know, esoteric,
And in Florence, one of the reasons why people go
is because you can imagine yourself there during the Renaissance.
And that's what I do, and that's what I try
and do with my students, and so in fact, in
Beyonda's Cure, there is much of the action is taking
(02:44):
place in a piazza that has an open window. Today
that window is still open, and they say, if the
window closes, the women who are be there, the spirit
of them screams, And I I guess it was that
scream that kind of spoke to me of stories that
needed to be heard from this time of women who
(03:08):
were actually pharmacists and alchemists and scientists like Bianca in
my books.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Yeah, well, let me ask you this question. Then if
you feel like that you tapped into that scream, then
the statue itself that won right there in Florence, did
that serve as a transmitter then when it like you know,
like AM and FM radio, because something was really getting
your attention because of that statue. Was it the look?
Was it the way that it was that it looked
like it was moving? What did you feel?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Well, that statue is sort of frelenander to Medici who's
staring at the open window, So it was kind of
like that protection he is like planting almost to that window.
And and that window is right next to a famous
old Lazioto that's a hotel that is Rick Steve's The Tracks,
(04:00):
one of his favorite hotels in Florence. So there is
a way you can actually stay in a room in
a suite right next to that window. And I do
that very often, and I do feel I do feel
like I'm channeling a little bit that energy from the
statue to the window to the bedroom next door that
I can stay in.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yes, well, I totally believe in that because the Dali
Lama physically says that we have lived this life before
we become storytellers as we go from one life to
the next life to the next life. And this is
definitely a chapter that really makes me feel like I'm
in my now. But we're talking about fifteen sixty three.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Here, Yes, I mean, how also we're going to imagine
fifteen sixty three, and how also we're going to manage
and imagine the Renaissance. The Renaissance work a time of
great people call it awakening, but it was a sense
of self. It was a sense of perspective of history,
(04:58):
of legacy, and tapping into classics, all sorts of classics,
and all sorts of people, poets and artists, and all
of those people were inspired by so many different things,
including including ocult texts and a sapient science and natural philosophies,
(05:25):
and then we get the Renaissance. See what we want
to tap into that today?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I think so, See this is the part of the
Renaissance that we don't get at a Renaissance fair, nor
do we get it in Worthering Heights. I mean, the
thing is is that you really put us into an
area of this renaissance, you know, moment that it's like
these these are the realities of it all because I mean,
my god, we're talking about malaria. I had no clue
until I picked up your book, and then all of
(05:49):
a sudden you inspire me to want to do research,
and that to me is a brilliant author that can
get me to have Motion's.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Very kind, But that is exactly right. I mean, if
we could, if we could invite people to go to
these piaceas, which are so close to each other, they
can discover for themselves. These apothecarias. You can still see
the names. The casino, the laboratory of Francesco is still
(06:21):
there as a magistrate's office, and so is the garden.
The garden, the garden, right next to the casino where
Beyond Us set up her laboratory in secret is still there.
And that garden was where Michelangelo, eighteen years earlier was
found as a fourteen year old, as a thirteen year old,
(06:43):
That's where he was plucked by the medicry to become
their you know, their artists in residence. And you can
feel Michelangelo there and in the book and beyond his cure,
Beyond to find some of the tools of the great artist.
So what is that like? Being able to touch those
(07:04):
tools of the artist and look at the broken, you know,
statue stars, and to pick those up.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Please do not move. There's more with Gigi Birarti coming
up next. The name of the book Bianca's Cure from
author Gigi Birarti. You are so in love with detail.
One of the things that I love about you, Gigi,
is that I actually wrote this in my notes and
while I was reading the book, that we always hear
of the does a tree make a sound when it
(07:33):
falls to hit the forest floor, And what I wrote
about your book is, Gigi was in Florence when the
tree hit the forest floor. In other words, you have
heard the sound and you are sharing the sound and
you're bringing the sound forward because it's it's almost like
you stood witness to something and now you've got it
in storybook form.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Right, Thank you so much. But also, you know, as
I think you're suggesting too, is that you don't need
an eight thousand dollars tour with the other Churisa bok.
You don't need you know, you don't need to enjoy
Lawrence like that. Call me, email me, I'll get you
the tickets to the Ufizzi. Okay, I'll tell you how
to see David. But also read the book. Read Beyond
(08:16):
his Cure, and you'll know exactly what piance is to
go to to tap into something five hundred years ago,
four hundred years ago that tells us about what's happening
in the world today.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Well, even when you're talking about Francisco, it's like, what
is it about this character that makes men as well
as women go ooh, I'm investing in this story. There's
something about this story that's attracting both sexes here. Well,
you know.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
What's interesting is that with Francesco, I did write one
hundred thousand words from the standpoint of Francesco, from the
standpoint of you know a Franco who I identified with
because even though he was destined to be this ruler
for however many years, he was really an introvert. They
(09:09):
just wanted to do his little alchemy in his laboratory.
And I threw out one hundred thousand words because it
read too much psycho Wikipedia article. Then I rewrote the
book from a female perspective beyonda. And I think we
know more about Francesco from the ACTA than we did
before when I was speaking through Francesco. And I think
(09:32):
that it's really not only about women, it's about anyone
who is not seen, and Francesco was not seen. He
never wanted to go to court. He wanted to make
a porcelain, and in fact, Francesco did so after six seven,
ten years in his laboratory, he made a paced porcelain.
(09:56):
Nothing like that has been made outside of China. And
you can see this porcelain today that he made. You
can go to the met in New York City. You
can go to the Getty in Los Angeles. You can
see this porcelain and I will reveal right here on
your show. I believe that he put his lover's image,
(10:18):
not his wife. His lover, on all the porcelains, on
all the little blonde Tello Bianca. I think that is
his message from five hundred years ago. I love this woman.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Oh my god, ten minutes with you.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Tell us about Francesco, the math it does.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Oh my god. Where can people go to find out
more about you and everything that you're doing, because you
are committed to this and like you said, you're willing
to share it.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Absolutely so. I think Jessibriarty dot com because I'm always
posting now dates on the book and answering questions about Ardomisia,
about malaria, about Beyond Francesco and then Beyond his Cure.
I think if you just google Beyond his Cure, he'll
find the book on platforms all over the world. Wow.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Well, please come back to this show anytime in the future.
The doory is always going to be open for you, Gigi, and.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Oh, such a pleasure. Come join me in Italy.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
I would love it.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
I'll be there. So my book, my book launches in
Italy in May at the British Institute and at the
Little Giaco exactly where Beyonda was.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Oh my god, in May.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
So you're invited.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Will you be brilliant today.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Okay, oh thank you there. You inspire me. Thank you
so much.
Arrow dot net isn't just a podcast. It's twenty different
podcasts a r r oe dot net, something for every
flavor and need, such as view from the Writing Instrument.
It's all about those of us that have been chosen
to write, to hear from the authors, to go into
your deep way of thinking, to understand your paths, situations
(00:23):
as well as you're healing. It's called view from the
Writing Instrument on Ero dot net. Ar r oe dot net.
Enjoy your exploration.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Ero. Good morning, Hi.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Good morning to you. How are you doing today, because
this is definitely a day of celebration. We get to
find out more about you and everything that fell through you.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Oh yes, thank you, glad to share. Yeah, well it's
a great day.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
It's very interesting Beyonca's cure because it almost feels like
it should be taking place today. And I realize the
history on this, but I mean, we're talking about Italy,
which is where the Olympics are right now in Italy,
And the thing is is that it's also about medication.
It's about cures that were forbidden back then. You gotta
be kidney. That sounds so much like today.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
No kidding, and in foc In fact, there is one other.
There's an interesting Olympic connection. So on Friday, the opening
of the Olympics, for the cultural program, an exhibit opened
in Milan called the Women Alchemists Forgotten Women Alchemist no
kidding in Italy. So some of those same people in
(01:34):
my book are pictured in an exhibit hall for the Olympics.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
What is that like for you in the way that
I mean to me now, I'm seeing that you are
a visionary, that your hand is on the pulse of
where we're growing. And as that writer, you heard the
vibration of the planet and you chose to listen.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Well, well, thank you. Yeah. I mean, I think one
thing is to think about Florence today. So I teach
in Florence. I've spent so many summers in Florence teaching.
So many people go to Florence. Florence is a tourist destination.
But what I saw was something more, something a little
(02:22):
deeper in Florence, a little, a little more I don't know, esoteric,
And in Florence, one of the reasons why people go
is because you can imagine yourself there during the Renaissance.
And that's what I do, and that's what I try
and do with my students, and so in fact, in
Beyonda's Cure, there is much of the action is taking
(02:44):
place in a piazza that has an open window. Today
that window is still open, and they say, if the
window closes, the women who are be there, the spirit
of them screams, And I I guess it was that
scream that kind of spoke to me of stories that
needed to be heard from this time of women who
(03:08):
were actually pharmacists and alchemists and scientists like Bianca in
my books.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Yeah, well, let me ask you this question. Then if
you feel like that you tapped into that scream, then
the statue itself that won right there in Florence, did
that serve as a transmitter then when it like you know,
like AM and FM radio, because something was really getting
your attention because of that statue. Was it the look?
Was it the way that it was that it looked
like it was moving? What did you feel?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Well, that statue is sort of frelenander to Medici who's
staring at the open window, So it was kind of
like that protection he is like planting almost to that window.
And and that window is right next to a famous
old Lazioto that's a hotel that is Rick Steve's The Tracks,
(04:00):
one of his favorite hotels in Florence. So there is
a way you can actually stay in a room in
a suite right next to that window. And I do
that very often, and I do feel I do feel
like I'm channeling a little bit that energy from the
statue to the window to the bedroom next door that
I can stay in.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yes, well, I totally believe in that because the Dali
Lama physically says that we have lived this life before
we become storytellers as we go from one life to
the next life to the next life. And this is
definitely a chapter that really makes me feel like I'm
in my now. But we're talking about fifteen sixty three.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Here, Yes, I mean, how also we're going to imagine
fifteen sixty three, and how also we're going to manage
and imagine the Renaissance. The Renaissance work a time of
great people call it awakening, but it was a sense
of self. It was a sense of perspective of history,
(04:58):
of legacy, and tapping into classics, all sorts of classics,
and all sorts of people, poets and artists, and all
of those people were inspired by so many different things,
including including ocult texts and a sapient science and natural philosophies,
(05:25):
and then we get the Renaissance. See what we want
to tap into that today?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I think so, See this is the part of the
Renaissance that we don't get at a Renaissance fair, nor
do we get it in Worthering Heights. I mean, the
thing is is that you really put us into an
area of this renaissance, you know, moment that it's like
these these are the realities of it all because I mean,
my god, we're talking about malaria. I had no clue
until I picked up your book, and then all of
(05:49):
a sudden you inspire me to want to do research,
and that to me is a brilliant author that can
get me to have Motion's.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Very kind, But that is exactly right. I mean, if
we could, if we could invite people to go to
these piaceas, which are so close to each other, they
can discover for themselves. These apothecarias. You can still see
the names. The casino, the laboratory of Francesco is still
(06:21):
there as a magistrate's office, and so is the garden.
The garden, the garden, right next to the casino where
Beyond Us set up her laboratory in secret is still there.
And that garden was where Michelangelo, eighteen years earlier was
found as a fourteen year old, as a thirteen year old,
(06:43):
That's where he was plucked by the medicry to become
their you know, their artists in residence. And you can
feel Michelangelo there and in the book and beyond his cure,
Beyond to find some of the tools of the great artist.
So what is that like? Being able to touch those
(07:04):
tools of the artist and look at the broken, you know,
statue stars, and to pick those up.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Please do not move. There's more with Gigi Birarti coming
up next. The name of the book Bianca's Cure from
author Gigi Birarti. You are so in love with detail.
One of the things that I love about you, Gigi,
is that I actually wrote this in my notes and
while I was reading the book, that we always hear
of the does a tree make a sound when it
(07:33):
falls to hit the forest floor, And what I wrote
about your book is, Gigi was in Florence when the
tree hit the forest floor. In other words, you have
heard the sound and you are sharing the sound and
you're bringing the sound forward because it's it's almost like
you stood witness to something and now you've got it
in storybook form.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Right, Thank you so much. But also, you know, as
I think you're suggesting too, is that you don't need
an eight thousand dollars tour with the other Churisa bok.
You don't need you know, you don't need to enjoy
Lawrence like that. Call me, email me, I'll get you
the tickets to the Ufizzi. Okay, I'll tell you how
to see David. But also read the book. Read Beyond
(08:16):
his Cure, and you'll know exactly what piance is to
go to to tap into something five hundred years ago,
four hundred years ago that tells us about what's happening
in the world today.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Well, even when you're talking about Francisco, it's like, what
is it about this character that makes men as well
as women go ooh, I'm investing in this story. There's
something about this story that's attracting both sexes here. Well,
you know.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
What's interesting is that with Francesco, I did write one
hundred thousand words from the standpoint of Francesco, from the
standpoint of you know a Franco who I identified with
because even though he was destined to be this ruler
for however many years, he was really an introvert. They
(09:09):
just wanted to do his little alchemy in his laboratory.
And I threw out one hundred thousand words because it
read too much psycho Wikipedia article. Then I rewrote the
book from a female perspective beyonda. And I think we
know more about Francesco from the ACTA than we did
before when I was speaking through Francesco. And I think
(09:32):
that it's really not only about women, it's about anyone
who is not seen, and Francesco was not seen. He
never wanted to go to court. He wanted to make
a porcelain, and in fact, Francesco did so after six seven,
ten years in his laboratory, he made a paced porcelain.
(09:56):
Nothing like that has been made outside of China. And
you can see this porcelain today that he made. You
can go to the met in New York City. You
can go to the Getty in Los Angeles. You can
see this porcelain and I will reveal right here on
your show. I believe that he put his lover's image,
(10:18):
not his wife. His lover, on all the porcelains, on
all the little blonde Tello Bianca. I think that is
his message from five hundred years ago. I love this woman.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Oh my god, ten minutes with you.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Tell us about Francesco, the math it does.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Oh my god. Where can people go to find out
more about you and everything that you're doing, because you
are committed to this and like you said, you're willing
to share it.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Absolutely so. I think Jessibriarty dot com because I'm always
posting now dates on the book and answering questions about Ardomisia,
about malaria, about Beyond Francesco and then Beyond his Cure.
I think if you just google Beyond his Cure, he'll
find the book on platforms all over the world. Wow.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Well, please come back to this show anytime in the future.
The doory is always going to be open for you, Gigi, and.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Oh, such a pleasure. Come join me in Italy.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
I would love it.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
I'll be there. So my book, my book launches in
Italy in May at the British Institute and at the
Little Giaco exactly where Beyonda was.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Oh my god, in May.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
So you're invited.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Will you be brilliant today.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Okay, oh thank you there. You inspire me. Thank you
so much.
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