Historical Homos Leonardo da Vinci: Prince of Sodomy (feat. Professor Catherine Fletcher)
Leonardo da Vinci? More like Leonardo da Fist Me.
We've all heard of the man behind the Mona Lisa. But did you know he was also one of Florence's sodomitical sweethearts?
In this episode, we pull back the vajazzled curtain on Leonardo da Vinci to reveal a homo neither tormented nor repressed, suffering dramatically for his art, but a messy, charismatic, and brilliant dilettante obsessed with the world.
More than anything, Leonardo cared about curiosity. He was fascinated more by the world than his paychecks, which got him into trouble more often than his penchant for very handsome twinks – ahem, sorry, apprentices.*
Join Bash and Renaissance historian Catherine Fletcher as they answer all the big questions:
Was Leonardo gay? Does it matter? Did it affect his fantastically innovative artwork? Did he think outside the box? And whose box did he eat?
We'll also give you a taste of what it was like to be horny, humping Leo in 1470s Florence, dashing across the Ponte Vecchio from paint job to blow job in an Italian minute (aka seventeen hours).
We'll cover:
- Leonardo’s arrest at age 24 for...sodomy
- How the city responded to its "epidemic" of...sodomy
- Leonardo’s lifelong entanglement with his apprentice/lover/twink-goblin, Salai
- The saga of Michelangelo vs. Leonardo, who were briefly Florence's duelling divas of the day
- Why Leonardo’s refusal to care — about his sexuality or finishing any of his damn paintings — is actually the gayest and most important thing about him
If you’ve ever wanted a crash course in the gayest corners of the Italian Renaissance — or just an excuse to say “I heard you're into the Florentine vice” out loud — this is the episode for you.
🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you pod. Espresso and slutty breeches sold separately.
📚 Grab a copy of Catherine's book The Beauty and The Terror: An Alternative History of the Italian Renaissance.
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Episode Credits
Written and hosted by Bash.
Guest: Catherine Fletcher.
Edited by Alex Toskas.
Produced by Dani Henion.