The visit of Cosmo of Tuscany
Over the years Basingstoke has acquired
a reputation of being a boring town and has been the butt of
many a comedian's joke. Recently it was rather unfairly voted
the worst place to live in Britain on a Sky TV program. The
first person to publish his dislike of the town, and perhaps
where the bad reputation stems from, was
Cosmo de Medici of
Tuscany. He was the 27 year old son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany
and heir to the title. Cosmo came to Basingstoke on April 13,
1669. He had left Italy in September of the previous year and
embarked on a tour of European countries. He took with him a
secretary and a artist so that every detail of his tour could be
noted down.
When he arrived in England he had
already visited Spain and Portugal before passing through Devon,
Dorset and Wiltshire. The group had decided to stay the night in
Basingstoke and was met by the Mayor and two officers eager to
give him an official welcome to the borough. Cosmo declined the
invitation and stayed the night in a local inn. In the morning
he headed out of Basingstoke and onto London to continue his
tour. The following year his father died and Cosmo became Duke
of Tuscany. Cosmo lived to the age of 81 and then in the year
1821 his book was translated into English and published in
Britain.
In his book, Travels of Cosmo
III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, his secretary wrote:-
"His Highness, having arrived
early at Basingstoke, walked on foot through the town which is
wretched, both in regard to the buildings, the greater part of
which are wood, and the complete absence of trade, so that the
gratification of his curiosity did not compensate for the
fatigue of walking a few paces".
It has to be remembered that at the
time Cosmo viewed the town it was still recovering from two
great fires, the plague and of course the ravages of the Civil
War.
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