inherited was in a pitiful state: the army numbered less than 3,000, the royal coffer was empty and Florence was full of beggars. Despite these hindrances, Gian Gastone, aged 52, commenced his reign with a burst of ebullience, releasing prisoners, abolishing exorbitant taxes and public executions. The Governor Violante Beatrice, Grand Prince's Ferdinando widow, reigned supreme over Tuscan society, and Gian Gastone delegated most of his public duties to her, and chose to spend most of his time in bed, living mainly at night. Here, Gian Gastone was entertained by the Ruspanti (from the ruspo, the coin they were awarded with on Tuesdays and Saturdays), a team of poor, handsome young men assembled by Dami, who performed sexual acts for and with the Grand Duke. Knights, citizens and foreigners figured among the Ruspanti too. A contemporary dubbed the head of the Ruspanti, Giuliano Dami, "the despot of Gian Gastone's Court, and absolute master of his desires"; he exploited his influence with the Grand Duke by offering anybody who was willing to bribe him an audience with their monarch. Dami and the Ruspanti seized almost completely the time of the Grand Duke and their omnipresence during his last years embarrassed historians for a long time. Gian Gastone de' Medici died religiously on 29 July 1737. The European powers had decided in 1735 that, after the last male Medici's death, Tuscany would go to Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine and Bar. Life outside the court On 1 October 1715, Giuliano Dami married the 27 year-old Maria Vittoria di Simone di Raffaello Selcini. On 2 November 1721, he entered the Consiglio dei Duegento. In December of the same year, he became Procuratore di Palazzo, being confirmed on 1 June 1722 (the office was semiannual). On 7 September 1733, Dami bought a villa in Broncigliano, a hamlet of Scandicci (Florence). Giuliano Dami died on 5 April 1750 at the age of 66 and was buried in Santa Maria del Carmine, in Florence. His widow died on 31 January 1760 at the age of 72. In 1770, their heirs sold the villa of Broncigliano. The remains of Giuliano Dami disappeared between 1771, when a fire devastated the church, and 1775, when its restoration was completed. References Bibliography 1683 births 1750 deaths Male lovers of royalty House of Medici 17th-century Italian people 18th-century Italian people 18th-century LGBT people Italian LGBT people LGBT history in Italy People