English & Literature

Who is Cristoforo Langella from The Birth of Venus: A Novel and what is their importance? The_Birth_of_Venus_(novel) English & Literature Cristoforo Langella | The Birth of Venus: A Novel

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Cristoforo Langella is Alessandra's husband. Cristoforo is an older man, in his forties upon his marriage to Alessandra. Alessandra is told that Cristoforo is from a good family and has decided to marry because he has no family and he desires an heir. However, after their marriage, Alessandra learns the truth behind Cristoforo's sudden desire to marry. Cristoforo is a homosexual. In Florence under the Medici family, Cristoforo felt safe practicing this form of sexual lifestyle because sodomites were rarely persecuted under Lorenzo de Medici. However, when Lorenzo de Medici dies and his heir is forced out of office, the new government begins to crack down on behavior it sees as immoral. This includes sodomites.