Medici descendant tries to block exhumation of ancestor

An indirect descendant of the Medici dynasty has filed a police complaint to block the exhumation of the remains of Princess Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, whose death in 1743 marked the end of the Grand Ducal line. "It would be a profanity, contrary to common morals and to the devotion to the dead," said the president of the International Association of the Medici, Prince Ottaviano de' Medici di Toscana di Ottajano himself an indirect descendant of the Princess. The remains of Princess Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, are scheduled to be exhumed next autumn from the Medici crypt in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. A museum in Germany plans to exhibit the remains and funeral clothing of the Princess, and in exchange will provide restoration works following flooding in the city in 1966. Ottaviano de' Medici has called the exhumation a 'commercial merry-go-round', whose sole effect would be to dishonor the dead. "Since the Florentine authorities have given the go-ahead to this macabre 'scientific event' with no qualms as to the morality of it, we ask that the Florentine police force begin an inquiry into whether the exhumation will offend popular opinion, and as a result will put a stop to it", Medici said.