The Medici – Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance

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So on the whole, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, even though it doesn't go as deeply as I would prefer.

On top of that the book does well in reminding the reader of the sources of some of the information. At the start of the book some ideas are largely built on ledgers of the government administration of Florence. This unique insight into what I can only image is the way historians work daily was a refreshing way of valuing the information of the book. Of course, not all Medici lineages and eras are documented as well as others, but Hollingsworth does a good job at giving each period enough space despite sources being more limiting here and there. One of the most surprising things I learned in this book was about the corrupt lives of many of the popes and cardinals who served the Roman Catholic Church. Hibbert describes many selfish and debauched men who held these offices. Not at all what I imagined. Leonardo da Vinci does not make an appearance in the Medici series, but the real da Vinci certainly had dealings with members of the Medici family and was patronized by Lorenzo de’ Medici. Portrait of a Conspiracy by Donna Russo Morin The Medici series is billed as a fictionalized depiction of the powerful Medici family who ruled Florence for almost a century. If you’re looking for historical accuracy, you’ll find gaps and inconsistencies. These can be maddening if you are a history buff. However, once I gave up focusing on what was real versus what was fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed Medici. For those who haven’t watched the series or read the book, I would highly recommend that you combine. The book provides more detail than the series, particularly around the events in Europe and the rest of Italy, but the televised series brings the characters to life in a way a history book will not, and what a great cast they were.

Traveling to Italy?

By the early 1520s, few descendants of Cosimo the Elder remained. Giulio de Medici, the illegitimate son of Lorenzo the Magnificent’s brother Giuliano, abdicated power in 1523 to become Pope Clement VII, and the short and brutal rule of Alessandro (reputed to be Giulio’s own illegitimate son) ended with his assassination in 1537. A New Medici Branch Comes to Power An exception to my rule, Fitzgerald’s Florentine excursion is the slow, enchanting love story between a communist doctor from the south and the shy daughter of eccentric nobility in the 50s. Stringing a tightrope between comedy and tragedy, Fitzgerald evokes Florence’s specific atmosphere: a combination of deep melancholy and a beauty that threatens to overwhelm. Mist and shadow are Fitzgerald’s colours, and diffidence is her mode, but the effect is to be absorbed and transported entirely into the city, and a place of the heart. mocenské vzťahy a politika tu je a nie je vždy úplne na okraji - no to, čo je pre autora podstatnejšie, je ukázať rodinu Medici a všetkých okolo s "ľudskou tvárou". Sú to len ľudia s vášnami, slabosťami, s chybami, sú mnohostraní. Dozviete sa, ako sa dostali k moci a ako šikovne ju spočiatku nedávali Florencii a svojráznym Florenťanom pocítiť. Dozviete sa aj čo-to o Florenťanoch, ich zvykoch, pohľade na život, o tom, čo majú radi a o vtedajšej spoločnosti ako takej. Závistlivej, nie prudérnej a predsa veľmi pobožnej. Vďaka tomu lepšie pochopíte takmer raketový vzostup a trocha pomalejší "pád" rodiny, ktorá má svoj erb na každom rohu v meste (doslova). I am one of those who came to this book having braved my way through all three seasons of the Netflix show. (An idle bid to improve my knowledge of Florence, a city to which I have not yet traveled.) While I quite enjoyed the series, not least the theme song, I give it extra points for nurturing my interest in this hypnotically repulsive and constantly fascinating Italian dynasty who rose from modest money-lenders to become one of the most powerful families in medieval Europe.

I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who appreciates Renaissance painting who is notsmitten by the work of Sandro Botticelli. Even people who don’t particularly like “old-fashioned” painting revere Botticelli. Works such as Birth of Venushave become iconic, appearing on everything from mugs to t-shirts to the walls in student dorms. Catherine Fletcher tells the riveting tale of Alessandro's unexpected rise and spectacular fall, unraveling centuries-old mysteries, exposing forgeries, and bringing to life the epic personalities of the Medicis, Borgias, and others as they waged sordid campaigns to rise to the top.

12 Hidden Gems in Italy Revealed

Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici’s glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosophers. The men of Florence—most notably the rakish Giuliano de’ Medici—become enthralled with her beauty. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her even more desirable and fashionable. For all their faults, the Medici did much to preserve works of art and scholarship that we enjoy today. Cosimo’s elder son Francis succeeded his father, but proved a less effective ruler. His daughter Marie would become queen of France when she married Henry IV in 1600; her son would rule as Louis XIII from 1610-43. Francis’ younger brother Ferdinand, who became grand duke in 1587, restored Tuscany to stability and prosperity. He also founded the Villa Medici at Rome and brought many priceless works of art to Florence. Medici Family in Decline

Miles J. Unger, Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de Medici, (London, Simon and Schuster 2008) By the end of the fifteenth century, Florence was well established as the home of the Renaissance. As generous patrons to the likes of Botticelli and Michelangelo, the ruling Medici embodied the progressive humanist spirit of the age, and in Lorenzo de' Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent) they possessed a diplomat capable of guarding the militarily weak city in a climate of constantly shifting allegiances between the major Italian powers. By all accounts, the pair were happily married. Eleanora was considered a “first lady” by modern standards, traveling with her husband and helping rule the city.It was decorated with frescos by Giorgio Vasari, a prominent Florentine painter, architect, and art historian. Behind the Vasari frescos, the hall may hold a l ost Leonardo da Vinci fresco. Piero’s son, also named Lorenzo, regained power in Florence, and his daughter Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) would become queen of France after marrying King Henry II; three of her four sons would rule France as well. Paul Strathern, Death in Florence: The Medici, Savonarola, and the Battle for the Soul of a Renaissance City (Pegasus Books, 2015) This book runs you through the rise and fall of the Medici dynasty. Starting as simple bankers, working arduously to obtain a noble status, navigating their way through the European nobility and eventually falling into vanity and eventually extinction. What we have in this book is a spotlight shone on a family who either ruled or influenced events in Florence for nearly four centuries and all the events which, through their patronage, they helped shape and which in turn moulded each generation of the family as they took over.

In general, the later Medici line renounced the older generation’s republican sympathies and established more authoritarian rule, a change that produced stability in Florence and Tuscany, but led to the region’s decline as a cultural hub. Lorenzo died on the fatidic year on which the trade routes in Europe began to change radically, on 1492. Unaware of what had fundamentally changed, he Medici family entered the 16th century with the inertia of its splendour.

Florence started as a republic where the Medici family and their supporters become dominant. Later it became a duchy with the Medicis as Dukes. Having said that, this is probably not a book for the casual reader - it covers centuries of European history and developments such as the reformation, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire and the fall of Constantinople and there is a huge amount to take in.