Medici leaders and rulers in Florence -- High noon -- Origins of a dynasty. Ancient beginnings ; The origins of the Medici bank ; Giovanni's legacy ; Cosimo rising ; The moment of truth -- Out of the darkness. The Medici in exile ; The dawn of Humanism ; East meets West ; Art reborn : the egg dome and the human statue ; 'Father of the country' ; Piero the Gouty -- The Prince and the Prophet of Doom. The Renaissance Prince ; Murder in the cathedral ; Plato in the piazzas ; A succession of masters ; The tide turns ; The Bonfire of the Vanities -- The Pope and the Protestant. 'Il Gigante' : a statue of biblical proportions ; Rome : the Medici's new home ; Machiavelli meets his match ; Rome and the Lion Pope ; The Pope and the Protestant ; The Papacy stays in the family -- The battle for truth. A grim aftermath ; Aristocratic rule ; Medici : European royalty ; Godfathers of the scientific Renaissance ; Godfathers no more? ; Finale.
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A vivid, dramatic and authoritative account of the most influential family in Italian history: The Medici.
Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence, as well as the Italian Renaissance which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. He follows the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists and scientists with whom the Medici had dealings, and traces the fortunes of those members of the Medici family who achieved success away from Florence, including the two Medici popes and Catherine dé Medici.