The Medici

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Also what’s his deal with seeing women only as prostitutes or mothers - apart from the two Medici queens which I guess he had to include? Also what’s his deal with focusing so much on the weight of the Medici rulers?? And calling Bacchus a Greek god?!?! We love Paul Strathern’s writing. It pulls you inside the story and gives you an overview of how the Medici were influential in the Italian Renaissance. It’s a story of endless ambition, power and drama and is interesting particularly for the way it shows how the Medici family’s involvement with the great painters and scientists of the age.

It is a story of how a family who, if the Medici legend is to be believed, descended from a knight who fought for Charlemagne in the eight century and went on to become the most famous family in medieval European history. The fact is that there are no records of the Medici until the very earliest years of the thirteenth century when they are known to have settled in the San Lorenzo neighbourhood of Florence. At this point they were one of many money lenders who set their benches out in the piazza’s of the city. Paul Strathern does a wonderful job of telling the story of this fascinating Italian family. From the first to the very last person in the Medici bloodline, Strathern describes their lives, dealings and characters, always placing them within a historical and cultural context. In reading this book, one does not only learn of this unique family. The history of Florence, and Italy more broadly, Renaissance art, architecture, philosophy, science, war and the geopolitical struggles of the time are all dealt with to provide the reader with a detailed and comprehensive picture of the times. This particular book was written at the same time or to accompany a short television series, The Rise and Fall of the De Medici family which tells the story of Florence and one famous banking family. Each night this week, I read sections of the book and then watched the corresponding television episodes and had a different but wonderful reading experience. Third, anyone writing a popular history should know to keep themselves out of their work, but Strathern constantly injects his views on religion and politics. It's fine to hold and share one's opinions on these topics, but this is not the place. There have been a number of books on the Medici, unsurprising considering their lasting effect on the modern day worlds of finance and culture, but this is definitely one of the more accessible reads.This is a particularly difficult story to tell as it spans several centuries, a huge range of characters from the Medici themselves to foreign royalty as well as all the great artists of the era and a fundamentalist preacher in Savonarola who would nearly bring them down.

After a Prologue on events of April 1478, the book begins with Giovanni di Bicci de Medici (1389-1464), who founded what was to become the most famous bank of Italy, and his son Cosimo who expanded the bank’s geographical footprint and laid the political foundation for growing the family’s influence. As Cosimo was groomed for leadership, he groomed his sons. Strathern poses that because the Medici’s were not nobles and Florence was a republic the family built its political position by bonding with the people through buildings, public art, hosting dignitaries with large community events and presenting a modest demeanor. Florence's gold coin, the florin, became a standard currency across Europe in the 14th century). And the Medici bank grew into the most powerful in Europe in the 15th century, with branches in Rome, Venice, Naples, Milan, London, Geneva. Even the Vatican was a major client. VII, а по-късно амбициите им достигат върха си с двете френски кралици Катерина Медичи и Мария Медичи. Стратърн описва и двете доста неутрално, без да демонизира Катерина, която в много романи особено в любимата ми "Кралица Марго" от детските ми години е доста негативен образ, но тук тя е жена, с трима болнави и слаби сина, в несигурни времена на ръба на религиозна и гражданска война, която прави всичко възможно да съхрани единна държавата, при липсата на силен наследник. Малко известен факт е, че нейните готвачи променят основите на френската кухня.

Inspire Me

If you want to know who the Medici really were, these are the books you should start with.They are filled with vivid details and well-told stories and are indispensable reads for fans of the Medici family. They also paint a picture of Renaissance life in Florence which is interesting if you’re planning a visit to the city. 3 Top Books about the Medici family Religion was spoken of disparagingly only every now and then, especially when making reference to Michelangelo's zeal or how Leonardo was greater than all the others because he was agnostic/atheistic, though even he could "fall prey" to the thinking of the church. Again, this could have been an interesting contrast and way of speaking on art patronage, where artists may not necessarily have believed in what they were creating or even the church they worked for. But once more, we were left feeling like the author just wanted to disparage anyone who believed, especially someone like Michelangelo, who could have been maligned because of his sexuality. These things are not mutually exclusive and certainly weren't in the age of the Renaissance. 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. I am conflicted. I love the Medici, history of the renaissance, and schemes involving the Catholic Church, and this book serves all those. Strathern writes well, in an interesting fashion, presenting the family’s rise to glory and the following fall from it in a highly entertaining way, and I did enjoy learning so much.

That being said there are a few aspects to his writing that take it down a few stars from where it could have been. More to the point, these things had nothing directly to do with the Medici family and he could have moved past them entirely. Mention the names of the great artists they worked with and move on. There was no need to delve into the details of their personal lives and beliefs as it didn't need to talk about them at all. Every bit of focus could have gone to members of the family. Perhaps, if Catholicism and homosexuality are topics you dislike, Renaissance Italy may not be the proper focus. 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. But. There’s no avoiding the homophobia so evident throughout the book. It’s somewhat interesting how Strathern manages to do what more historians should, aka recognise that gay people have existed always and some relationships truly are more than “a close friendship” - but he does it in such a cringey uncomfortable way. Furthermore, it seems like he blamed all the faults of people on their sexuality?? Not cool. I was able to ignore it at first but the more the book progresses the more it started to bother me.The good thing about this book is that it covers a huge amount of time and a huge number of people and is very clear. I would recommend this book to a serious Medici scholar for the family trees and the pre-chapter summations of who was alive and relevant in each time period. This is stuff I have had to work out for myself, and if you care about questions like "How is Duke Cosimo I descended from Lorenzo" (via his mother, granddaughter of Lorenzo via Lucrezia Salviati) and Giovanni di Bicci (via his father, who was the son of Giovanni il Popolano and Caterina Sforza) then this book is very clear on that. I remember taking ages with Wikipedia working out Catherine de' Medici's descent.