The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance - Paul Strathern Audiobook

Written by Paul Strathern
Read by Derek Perkins
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

This book was originally published in 2003 as The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance

Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc.
Release date: March 17, 2016
Duration: 16:21:53

A vivid, dramatic, and authoritative account of perhaps the most influential family in Italian history: the Medici.

A dazzling history of the modest family that rose to become one of the most powerful in Europe, The Medici is a remarkably modern story of power, money, and ambition. Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning Paul 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.

Strathern also follows the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo and Donatello; as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola; and the fortunes of those members of the Medici family who achieved success away from Florence, including the two Medici popes and Catherine de’ Médicis, who became Queen of France and played a major role in that country through three turbulent reigns.

As bankers and statesmen, cardinals and scholars, reprobates and royalty, the Medici family left an indelible mark on European history and culture. With financial power deriving from a vast banking empire, Medici descendants at various times were among the richest people in the Western world. It is a lineage that produced two popes and two queens of France, along with a fair share of degenerates and schemers. Whether in power or in exile, the Medicis were at the heart of the golden age of Florence and the Italian Renaissance, as well as the regional squabbles, maneuvering, and political instability that characterized the period. Strathern (Death in Florence) succeeds in tracing the history of this intriguing clan from its unexceptional beginnings to an ignoble end in a compelling and readable style. VERDICT What might have been a bewildering string of names, places, and dates is instead a page-turning popular history of an ambitious and influential family. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in history. Library Journal