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. Godfathers of the Renaissance, chronicles the life, rise and fall of the De Medici dynasty from the 15 century through the renaissance and the prominence of Florence on the European and world stage. A family heritage deeply rooted in banking, Finance and Commerce, are elevated to become a prominent family in Italian politics. The story is interwoven with the greatest renaissance artists Leonardo DaVinci, Donatello, Michelangelo who were nurtured and championed by Lorenzo De Medici earning him the title of patron of arts and Godfather of the renaissance. First, the time spent on the significant Medici women was next to nothing. I feel like I barely know anything about Catherine de' Medici, even though she was one of the most influential people in Europe during her lifetime. More time and description was devoted to non-Medici men, such as Machiavelli and Galileo, important as they were. Having gotten pretty hooked on the history of the Roman Republic and Empire, it was a natural progression to want to understand the later history of the Italian Renaissance, along with all the warring city-states and complicated power struggles of them with the Papal States, European Powers, and Eastern Orthodox Church. It’s just such a convoluted and fascinating mess, and yet despite all the power struggles and brutality and violence, it also gave birth to this incredible flowering of intellectual creativity that eschewed the narrow and dogmatic Medieval Christian mentality, and produced such artistic geniuses as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and the stunning architecture, much inspired by classical Greek and Roman culture.

The history was enjoyable and Mary paints an immersive picture of Florentine life, and certain events are similarly well told. 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. However, I do think the book felt formulaic after a while. Each chapter was, "Here's this generation's patriarch. This is how he made his money. He married this woman. He arranged these marriages for his sisters and children. These are the wars he got involved in. He patronized the arts in this way. He died." I wanted more. A deeper delve. Which I realize isn't really possible with this much history and that it would serve me better to discover if there are books out there just about the specific Medicis I found most interesting. 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. 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.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. So on the whole, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, even though it doesn't go as deeply as I would prefer. 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. This a hard one to review, because for a certain type of reader "The Family Medici" is a very good read -- and I happen to be that kind of reader. Note: I haven't finished this book. I start to lose interest in Florence after the Medici become pawns of greater actors (after Guilio's siege), so I haven't read beyond this point. The political gravity shifts away from Florence here and events just become somewhat lesser.

Strathern does an excellent job of writing a popular history in a way that is simultaneously engaging and informative. I feel like I have a much better understand of the Medici than I did previously. It is an excellent popular history to introduce centuries of a fascinating family.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. Lorenzo wins the battle of dynasties and survives the Pazzi conspiracy led by Jacopo de'Pazzi (played brilliantly by Sean Bean in the television series) largely because of the connection and relationship he has with the people of Florence. He is noted for his kindness, fair-mindedness, and highly regarded principles. Nevertheless Lorenzo's punishment of the Pazzi family and its supporters (including an archbishop) for having killed his brother and for the attempted murder on his life, earned him the wrath of the Holy See and so Florence was put under interdict, but with little effect.

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. The book also provides a view of the exercise of power among the States of Europe from the Mediaeval to the Early Modern Era. There is a cavalcade of political machinations, assassinations, arranged marriages, war and disputes over precedence and rank. Other than Florence, Rome is the city that features the most. A testament to the Eternal City's importance to the political manoeuvres of Europe's dynasties. 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.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 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. 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.

The book started off wonderfully. I was truly gripped by the prologue, detailing the siege mentioned above and how it progressed. This set up extraordinary hopes, which honestly weren't quite fulfilled by what came next. I се случват малко интересни и заслужаващи споменаване факти, като сред тях е присъствието на Галилео Галилей, забележителен математик и астроном, музеят му във Флоренция е събрал невероятна колекция от научни открития променили света. 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.In some ways (in strange ways, for that matter), this book came across homophobic and in some instances, anti-religion. Neither are things I would have expected to deal with when reading about Renaissance Italy or Florence in particular, which was a haven of artists, many of whom we would now place somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Michelangelo was given the worst treatment in this regard because he was looked down upon by the author for being both homosexual and highly religious. Aspects and "flaws" of his character, as well as of other big names like Leonardo, Donatello, and members of the Medici family itself, were explained by their sexuality being "abnormal." Anyone who has more than a passing knowledge of/interest in European History will have heard of the Medici family, although I am ashamed to admit that I was unaware of just how long they had their hands on the reins of Florentine (and wider) society. Hollingsworth has a writing style that is relatively easy to follow, and the layout of the book, giving each generation its own chapter (with a brief overview as part of the chapter heading) is a nice touch. 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. The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance" tells the story of Medici, from the family's early days to the last Medici ruler of Florence. Inevitably, Medici's story is also the story of Florence, Renaissance and lots of fascinating characters with whom Medici interacted, from Donatello, Brunelleschi, Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo to Benvenuto Cellini, Giorgio Vasari and Galileo Galilei, to name just a few.