Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici » (Reprint)

Miles J. Unger is an art historian and journalist. Formerly the managing editor of Art New England, he is currently a contributing writer to The New York Times. He is the author of The Watercolors of Winslow Homer and Magnifico: the Brilliant life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici.

Magnifico is a vividly colorful portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici, the uncrowned ruler of Florence during its golden age. A true "Renaissance man," Lorenzo dazzled contemporaries with his prodigious talents and magnetic personality. Known to history as Il Magnifico ( the Magnificent), Lorenzo was not only the foremost patron of his day but also a renowned poet, equally adept at composing philosophical verses and obscene rhymes to be sung at Carnival. He befriended the greatest artists and writers of the time Leonardo, Botticelli, Poliziano, and, especially, Michelangelo, whom he discovered as a young boy and invited to live at his place turning Florence into the cultural capital of Europe. He was the leading statesman of the age, the fulcrum of Italy, but also a cunning and ruthless political operative. Miles Unger's biography of this complex figure draws on primary research in Italian sources and on his intimate knowledge of Florence, where he lived for several years.

Lorenzo's grandfather Cosimo had converted the vast wealth of the family bank into political power, but from his earliest days Lorenzo's position was precarious. Bitter rivalries among the leading Florentine families and competition among the squabbling Italian states meant that Lorenzo's life was under constant threat. Those who plotted his death included a pope, a king, and a duke, but Lorenzo used his legendary charm and diplomatic skill as well as occasional acts of violence to navigate the murderous labyrinth of Italian politics. Against all odds he managed not only to survive but to preside over one of the great moments in the history of civilization.

Florence is the age of Lorenzo was a city of contrasts, of unparalleled artistic brillance and inimaginable squalor in the city's crowded tenements; of both pagan excess and the fire-and-brimstone sermons of the Dominican preacher Savonarola. Florence gave birth to both the otherworldly perfection of Botticelli's Primavera and the gritty realism of Machiavelli's The Prince. Nowhere was this world of contrasts more perfectly embodied than in the life and character of the man who ruled this most fascinating city.

Publishers Weekly

Although a well-mined biography topic, the Medici dynasty continues to fascinate, and critic Unger (The Watercolors of Winslow Homer) offers a smart, highly readable and abundantly researched book, making particularly good use of Medici family letters and earlier biographical sources such as Machiavelli's writings. Heir to a vast international banking empire and trading cartel with branches in Venice, London and Geneva, Lorenzo de' Medici (1449-1492) was born to rule. Naturally sociable and charismatic with a common touch, famous temper and cynical world view, the teenaged Lorenzo excelled in classics, riding, arms, archery and music. He pursued liaisons with both women and men, represented his sickly father, Piero, on an important diplomatic mission and thwarted his father's enemies during a legendary ambush. His accomplishments do not stop there: as Florence's de facto ruler, Lorenzo actively collaborated with the artist Botticelli, was a master tactician and diplomat, and survived a papal-sanctioned assassination attempt that claimed the life of his beloved brother. Renaissance Florence-where wealthy aristocrats rubbed shoulders with the poor on narrow city streets and whose art and intellectual life dazzled Europe-is itself an intriguing character, proving Unger's mastery over his facts. Illus. (May)

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List of Illustrations

Maps

I The Road from Careggi 1

II Family Portrait 21

III Master of Ceremony 49

IV Hope of the City 75

V Devil's Paradise 89

VI Games of Fortune 111

VII Lord of the Joust 129

VIII A Wedding and a Funeral 157

IX Master of the Shop 177

X Fat Victory 197

XI Domestic Tranquillity 211

XII The Shadow of Rome 233

XIII Under the Sign of Mars 253

XIV Conspiracy 267

XV Murder in the Cathedral 291

XVI The Bloodstained Pavement 313

XVII Neapolitan Gambit 329

XVIII The Shadow Lifts 353

XIX The Garden and the Grove 381

XX The Cardinal and the Preacher 407

Epilogue: The Spirit in the Ring 439

Medici Family Tree 451

Note on the Government of Florence in the Age of Lorenzo 453

Notes 457

Bibliography 487

Index 499