The Medici [2003] – ★★★★1/2

The Medici. No other family in history stirs the imagination as much while, at the same time, inducing so many contradictory feelings—awe, amazement, trepidation. One of the most powerful and influential families in history, the Medici ascended from banking experts to the height of papal rule and European royalty, an astounding achievement. Their contribution to the Renaissance movement was unparalleled. Based in Florence, then an independent republic, they were overseeing the works and being behind the scenes of most major Renaissance projects, from Brunelleschi’s Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore to Michelangelo’s fresco The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel, influencing and/or providing finance to such major Renaissance figures as Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei, and others. Paul Strathern’s book traces the family’s ascend and fall, zooming in and out of major events that shaped the course of Italian and European history. This non-fiction laces historical information with interesting trivia, being an almost perfect blend of insight and entertainment.

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