Understanding the

Soap Opera:

Machiavelli’s

Florence

Mr. Phillip Olt

March-April 2010

Europe in 1519

ITALY IN 1494

The players

• Niccolo’ Machiavelli- Politician, Political Advisor, and Philosopher in Renaissance Florence (Italy)

• The Prince was Stalin’s favorite book and kept at his bedside for the duration of his political career.

• Albizzi Family- Opponents of the Medici in Florence

• Rinaldo- Exiled Cosimo de’ Medici in 1433

• Sforza Family- Opponents of the Medici from outside Florence; ruled in nearby warring Milan

• Caterina Sforza (“lady of Forli”)- Had illegitimate children with Giovanni de’ Medici (Grandmother of Cosimo; later descendents included Henry IV [ King of France] and Charles I & II [ Kings of England])

• She was the first person to hire Machiavelli

The players (cont.)

• The Medici Family- The most powerful family in Italy in the 1400s and early 1500s; controlled politics and banking.

• For Machiavelli’s role in the government while the Medici’s were exiled, he was arrested and tortured for about 4 years by Lorenzo II

• Cosimo de’ Medici- Prominent leader during the war between Florence and Lucca; founder of the Medici Dynasty

• Lorenzo, Il Magnifico- The greatest ruler of the Florentine Republic

• Lorenzo II de’ Medici- Ruled Florence from 1513 until 1519 when he died of syphilis

The players (cont.)

• Charles VIII of France- Invaded Florence in 1494 and

deposed the Medici family

• Savonarola- Catholic priest who ruled after the Medici

from 1493-98; attempted to establish a militant,

fundamentalist Catholic state; known for burning

books and art because it was “worldly”; was executed

in 1498 by the state of Florence for being a ridiculously

bad leader; became a lasting symbol of wicked

leadership

The church players

• Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84)- Financer of an assassination

attempt on Lorenzo, Il Magnifico

• Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503)- Fathered 4 children

by a mistress; known for violence, assassinations, and

worldly excesses.

• Cesare Borgia- His father (Pope Alexander VI) made

him Bishop of Pamplona at age 15 and a Cardinal at

age 18; assassinated his older brother Giovanni; his

brothe Jofre’s wife was his mistress; defected the

church and Italian politics to become a French duke.

The church players

(cont.)

• Pope Julius II (1503-1513)- “The Terrible Pope” or

“The Warrior Pope”; fought the Borgia clan (Pope

Alexander VI and Cesare); built an army and fought

many city-states to extort money from them.

Savonarola

The Medici

Cosimo

Lorenzo,

Il Magnifico

Lorenzo II

Popes

Julius II Sixtus IV Alexander VI

Cesare borgia