Church and Politics in Renaissance Italy
The Life and Career of Cardinal Francesco Soderini, 1453–1524

A detailed look at the public and private worlds of a leading Italian Renaissance cardinal.

K. J. P. Lowe (Author)

9780521529358, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 5 September 2002

332 pages, 10 b/w illus. 2 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.527 kg

This book examines the life of Cardinal Francesco Soderini (1453–1524) from a variety of perspectives and using a range of techniques. It analyses the relationship between Machiavelli, Piero and Francesco Soderini, and reinstates the crucial role played by Rome and contacts with Rome in late fifteenth-century and early sixteenth-century Florentine politics. Soderini's position as one of the chief powerbrokers of papal Rome, in opposition to the Medici, enables a reappraisal of political and ecclesiastical patronage and clientele systems. The cardinal also encouraged cultural, intellectual and building activities. Overall, through the book's collation of archival sources in and outside Italy, a new vision emerges of the lifestyle and activities of a learned and politically astute Italian cardinal.

List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Genealogical tables
Introduction
Part I. Preparation for Power: Soderini's Florentine Background and Early Career: 1. Soderini's early years
2. Soderini as a servant of the Florentine state
Part II. The Cardinal as a Political Force, 1503–1513: 3. Soderini's elevation to the cardinalate
4. The Renaissance cardinalate and the concept of the political cardinal
5. A principal or a supporting role in Florentine politics?
6. Relations and rivalry between the Soderini and the Medici
7. The Soderini and the kings of France
Part III. New Times and Challenging Circumstances, 1513–1524: 8. The fortunes of the Soderini and family strategy in relation to Florentine, the Medici and France, 1513–17
9. The 'conspiracy' of 1517
10. Soderini as a disaffected cardinal in exile, 1517–21
11. Soderini opposition to the Medici in Florence and Rome, 1521–3
12. The 'conspiracy' of 1523 and its aftermath
13. Soderini's last days
Part IV. The Lifestyle of the Renaissance Cardinal: 14. Official duties in the curia: the conciliar, the ceremonial, the social
15. Soderini's ecclesiastical career: the accumulation and deployment of bishoprics and benefices
16. Palaces and other property
17. Private and personal possessions
18. Household and entourage
19. Financial resources: wealth, income, credit, loans and pawn
20. Intellectual life and the influence of humanism
21. In praise of Francesco Soderini: Battista Casali's funeral oration of 1524
Excursus: the portraits of Piero and Francesco Soderini
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]