{"product_id":"jews-and-magic-in-medici-florence-the-secret-world-of-benedetto-blanis-paperback-softback-9781442613331","title":"Jews and Magic in Medici Florence; The Secret World of Benedetto Blanis (Paperback \/ softback) 9781442613331","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eJews and Magic in Medici Florence\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eThe Secret World of Benedetto Blanis\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eEdward L. Goldberg (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781442613331\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 6 August 2011\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e366 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.5 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e‘Goldberg has sifted the correspondence between Blanis and Don Giovanni, rich with two hundred letters, plus other archival sources, in order to deduce a new image of Counter Reformation Tuscany.’ - Giulio Busi, \u003cem\u003eIl Sole 24 Ore, 16 October 2011\u003c\/em\u003e ‘Goldberg has sifted the correspondence between Blanis and Don Giovanni, rich with two hundred letters, plus other archival sources, in order to deduce a new image of Counter Reformation Tuscany. ’ - Giulio Busi; \u003ci\u003eStoria Moderna: October 2011\u003c\/i\u003e ‘ Never a dull read, this book provides fine background to the Jews of that region… Recommended for college libraries with Jewish or European history collections.’ - Hallie Cantor (Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter vol 02:01:2012) \u003cp\u003e‘These are two fascinating books…. Edward Goldberg presents us with an excellent edition of the letters of Blains and a monograph on this enigmatic Jew… the two books are a  treasure trove of knowledge and details as well as a look into the fascinating era of the late Renaissance and the \u003cem\u003edei\u003c\/em\u003e Medici period.’\u003c\/p\u003e - Giuseppe Veltri (Renaissance Quarterly vol 67:03:2014) \u003cp\u003e‘Edward Goldberg’s fascinating and compulsively readable study of Benedetto Blains, is all the more remarkable for the vividness with which he is able to reconstitute the life and thought of this ambitious and troubled man.’\u003c\/p\u003e - Michael Keefer (Renaissance and Reformation vol 37:01:2014)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the seventeenth century, Florence was the splendid capital of the Medici Grand Dukedom of Tuscany. Meanwhile, the Jews in its tiny Ghetto struggled to earn a living by any possible means, especially loan-sharking, rag-picking and second-hand dealing. They were viewed as an uncanny people with rare supernatural powers, and Benedetto Blanis-a businessman and aspiring scholar from a distinguished Ghetto dynasty-sought to parlay his alleged mastery of astrology, alchemy and Kabbalah into a grand position at the Medici Court. He won the patronage of Don Giovanni dei Medici, a scion of the ruling family, and for six tumultuous years their lives were inextricably linked.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEdward Goldberg reveals the dramas of daily life behind the scenes in the Pitti Palace and in the narrow byways of the Florentine Ghetto, using thousands of new documents from the Medici Granducal Archive. He shows that truth-especially historical truth-can be stranger than fiction, when viewed through the eyes of the people most immediately involved.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eIllustration Credits \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eNotes on Sources\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe Blanis Family\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e CHAPTER ONE  \u003cstrong\u003eThe Piazza\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCHAPTER TWO  \u003cstrong\u003eThe Palace\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eThe Medici Family – Palazzo Pitti – Don Giovanni dei Medici – Benedetto Blanis at Court \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e CHAPTER THREE \u003cstrong\u003eThe Ghetto \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Benedetto at Home – The Blanis Family – The Creation of the Ghetto – Segregation, Conversation, and Confusion – Ghetto Government – Benedetto’s Neighbours\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e CHAPTER FOUR \u003cstrong\u003eThe Synagogue \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The Synagogue as It Was – On the Bench – Men of Authority – Quarrels and Dissension – Italians and Levantines\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e CHAPTER FIVE  \u003cstrong\u003eMemory and Survival\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Jewish Year – Home and Family – Observance – Justice and Commandments\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e CHAPTER SIX  \u003cstrong\u003eThe Market \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Shopping – Market and Ghetto – Blanis and Sons – Stolen Goods – Scrocchi Barocchi – Rich Jews\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e CHAPTER SEVEN  \u003cstrong\u003eKnowledge and Power\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Books – Tree of Kabbalah – Medicean Planets – Silver, Gold, and Grappa – The Fish Pond\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCHAPTER EIGHT \u003cstrong\u003eGames of Chance  \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Porta al Prato – Risky Business – Jew Made Christian\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e CHAPTER NINE  \u003cstrong\u003eThe Mirror of Truth \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e On the Road – Venice – The Mirror of Truth – At Home with Livia and Don Giovanni – Fire at the Fair – Florence\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e CHAPTER TEN   \u003cstrong\u003eThe Magic Circle\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Fellow Travellers – The Late Cosimo Ridolfi – The Workshop – The Apprentice\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCHAPTER ELEVEN \u003cstrong\u003eCurious and Forbidden Books\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Passover and Easter – Days of Scruples – Holy Cross – Bad Jew – Business as Usual (I) – Divine Favours – Jews and Converts – Business as Usual (II)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e CHAPTER TWELVE \u003cstrong\u003ePrison \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Misery and Woe – Beginning of the End – Cosmic Battle – Out of Sight and out of Mind\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCHAPTER THIRTEEN  \u003cstrong\u003eHabeas Corpus?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eBibliography\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eIndex\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Toronto Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52670833393944,"sku":"9781442613331","price":24.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/jews-and-magic-in-medici-florence-the-secret-world-of-benedetto-blanis-paperback-softback-9781442613331","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}