Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici and the Crisis of Renaissance Italy

Uses Piero de' Medici's life as a prism to throw new light on the crisis in Renaissance Italy that revolutionised culture and political thinking.

Alison Brown (Author)

9781108746571, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 September 2023

352 pages
27 x 18 x 2.3 cm, 0.587 kg

'This is an impressive monograph that fills a surprising gap in the historiography … It is archival sleuthing and research at its best. The book adds new nuance to this previously shadowy figure, and in doing so provides a stronger foundation for future studies on the politics of the Italian Peninsula, especially Florence, in the late Quattrocento.' Brian J. Maxson , H-Net

Following the life of one man, Piero de' Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent's son, Alison Brown sheds new light on several of the most important themes of Renaissance history and culture by combining political history, the history of ideas, and cultural history. This interdisciplinary study weaves together an understudied period of crisis in Italy which brought down three leading dynasties, the revolution that in turn led to the new political realism of writers like Machiavelli, Guicciardini and Francesco Vettori, and, finally, the transition from the civic culture of the early Renaissance to the courtly or princely culture of the Cinquecento. Focusing on Piero's full life and colourful character, Brown grants us a unique and contextualised insight into the patronage, culture and politics of Renaissance Italy whilst grounding broader trends within the lived experience of Florence's most famous ruling family.

Introduction
Part I. The Early Years: 1. Piero's childhood
2. Family backgrounds
3. Education under Poliziano's tutelage
4. Political tyro at home and abroad, 1484–86
5. Marrying into the Roman aristocracy, 1487–88
6. The choice of Hercules: between duty and pleasure, 1488–89
7. Piero as Lorenzo's deputy, 1490–91
Part II. Between Republicanism and Princely Rule: 8. Cultural patronage and sportsmanship
9. Ruling as patrons in Florence's dominium and beyond
Part III. Piero in Power: 10. Lorenzo's death and its aftermath, 1492
11. Balancing power in Italy, 1493
12. 'The Viper with its tail in Florence', 1493–94
13. The crux: 1494
14. The French Descent
15. Revolution in Florence
Part IV. Piero in Exile: 16. Perambulating Italy, 1494–97
17. 'Contamination in the labyrinth': networking in exile
18. The last years, 1498–1503
19. Piero's burial and legacy
Conclusion: 20. Power and legitimacy in Renaissance Italy.

Subject Areas: Political leaders & leadership [JPHL], Political ideologies [JPF], Social & cultural history [HBTB], European history [HBJD]