Rise And Fall Of The House Of Medici [Paperback]

 

 

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This excellent book is a complete history of the Medici family and their considerable input to the Renaissance.
Part I (-1462), after giving brief details of Giovanni de' Medici, really opens up with Cosimo and takes great pains (perhaps biased) to stress his image as a political player who ousts the ruling Albizzi family from Florence just after 1433. The author is careful to indicate his belief that Cosimo de' Medici exhibited a shrewdness of political character, the first private citizen since the Fall of Rome to exercise kingly authority from a place in the shadows. Fundamentally, Cosimo exercised major influence over all the major secular and temporal figures in Italy. The book then details Cosimo's 'dabbling' with the doctrinal conferences between Constantinople and Rome and gives a summary of his political domination for thirty-odd years. Once Cosimo was established as the paternoster of Florence (and therefore Italy), the book moves on to discuss his architectural patronage There is discussion (indeed as there is of most of the artists patronaged by the Medici throughout the book) of both Ghiberti and Brunelleschi. The book deals with Cosimo's involvement in war, particularly with the establishment of Sforza as Duke of Milan, at the time in major opposition to European power-brokering. There is a brief intro on his sons Giovanni (who dies from an obesity related illness) to Piero. Hibbert leaves us with a lasting impression of an almost 'saintly' man who's brilliant business acumen made him the greatest man of commerce in history.
Part II (1464-1492) opens with Piero de' Medici and his problems with Niccolo Soderini. By 1467 his ascendancy was assured and we continue on the trail of munificence with Piero's patronage of Botticelli et al. Part II is mainly devoted to Lorenzo. The author gives us a fairly complete physical and character description (all these can be backed up by the centre plates with various paintings and busts). The generosity of the Medici espoused here emphasizes that, like all empires up to the 16th century, they tended to be founded around single brilliant men (Cosimo, in this case) who then left a legacy. Hibbert shows us several other key moments. The massacre at Volterra, the assassination of Guiliano de' Medici by the Pazzi family, Florence's 'en masse' excommunication, Lorenzo peace treaty with Naples in 1479 and finally his early death in 1492.
Part III (1492 - 1537) starts with Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici. A petulant man, the other figure on the scene at the time was Fra Giralomo Savaronola (a major figure in Eliot's 'Romola'). Hibbert devotes a lot of time to this man, the priest of San Marco from 1489, who was convinced of his prophetical skills. Charles VIII of France invasion in 1494 plunged the Medici back into European politics with Piero negotiating a Florentine surrender. At this point serious divisions in the Medici family manifested themselves with his cousins actively siding with Charles VIII. Savaronola's execution came too late for the Medici and they were outcast from Florence. Piero died in 1503 and his brother Giovanni became Rome's youngest Cardinal at 16. Spain invasion of Italy and sack of Prato led to the restoration of the Medici and 6 months later Giovanni became Pope Leo X. Like most Popes of the time he looked after his family's interests, wanting to turn Italy into one Medici-governed state. He managed to spend more excessively than any former member of his family, draining papal treasury reserves until his death. It just before this the Medici family suffered a crisis of a different sort. The death of Leo X's nephew, Lorenzo de' Medici meant a lack of legitimate heirs. It is at this point we hear of a female Medici - Caterina - assuming prominence. After the German sack of Rome in 1527 Florence turned against the Pope who was seeking with Charles V to restore the Medici. The Prince of Orange's army forced a Florentine surrender and Alessandro de' Medici was sent by the Pope to govern her. His murder by Lorenzaccio de' Medici who seems to have indulged the Medici family prediliction for excess, meant the ascension of Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici rule the family.
In Part IV (1537 - 1743) Hibbert covers a period three times as long as the preceding sections. He begins with Duke Cosimo I and ends with Anna Maria. Cosimo I brought the Medici back into some order and restored Florence, He became a Grand Duke under Pius V in 1569. Of his five sons, Francesco rose to prominence after the death of Cosimo's wife, Maria in 1564. Hibbert moves on to Grand Duke Fernando I in 1587. Again the Medici are famous for their pagentry and courting of European nobility. In 1690 Cosimo II succeeded and unbelievably increased the family reputation for lavishness. He was a patron of Gallileo. In 1642 Fernando II took over and attempted to keep the Medici out of politics. Hibbert devotes considerable time to his son's (Cosimo III) problematic marriage to Marguerite-Louise d'Orleans. In fact, this is really the only topic concerning Cosimo III. His son, the Grand Prince Ferdinand turned out to be a disappointment. In fact, what undid the Medici was that no heirs could be produced.The invasion of Austria meant that Anna Maria, Cosimo's surviving daughter was permitted to live out her life. She died in 1743.
To conclude, Hibbert book is enormously refreshing to read and he moves through the three hundred years of the Medici with an almost Suetonius-esque alacrity. What he demonstrates is an 'empire' that is built from one man's banking genius into an Italian dynasty. The Medici's patronage of the arts permitted the Renaissance and they irredeemably changed the course of European history. This book is a must-read for anyone wanting a general history of both the Medici and the Italian Renaissance.

A popular overview of the Medici dynasty. It's readable, and serves well as a starting point for learning about the Medicis.
There is an index, but no bibliography, and the Notes section deals almost exclusively with buildings and artworks associated with the Medicis. The Medici entry in the Encyclopaedia Britannica is as complete as Hibbert's book, and I would recommend it as strongly as I would Hibbert.

A well-written, level look at a fascinating historical dynasty, whose early members knew and supported some of the shining lights of western civilization (or maybe any civilization):
Brunelleschi, Michelozzo, Donatello, Fra Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Pico della Mirandola, and Leonardo da Vinci. Whew! Course, one could ask, "If it hadn't been for the Catholic Church, what would these people have done?" It was a decadent society, suffering from too much inbreeding and its attendant fertility problems, and too many arranged marriages with partners whose faces looked like shovels and whose personalities were dug out of the Staten Island landfill. The mendacity of the Church simply amazes. One can easily understand why the Reformation spread like wildfire. How the Catholic Church survived is less obvious. ...

Hibbert says on p.122 that Lorenzo de' Medici commissioned Andrea del Sarto to paint frescoes. Lorenzo died in 1492. Del Sarto was born in 1486 (The Reader's Encyclopedia).
How could this be?

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3.0 out of 5 stars Depends on what you are looking for
Hibbert does a very good job in providing a really antiseptic, dispassionate, unbiased view of the life and times of the Medici largely from the perspective of empire building and... Read more

Published on Dec 26 2001 by wiseprof

4.0 out of 5 stars High quality popular history
This talented author of a long list of popular histories does an excellent job of telling the story of one of the most fascinating families in European history. Read more

Published on Aug 1 2001 by Michael K. Smith

3.0 out of 5 stars Details, details
This was an excellent book in many ways. The reader comes away with an understanding of just how influential the Medici were. Read more

Published on Jun 30 2001 by Judith A. Barton

5.0 out of 5 stars Page Turning Renaissance Suspense
Christopher Hibbert does a fine job of putting into perspective the importance of the Medici family in the Golden Age of Florence. Read more

Published on Aug 21 2000

3.0 out of 5 stars Great read, but a couple of flaws reduce its value.
A wonderful story, fascinating and well written, the tale of the founders, insofar as any one family can be so called, of the Renaissence. Read more

Published on Aug 19 2000 by Elsie Wilson

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Readable and Enjoyable History!
Christopher Hibbert is a rare history writer. Hibbert writes about some tough topics in history and makes them very interesting. Read more

Published on Aug 18 2000 by Shogun Len

4.0 out of 5 stars Read it before you go to Florence
Wandering the streets and piazzas of Florence and Fiesole would have been much more meaningful for me had I read this book before I visited. Read more

Published on July 1 2000 by David Sims

4.0 out of 5 stars Read it before you go to Florence
Wandering the streets and piazzas of Florence and Fiesole would have been much more meaningful for me had I read this book before I visited. Read more

Published on July 1 2000 by David Sims

1.0 out of 5 stars Read this too!
I tried once before to submit a review of this book. I don't see it today, so I'll try again. This book is not that great in one respect: History has changed a lot in the last... Read more

Published on May 26 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Italian Renaissance history? This book is for you.
A very well-contructed, detail-oriented essay on the most powerful ruling class family during the explosive period Giorgio Vasari called the Renaissance, meaning... Read more

Published on Mar 28 2000

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