In Unger’s sweeping account supported by assiduous research enhanced by numerous notes that add detail to the narrative we witness a figure who strides alongside the most important historical figures of the period throughout Europe. The author is correct to apply this dichotomy to the life, character and policies implemented by Lorenzo. Unger describes a city of contrasts pitting artistic beauty and poverty. Unger’s superb biography, MAGNIFICO: THE BRILLIANT LIFE AND VIOLENT TIMES OF LORENZO DE’ MEDICI which argues that the Florentine leader was able to navigate the Italian city-states and Papal states surviving Papal, domestic Florentine, and other external plots by a Pope, a king, and a duke by employing his charm and diplomatic skill augmented by the occasional use of violence to preside over Florence, a city-state that supported and exhibited artistic brilliance in addition to the squalor of the city’s poor. It piqued my interest in one of the most important figures of the Renaissance, Lorenzo de’ Medici the subject of Miles J. For the last few nights, my wife and I have binged Netflix’s Medici series.* It brought me back to Garrett Mattingly’s classic, RENAISSANCE DIPLOMACY which argued that the relationship and machinations between Italian city-states was a microcosm of the 20 th century in terms of actions resulting in numerous wars and plots.
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