Machiavelli in Context | Machiavelli’s Florence (Lecture 2)

Lecture 2: When people stroll around Florence even a bit, they are introduced to such Florentines as Brunelleschi, Donatello, and the Medici. Stepping into the church of Santa Croce, they see the tombs of Michelangelo, Dante (actually he is not in that tomb), Galileo, and Machiavelli. It is impossible not to be overwhelmed by the great Florentine geniuses who shaped Western thought.

What sort of place was Florence in the period we call the Renaissance? It was an oligarchical republic, and for much of the period after 1434, it was dominated by one family—the Medici. Florence was also a prosperous city, famous for its cloth and banking industries. It was an independent “nation” and, therefore, was constantly trying to gain advantage over its Italian neighbors, as well as deal with the great European monarchies.

Recommended Readings:
Articles by Nicolai Rubenstein, Elena Fasan Guarini, and Giovanni Silvano, in Machiavelli and Republicanism, Gisela Bock, Quentin Skinner, and Maurizio Viroli, et al., eds., pp. 3–70.