florence

"A novel set in Renaissance Italy, and centering on the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici"--Provided by publisher.

A charming, young English woman finds herself attracted to someone socially unsuitable and is forced to choose between convention and passion.

In Renaissance Florence, fourteen-year-old Emilia Serafini dreams of becoming a painter. Her quest is guided by her grandmother's legacy, a book of alchemy.

No face has ever captivated so many for so long. Every year more than nine million visitors trek to her portrait in the Louvre. Yet while everyone recognizes her smile, hardly anyone knows her story. This book rests on the premise that the woman in the Mona Lisa is indeed the person identified in its earliest description: Lisa Gherardini (1479-1542), wife of the Florence merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Descended from ancient nobles, she gave birth to six children and died at age sixty-three. Her life spanned the most tumultuous chapters in the history of Florence, decades of war, rebellion, invasion, siege, and conquest--and of the greatest artistic outpouring the world has ever seen. Her story creates an extraordinary tapestry of Renaissance Florence, inhabited by larger-than-legend figures such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli.

A comprehensive biography of Lorenzo de'Medici, Italian statesman and ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance.

Before they achieved renown as patrons of the arts and de facto rulers of Florence, the Medici family earned their fortune in banking. But even at the height of the Renaissance, charging interest of any kind meant running afoul of the Catholic Church?s ban on usury. Tim Parks reveals how the legendary Medicis?Cosimo and Lorenzo ?the Magnificent? in particular?used the diplomatic, military, and even metaphysical tools at hand, along with a healthy dose of intrigue and wit, to further their fortunes as well as their family?s standing.

Relates the experiences of novelist Douglas Preston and crime reporter Mario Spezi as they try to track down the Monster of Florence, a serial killer who targeted lovers parked in their cars.