The History of Italy

by Francesco Guicciardini

Book Overview

In 1537 Francesco Guicciardini, adviser and confidant to three popes, governor of several central Italian states, ambassador, administrator, military captain--and persona non grata with the ruling... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B00NEQSO2I
• Release Date: January 1969
• Publisher: Collier-Macmillan Ltd
• Length: 1534 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The High Renaissance And You Are There

This is an extraordinary book, on many levels. It is a concise abridgement of a much longer work and a fine, readable translation of the original 16th century Italian. More importantly, the substance is priceless. This is nothing less than a guided tour of the amazing events of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, from a clear-eyed, surprisingly objective reporter who knows whereof he speaks. Guicciardini was, among other things, Machiavelli's assistant and an adviser to popes. Writing from the vantage point of his personal observation of the events of his lifetime, he discusses: the Medici, the building of the dome of St. Peter's for the jubilee of 1500, the related sale of indulgences, the ensuing "Lutheran heresy," the discovery of the new world, Henry VIII's divorce and the ensuing separation of the Church of England, and the arrival of syphillis in Europe, among other topics. Be warned that it is dense material, but it is worth the effort.