How the Medici shaped the Renaissance

by William Landon

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Renaissance, Historical, Religion, Biography

Audiobook

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Melindam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

Part of "The great courses" lecture series and currently included for free in the Audible.com Plus catalogue.

A series of short lectures concentrating on the history of the Medici family inseparable from the history of Florence.

The information it offers is well-balanced (no white/black Medici myths, thankyouverymuch) and entertaining.

It is a really good appetizer if you want an overview, but not going into details too much given the time (6h 9m).

Recommended.

[jagodasbooks]

for uni

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rise (and fall, and rise, and... you get where I'm going with this) of the Medici in Florence and their influence on the Renaissance period is a quite fascinating subject, and Landon provides an excellent overview that is both informative and engaging.

[Olga Yolgina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good concise overview of the Medici history. Was a bit difficult to understand which Cosimi is which )))

[Christian Okoye · Rating 4 out of 5]

How the Medici Shaped the Renaissance is an engaging and accessible journey into one of history’s most influential families. The author paints a vivid picture of the Medici rise, from humble bankers in Florence to the true power brokers of Renaissance Europe, through the lens of individual ambition, intellect, and legacy.

What makes this book stand out is its balance of detail and clarity. Each key figure, Cosimo the Elder’s quiet cunning, Lorenzo “the Magnificent’s” flair for art and politics, and Catherine de’ Medici’s shrewd statesmanship is explored in a way that feels both intimate and historically grounded.

You’re not just reading about the history, you’re watching it take shape through personality, vision, and the art of influence.

It’s a captivating introduction to how one family transformed not only Florence but the cultural direction of an entire era. For anyone curious about how art, politics, and ambition intertwined to create the Renaissance we still admire today, this is a book worth reading.

Highly recommended, a perfect entry point into the fascinating world of the Medici.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

These lectures from The Great Courses provide a very good survey of a fascinating family from Tuscany, Italy...Florence! If you are planning a visit to this wonderful city, these lectures will allow you to more fully understand that city's history and struggles with Medieval politics and intrigue. Other reviewers have noted that the Medici names are confusing, but the audio lectures do have a very good guidebook (PDF format) that helps clear up a lot of confusion.
Again, this is a survey course...the details of the Medici family through history make for a very, very long novel!
Highly recommended for those interested in Florence history!

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of the "Great Courses" audiobooks that I've listened to. It was an informative and easy to understand introduction to the Medici family and Renaissance period broadly. I appreciated the frequent interjections to explain particular concepts or phrases which gave context. My main complaint was that it didn't have as much focus on the more interesting figures - likely just a result of the format and level of the course. Overall pretty solidly enjoyable.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to these lectures on the train. They were informative and enjoyable, with some of the Medici having more interesting backgrounds than others. I got a little confused in the tenth lecture, there were so many city-states warring with each other and so many lesser-known Medici involved, but otherwise it was a solid overview.

The lecturer is from my alma mater, but I wasn’t a history major, so I never was fortunate enough to attend one of his courses.

[Bethany Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

After spending time in Italy, I realize how influential certain families were on not just Italian history & culture but world history & culture. This 6-hour audio book was packed with interesting information, but the depth of history and roster of names requires actually reading the book (and possibly taking notes!) to fully comprehend the family tree. Wonderful insights though!

#reading #books #medici #florence #italy #history #culture

[Ryan Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really, this is just a basic history of the Medici of Florence. That was fine. What's weird is the title—it makes you think there's going to be a real argument to this series, but while the Renaissance and Medici patronage were mentioned a few times, the series does not live up to the title—it makes me think the title was drawn up by some marketing guy just to try to increase sales. Whatever. I learned a few things, especially about the later Medici.

[Mary A · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting overview of the fortunes of the Medici family and their influence on art, science, politics, the papacy, war and the general day to day lives of tens of thousands of Florentine citizens.
It was somewhat confusing about who was who, until I realised an illustrated family tree was provided with the audiobook. (A large number of them were named Cosimo, Lorenzo and Giuliano!)

[Clare Kirwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 A brisk, informative overview of the Medici family, focussing particularly on their influence on Renaissance Europe and the turbulent history of the city of Florence. This is an audiobook presented in a series of lectures and was a great introduction to a country and era I know very little about.

[Deirdre E Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an adherent of the Renaissance, student of history, philosophy, life and theology, this great courses series focuses on the Medici and their affect on 15th century Europe .
The lectures are jam packed with informative factuality from the learning mind, teaching words and narration of William Landon, thank you very much (-:

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating time in history, with this particular point of view having circles of influence around Florence and the Medici family. Having anecdotes or personal stories would have improved the telling, IMO, but it's still worth the listen.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

While excellently divided into consumable lessons, I found following history that isn’t a straight linear shot and filled with people who have the same set of names every other generation to be rather difficult. I think this material is better with some visual elements instead of an audiobook.

[Britt Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great course by William Landon! I only knew a few tad bits of information about the Medici, so this course gave me a wealth of knowledge. They weren’t a horrendous family, and did everything they could for the good of Florence. Very well done course.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started well but got a little muddled as it went on. The Medici fondness for repeatedly using the same names did not help.

[JanaT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concentrates solely on a limited segment of Renaissance as well as Medici.

[Tom Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent audio lectures

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but I didn't enjoy the lectures as much as the content of other Great Courses presentations. Maybe it was the narrator?

[MJ Cahill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of Italian renaissance

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great listen

Was much more interesting than I imagined, I really learned a lot. Added so much context to my Florence experience.