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The Medici
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
480 pages, Paperback
Published June 9, 2022
About the author
Mary Hollingsworth
139 books18 followersMary Hollingsworth is the author of more than one hundred books and has twenty-five years of experience in Christian publishing. She is a diligent Bible student, who provides a lighthearted but profound look at the life of grace and joy God intended us to live. She lives in Bedford, Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 19, 2025
Vår verden er mer bananas enn en hver roman klarer å fremstille. Noe av det siste de siste levende Mediciene gjør er å ha kakaodrevede cross-dressing ball/orgier.
Familien har vært midt i det meste som har skjedd i sør-Europa opp gjennom og særlig renessansen. Plutselig leser man at Dante hang med dem, så er det Raphael og Michelangelo, Machiavelli var rådgiver for en av dem og Galileo Galelei ble sterkt forsvart av en Medici da Vatikanet anklaget han for heresi fordi han beviste at jorda går rundt sola.
Superinteressant bok om noen slue, jævlige, maktsyke (og en veldig sjelden gang nesten ålreite) gigasnobber. Også om toppen av Europas samfunn som bare gjorde som de ville på bekostning av tusenvis, millioner av vanlige mennesker.
Familien har vært midt i det meste som har skjedd i sør-Europa opp gjennom og særlig renessansen. Plutselig leser man at Dante hang med dem, så er det Raphael og Michelangelo, Machiavelli var rådgiver for en av dem og Galileo Galelei ble sterkt forsvart av en Medici da Vatikanet anklaget han for heresi fordi han beviste at jorda går rundt sola.
Superinteressant bok om noen slue, jævlige, maktsyke (og en veldig sjelden gang nesten ålreite) gigasnobber. Også om toppen av Europas samfunn som bare gjorde som de ville på bekostning av tusenvis, millioner av vanlige mennesker.
June 2, 2026
Mary Hollingsworth book is an epic work of about 400 pages, with a Medici-family tree so as to understand the lineage, and crafted with beautiful images.
I read this book with interest, but I almost immediately put off by the back cover explanation
“… Hollingsworth argues that the idea that the Medici were wise rulers and enlightened fathers of the Renaissance is a fiction. In truth, she says, the Medici were as devious and immoral as the Borgias - tyrants loathed in the city they illegally made their own …”
My first reaction was that to compare the Borgia with the Medici was a stretch.
The Medici; Built a banking empire; Manipulated republican institutions; Bought influence; Practiced nepotism; Used political repression when threatened.
The Borgias: Acquired power through papal office.; Were repeatedly accused by contemporaries of assassination, poisoning, extortion, and military conquest on a different scale.
Hollingsworth seemed set to make The Medici as the unique villains of the Renaissance Florence, yet
The Medici competed against the Strozzi, Peruzzi, Alberti, Pazzi, and others. They all sought papal contracts. They all used influence. They all maneuvered politically. The Medici happened to win. And history is usually written by the winners.
The Pazzi conspiracy is a perfect example. Giuliano’s murder inside Florence Cathedral during Mass was not some noble republican uprising. It was a violent power grab supported by powerful interests, including elements around Pope Sixtus IV. If the Pazzi had succeeded completely and Lorenzo had died too, later historians might have written an entirely different story about the “tyrannical” Medici being overthrown by defenders of liberty.
Hollingsworth describes Lorenzo the Magnificent as spoiled and arrogant.
Was he arrogant? Almost certainly. How could he not be? As you say, he grew up in a world where the greatest scholars, artists, diplomats, and poets came to him. He was effectively raised as Florentine royalty in a republic that pretended not to have princes. Arrogance would hardly be surprising.
But reducing Lorenzo to arrogance misses the larger point. Florence under Lorenzo became one of the intellectual capitals of Europe. He protected artists, supported humanist scholarship, and navigated Florence through extraordinarily dangerous political waters. One can acknowledge his flaws without pretending his achievements were accidental.
The same applies to Cosimo I. He was certainly authoritarian by modern standards. Yet he transformed Florence from a turbulent city-state into a stable grand duchy.
In the final page, Hollingsworth seemed to correct her views, and give them credit for the beautiful legacy they gifted us with.
My full review below.
http://aalex.blog/2026/06/02/the-medi...
I read this book with interest, but I almost immediately put off by the back cover explanation
“… Hollingsworth argues that the idea that the Medici were wise rulers and enlightened fathers of the Renaissance is a fiction. In truth, she says, the Medici were as devious and immoral as the Borgias - tyrants loathed in the city they illegally made their own …”
My first reaction was that to compare the Borgia with the Medici was a stretch.
The Medici; Built a banking empire; Manipulated republican institutions; Bought influence; Practiced nepotism; Used political repression when threatened.
The Borgias: Acquired power through papal office.; Were repeatedly accused by contemporaries of assassination, poisoning, extortion, and military conquest on a different scale.
Hollingsworth seemed set to make The Medici as the unique villains of the Renaissance Florence, yet
The Medici competed against the Strozzi, Peruzzi, Alberti, Pazzi, and others. They all sought papal contracts. They all used influence. They all maneuvered politically. The Medici happened to win. And history is usually written by the winners.
The Pazzi conspiracy is a perfect example. Giuliano’s murder inside Florence Cathedral during Mass was not some noble republican uprising. It was a violent power grab supported by powerful interests, including elements around Pope Sixtus IV. If the Pazzi had succeeded completely and Lorenzo had died too, later historians might have written an entirely different story about the “tyrannical” Medici being overthrown by defenders of liberty.
Hollingsworth describes Lorenzo the Magnificent as spoiled and arrogant.
Was he arrogant? Almost certainly. How could he not be? As you say, he grew up in a world where the greatest scholars, artists, diplomats, and poets came to him. He was effectively raised as Florentine royalty in a republic that pretended not to have princes. Arrogance would hardly be surprising.
But reducing Lorenzo to arrogance misses the larger point. Florence under Lorenzo became one of the intellectual capitals of Europe. He protected artists, supported humanist scholarship, and navigated Florence through extraordinarily dangerous political waters. One can acknowledge his flaws without pretending his achievements were accidental.
The same applies to Cosimo I. He was certainly authoritarian by modern standards. Yet he transformed Florence from a turbulent city-state into a stable grand duchy.
In the final page, Hollingsworth seemed to correct her views, and give them credit for the beautiful legacy they gifted us with.
My full review below.
http://aalex.blog/2026/06/02/the-medi...
August 15, 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as the story of one of the most interesting dynasties in Europe. It constantly kept me engaged and did much to summarise yet explain the family's story to me. Nevertheless, Hollingsworth's bias towards the Medici's felt slightly vague to me.
In early chapters she accuses them of not being Republicans, a practise in which they were certainly not the only ones. Later on she adresses debauchery, murder and economic mismanagement yet these don't come across as being on the same scale as the Borgia's she mentioned.
While her point is not extremely prevalent in the book, which makes it a nicer read, it also leaves me wondering where exactly she wanted to prove her point besides a mention here and there combining in one page at the end.
Overall very enjoyable though!
In early chapters she accuses them of not being Republicans, a practise in which they were certainly not the only ones. Later on she adresses debauchery, murder and economic mismanagement yet these don't come across as being on the same scale as the Borgia's she mentioned.
While her point is not extremely prevalent in the book, which makes it a nicer read, it also leaves me wondering where exactly she wanted to prove her point besides a mention here and there combining in one page at the end.
Overall very enjoyable though!
January 30, 2026
A phenomenal reference on the History of Florence and the Medici Family.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews