The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall

It was a dynasty with more wealth, passion, and power than the houses of Windsor, Kennedy, and Rockefeller combined. It shaped all of Europe and controlled politics, scientists, artists, and even popes, for three hundred years. It was the house of Medici, patrons of Botticelli, Michelangelo and Galileo, benefactors who turned Florence into a global power center, and then lost it all.

The House of Medici picks up where Barbara Tuchman's Hibbert delves into the lives of the Medici family, whose legacy of increasing self-indulgence and sexual dalliance eventually led to its self-destruction. With twenty-four pages of black-and-white illustrations, this timeless saga is one of Quill's strongest-selling paperbacks.

Christopher Hibbert, an Oxford graduate, has written more than fifty books, including Wellington: A Personal History, London: The Biography of a City, Redcoats and Rebels, and The Destruction of Lord Raglan. He lives with his family in Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, England.

They turned Florence into a global power center and brought light to the world with the Italian Renaissance. Then they lost it all. The Medici were a banking family with more wealth, power, and passion than any in history. Patrons of unknown artists and scientists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Galileo, the Medici influenced statesmen, builders, and even popes for more than three hundred years. The driving force behind the Renaissance, the Medici also perpetuated a legacy of self-in-dulgence and sexual dalliance that ultimately led to the inconceivable self-destruction of this amazing dynasty. Christopher Hibbert delves into the colorful lives of wily Cosimo 11 Vecchio, gifted Lorenzo, miserable Giulio, and many more. With dozens of illustrations, maps, a detailed index, and notes on Medici-influenced buildings and works of art, this is the compelling story of the family whose fame would endure long after their blood disappeared forever.

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