
THE TRAGEDIES OF THE MEDICI - By Edgcumbe Staley - Author Of “The Guilds Of Florence,” “Raphael,” “Fra Angelico,” Etc.
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
THE TRAGEDIES OF THE MEDICI
CHAPTER I — The Pazzi Conspiracy — Lorenzo, “Il Magnifico” — Giuliano, “Il Pensieroso”.
CHAPTER II — The First Tyrannicide — Ippolito, “Il Cardinale” — Alessandro, “Il Negro” — Lorenzino, “Il Terribile”.
CHAPTER III — A Father’s Vengeance — Maria, Giovanni, and Garzia de’Medici — Malatesta de’ Malatesti
CHAPTER IV — Three Murdered Princesses—Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara and Creole de’ Contrari — Eleanora Garzia, wife of Piero de Medici, Alessandro Gaci, and Bernardino degl’ Antinori — Isabella, Duchess of Bracciano — Troilo d’Orsini and Lelio Torello.
CHAPTER V — True and False Lovers — Francesco, “Il Virtuoso” — Bianca Cappello, “La Figlia di Venezia” — Pietro Buonaventuri — Cassandra de’Borghiani — Pellegrina Buonaventuri, wife of Ulisse Bentivoglio — Antonio Riario.
CHAPTER VI — Pathetic Victims of Fateful Passion — Eleanora degli Albizzi and Sforza Almeni — Cammilla de’ Martelli — Virginia de’ Medici e d’Este — Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici.
The work opens by tracing the shadowy beginnings of a family that would later dominate Renaissance Florence. Drawing on scattered medieval records, the author reconstructs the lives of humble ancestors—farmers, healers, and early craftsmen—who sowed the roots of the Medici legacy. Rather than a dry chronicle, the narrative weaves factual detail with vivid storytelling, filling gaps with plausible scenes that bring the era to life.
In the first act, listeners meet characters such as the honest bonds‑man Chiarissimo and his resourceful wife, whose simple remedies earned them a reputation in a war‑torn valley. The book’s unique features—a chronological chart of misfortunes, carefully selected illustrations, and a thorough bibliography—help map the rise and early tragedies of the clan. This approach offers an engaging portrait of how ambition, talent, and circumstance began to shape a dynasty that would later rule art, politics, and finance.
Language
en
Duration
~7 hours (427K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Etext produced by Charles Aldarondo, Linda Cantoni and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team HTML file produced by David Widger
Release date
2004-01-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1845–1903
Known for lively history books on Renaissance Italy and European courts, this British writer turned dense archival material into dramatic stories of families, cities, and power. His work ranges from Florence and Venice to studies of painters and noble households.
View all books
by Edgcumbe Staley

by Edgcumbe Staley

by Edgcumbe Staley

by Aurora Mardiganian

by Dan Breen

by comte de Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonné Las Cases

by comte de Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonné Las Cases

by Mariia Bochkareva, Isaac Don Levine