Its easy to be hypnotised by Florence’s Duomo’s facade when in a relatively short stroll away stands a true vision of history – the Basilica di San Lorenzo, once the city’s cathedral before the Duomo was built. Its facade is plain brick not the candy cane marble gracing the Duomo. However look beyond the unprepossessing exterior and step inside, to find an exquisitely elegant interior, some of the decorations come from later eras, but strip away the Rococo gilding and Baroque paint, and one sees the church’s beautiful Renaissance bones.
Aside from its artistic history, San Lorenzo is important for another reason: it was the parish church of the Medici clan, and sat at the heart of that part of the city they considered their own home turf. And if there is one name synonymous with all the glories of not just Florence, but the Renaissance as a whole, then that name is definitely “Medici.”
Much ink has been spilled about the Medicis, as historians, continue to sift through research on the family members and rehash and reframe what is already known about them. And why not? The Medicis are an excellent example of the classic “rags to riches” story beginning as humble merchants before rising to the very apex of European power with various members wearing ducal, royal, or papal crowns.
The Medicis were also famous as patrons of the best artistic and intellectual talent Italy had to offer, giving Florence a reputation for intellectualism and good taste. But for all that fame and fortune, only one member really stood out: the one everyone thinks of when one hears the name “Medici”. That person is Lorenzo de Medici, otherwise known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. And Miles J. Unger’s book titled MAGNIFICO: THE BRILLIANT LIFE AND VIOLENT TIMES OF LEONARDO DE MEDICI is a brilliant biography of a singularly brilliant man.
Unpredictability, Unger doesn’t begin with Lorenzo ‘s birth but starts with a picturesque image of the Tuscan countryside on a fine summer’s day. The image is akin to what lures as many travellers to Italy as do the ruins and museums. But the beauty masks a harsher reality. It is the day August 27, 1466 that Lorenzo de Medici is leading a small group of horsemen to the Medici villa at Careggi and is set upon by enemies of his family. He escapes not through force of arms, but through his intelligence and diplomatic skills. Unger foreshadows who Lorenzo would become in later years with this opening paragraph. This is the clear direction Unger takes to focus on Lorenzo’s role as one of the greatest statesman and diplomats of his time, as well as the troubles he had in those roles with Florence, and without.
The book has a remarkably lively tone, dry in parts but otherwise eminently readable. There’s a plethora of footnotes, that I surmise, is the author’s way of talking about interesting facts which have little to do with the book’s main content. The footnotes talk about everything from the realities of Florentine political power to speculation on the manoeuvring of ordinary citizens, to details regarding where certain places might be found–or not found, making the inclusions a boon or an irritant to the reader.
Beyond his stature as art patron, much of Lorenzo’s reputation related to his saviness as a politician and diplomat. He was a shrewd player of the deadly politics that dominated Italy during his lifetime, a game he played without military might of his own ( Florence had no standing army of its own resorting to hire mercenaries, if and when needed).
His title “Magnifico” wasn’t the result of his art collection or his wealth, which was dwindling as he wasn’t a good businessman, but for the respect with which he was held. This was testified by the loyalty of his people, an authority built over years of careful manoeuvring. Overall, the book delivers on what its title promises: a biography of a brilliant man who lived in dangerous times, with his brilliance necessary to his own survival, and the survival of his family and his city.
I like Unger’s tendency to ramble as it fleshes out the man, his time, making the book a lot of fun and an interesting read.
PS. The book includes a little known fact that Lorenzo was not only the foremost patron of his day but was also a renowned poet, equally adapt at composing philosophical verses as composing bawdy and obscene rhymes. He befriended Leonardo Di Vinci, Botticelli, Polziano and especially Michelangelo who ended up turning Florence into the cultural capital of Europe.
