The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall

I bought this book at the gift shop of the Medici Palace in 2022 while visiting Florence. Published in 1974, Hibbert tells the story of the rise and fall of the Medicis with style and compelling facts. The contrast between the early Medicis - focused on running their bank and quietly exerting influence - and the corrupt, indulgent later Medicis - is striking. It seems like the later Medicis largely coasted on their family reputation with little talent for business or affairs of state.

I also enjoyed reading about how Medici interacted with some of the great people of history like Galileo, Machiavelli, and many great artists like Michelangelo.

The book is filled with so many colourful stories that one almost imagines it is a story. The show more Papacy comes off in a poor light in this book in particular. Numerous Popes seem to be entirely concerned with personal glory, military conquest and making their relatives rich.

The book also added helpful context to the story of Henry VIII of England. I knew that he refused Henry's request mainly for political reasons (i.e. that Henry's wife Catherine was related to the Holy Roman Emperor). However, Hibbert points out that Italy - and Rome itself - had recently been saved by war. In the aftermath of that conflict, it's easy to see why the Pope (and others around him) would not have wanted to give another excuse for foreign show less

This is a fairly detailed political and personal history of the famous and colourful Medici family, who dominated the history of Florence and central Italy, and indeed more widely, for most of a 300 year period between the early 15th and early 18th centuries. Rising from the merchant class they came to dominate the republic's government and become effectively a hereditary monarchy, though for a long time Florence continued to preserve a republican constitution, in which people from the merchant class were chosen by lot to form the city government, the Signoria. The course of this book is very unbalanced in terms of chronological coverage, with the first of the three centuries of Medici dominance covering five sixths of the narrative; show more but this is mostly justified in terms of the wider importance and sheer drama of the events involved. There are some fascinating characters in the form of Cosimo the Elder, Lorenzo the Magnificent, the fanatical priest Savonarola who held power for a few years after a French invasion, and the two Medici popes, Giovanni (Leo X) and Giulio (Clement VII, the Pope who declined to agree Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon). After this period, the remaining two centuries are dealt with in just 50 pages. I would have liked to read more about Grand Duke Cosimo's terrible siege of Siena (my favourite Italian city), in which so many inhabitants starved, and the dramatic and murderous events surrounding his immediate heirs Francesco and Ferdinando, but these were covered quite briefly (they also formed the backdrop to an excellent novel I read recently, The Shepherdess of Siena). The later Grand Dukes were much less interesting and the line more or less fizzled out in gluttony and indolence in the 1730s (though their life spans were much longer than those of the earlier Medici rulers, who rarely lived beyond their 40s, even when they didn't die violently). Overall this was a mostly fascinating and colourful read, though I thought the referencing could have been better - there were detailed footnotes on art and architecture, but no specific sources for other stuff, including some of the more lurid anecdotes of sybaritic excess and violence. Very useful to have genealogical tables and a map showing the complex divisions of the Italian peninsula at the height of Medici power. show less

All dynasties must be astonishing, I suppose. Certainly the Medici were. Florence too, and also Italy itself. A fascinating glimpse of all these things. Hibbert has his favourites (you can tell because those Medici he favours he describes as children), and there is much he must gloss over or even omit, given that this book considers about 400 years of a single ruling family in only 300 or so pages. But it fleshes out the rich history behind the name, and helps any lover of Florence, or Italy, understand the place a little better.

This is a history of an iconic Italian noble family. The Medici are probably the most famous and infamous family you'll ever read about. The book has everything: romance, intrigue, revenge, and power. All this is set against the backdrop of Florence. We start with Cosimo de' Medici and make our way through to the extinction of the family. Well known members, such as Catherine de' Medici, are barely mentioned. However, this book is extremely readable and presents the information in an interesting and intriguing way.

Good reading and a good introduction to the House of Medici.

This book, written with Hibbert's usual flair and sound research to back it, is the full history of this remarkable family from the late c14 until the death of the last of the Grand Dukes in 1737. A great read when idling by the pool on a Tuscan holiday (particularly if accompanied by a glass or two of Chianti!).

The family that greeds together, stays together. The Medici were such an amazing clan, a group that did much to influence history. Though Italians, they also changed the culture of France, when Caterina de Medici became the Queen of France and brought Italian epicurean standards to the still-Gothic French.

If this family existed today, they would be all over the tabloids and probably have their own sitcom, but they were THE standard bearers for the Renaissance, so their successes and challenges changed history. It was hard to put this book down, due to the excellent biographies of each family member. The book is not overly long, thus making it a suitable companion for a weekend jaunt.


Book Season = Spring

Mostly history, but presented in a more general manner, but in order. Pretty fascinating stuff, but the format begs for an update - it becomes repetitive and tedious as you slog through the later chapters. Still, it's worth a look and a read, especially if you love Italy, history and Florence.