The Last Medici
by Harold Acton
On This Page
Description
In his remarkable account of the last Medici, famous aesthete and historian Harold Acton (1904-1994) takes up the causes which led to the disappearance of a house which has left indelible traces on the art, literature and commerce of the world; and his book was one of the first attempts to deal with this despotic dynasty in a scholarly and impartial spirit. Much has been written about the phenomenal career of the early Medici: and there are many biographies of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Cosimo show more I, and the Medicean Popes. But less has been written of the final phase, and Acton demonstrates the hand of death overshadowing the great family in a series of unfortunate marriages - how one by one they vanished into the void. The Last Medici centres mainly round the fantastic figures of Princess Marguerite-Louise d'Orléans and her husband Cosimo III, most fatal of all the Medicean sovereigns. The last act closes on Gian Gastone, their cynical younger son, bedridden in the Pitti Palace, a florid figure of despair, with the Powers of Europe ever on the alert for the sound of his death-rattle. Full of brilliant colour, rich comedy and lurid tragedy, The Last Medici is at the same time a scientific contribution to the records of an extraordinary and unforgettable period. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
baobab The end of the Medicis was similar to the end of the Gonzagas.
Member Reviews
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
33+ Works 797 Members
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Lungarno Series (2)
Gli struzzi [Einaudi] (319)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Last Medici
- Original title
- The last Medici
- Original publication date
- 1932
- People/Characters
- Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Gian Gastone; Marguerite-Louise d'Orléans, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Louis XIV, 1638-1715; Vittoria della Rovere, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (show all 7); Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Electress Palatine
- Important places
- Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Tuscany, Italy; Versailles, Île-de-France, France; Palazzo degli Uffizi, Florence, Tuscany, Italy
- Dedication
- TO MY FATHER AND MOTHER
- Original language*
- Inglese
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 107
- Popularity
- 303,778
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.17)
- Languages
- English, Italian
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 4
