-
The Family Medici
- The Hidden History of the Medici Dynasty
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.05
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Having founded the bank that became the most powerful in Europe in the 15th century, the Medici gained massive political power in Florence, raising the city to a peak of cultural achievement and becoming its hereditary dukes. Among their number were no fewer than three popes and a powerful and influential queen of France. Their influence brought about an explosion of Florentine art and architecture. Michelangelo, Donatello, Fra Angelico, and Leonardo were among the artists with whom they were socialized and patronized.
Thus runs the "accepted view" of the Medici. However, Mary Hollingsworth argues that the idea that the Medici were enlightened rulers of the Renaissance is a fiction that has now acquired the status of historical fact. In truth, the Medici were as devious and immoral as the Borgias - tyrants loathed in the city they illegally made their own. In this dynamic new history, Hollingsworth argues that past narratives have focused on a sanitized and fictitious view of the Medici - wise rulers, enlightened patrons of the arts, and fathers of the Renaissance - but that in fact their past was reinvented in the 16th century, mythologized by later generations of Medici who used this as a central prop for their legacy.
More from the same
Author
Narrator
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The House of Medici
- Its Rise and Fall
- By: Christopher Hibbert
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This enthralling book charts the family's huge influence on the political, economic, and cultural history of Florence. Beginning in the early 1430s with the rise of the dynasty under the near-legendary Cosimo de Medici, it moves through their golden era as patrons of some of the most remarkable artists and architects of the Renaissance, to the era of the Medici Popes and Grand Dukes, Florence's slide into decay and bankruptcy, and the end, in 1737, of the Medici line.
-
-
Laundry list of names
- By Elizabeth W on 01-02-17
-
The Medici
- Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence as well as the Italian Renaissance, which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Interwoven into the narrative are the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola.
-
-
Fun Story Bad History
- By Elizabeth Barrett on 05-09-16
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Borgias
- Power and Depravity in Renaissance Italy
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice, and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy. Examples of infamy flourished alongside some of the finest art produced in western history.
-
-
Gossip
- By Amazon Customer on 10-02-19
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior
- Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the World They Shaped
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia - three iconic figures whose intersecting lives provide the basis for this astonishing work of narrative history. They could not have been more different, and they would meet only for a short time in 1502, but the events that transpired when they did would significantly alter each man's perceptions - and the course of Western history.
-
-
A Very Good Book (Just Not As Good As Others)
- By George Monnat Jr on 02-18-19
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Florentines
- From Dante to Galileo: The Transformation of Western Civilization
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between the birth of Dante in 1265 and the death of Galileo in 1642, something happened that transformed the entire culture of Western civilization. Painting, sculpture, and architecture would all visibly change in such a striking fashion that there could be no going back on what had taken place. Likewise, the thought and self-conception of humanity would take on a completely new aspect. Sciences would be born - or emerge in an entirely new guise.
-
-
Narrator ruins the narrative
- By amavita on 03-24-22
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Bad Popes
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history. Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children. E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.
-
-
Complete trash.
- By George on 07-16-21
By: E.R. Chamberlin
-
The House of Medici
- Its Rise and Fall
- By: Christopher Hibbert
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This enthralling book charts the family's huge influence on the political, economic, and cultural history of Florence. Beginning in the early 1430s with the rise of the dynasty under the near-legendary Cosimo de Medici, it moves through their golden era as patrons of some of the most remarkable artists and architects of the Renaissance, to the era of the Medici Popes and Grand Dukes, Florence's slide into decay and bankruptcy, and the end, in 1737, of the Medici line.
-
-
Laundry list of names
- By Elizabeth W on 01-02-17
-
The Medici
- Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence as well as the Italian Renaissance, which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Interwoven into the narrative are the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola.
-
-
Fun Story Bad History
- By Elizabeth Barrett on 05-09-16
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Borgias
- Power and Depravity in Renaissance Italy
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice, and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy. Examples of infamy flourished alongside some of the finest art produced in western history.
-
-
Gossip
- By Amazon Customer on 10-02-19
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior
- Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the World They Shaped
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia - three iconic figures whose intersecting lives provide the basis for this astonishing work of narrative history. They could not have been more different, and they would meet only for a short time in 1502, but the events that transpired when they did would significantly alter each man's perceptions - and the course of Western history.
-
-
A Very Good Book (Just Not As Good As Others)
- By George Monnat Jr on 02-18-19
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Florentines
- From Dante to Galileo: The Transformation of Western Civilization
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between the birth of Dante in 1265 and the death of Galileo in 1642, something happened that transformed the entire culture of Western civilization. Painting, sculpture, and architecture would all visibly change in such a striking fashion that there could be no going back on what had taken place. Likewise, the thought and self-conception of humanity would take on a completely new aspect. Sciences would be born - or emerge in an entirely new guise.
-
-
Narrator ruins the narrative
- By amavita on 03-24-22
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Bad Popes
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history. Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children. E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.
-
-
Complete trash.
- By George on 07-16-21
By: E.R. Chamberlin
-
Henry V
- The Warrior King of 1415
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 25 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This insightful look at the life of Henry V and the Battle of Agincourt casts new light on a period in history often held up as legend. A great English hero, Henry V was lionized by Shakespeare and revered by his countrymen for his religious commitment, his sense of justice, and his military victories. Here, noted historian and biographer Ian Mortimer takes a look at the man behind the legend and offers a clear, historically accurate, and realistic representation of a ruler who was all too human.
-
-
Accessible, grounded, enjoyable
- By Justa Guy on 04-10-18
By: Ian Mortimer
-
The Borgias and Their Enemies
- 1431-1519
- By: Christopher Hibbert
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The name Borgia is synonymous with the corruption, nepotism, and greed that were rife in Renaissance Italy. The powerful, voracious Rodrigo Borgia, better known to history as Pope Alexander VI, was the central figure of the dynasty. Two of his seven papal offspring also rose to power and fame. The Borgias were notorious for seizing power, wealth, land, and titles through bribery, marriage, and murder. The story of the family's dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to the highest position in Italian society is an absorbing tale.
-
-
Covers the bases, but falls a little flat.
- By Chap Walker on 06-16-13
-
Emperor
- A New Life of Charles V
- By: Geoffrey Parker
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 26 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task.
-
-
Amazing.
- By bigdjunta on 10-21-19
By: Geoffrey Parker
-
Death in Florence
- The Medici, Savonarola, and the Battle for the Soul of the Renaissance City
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Death in Florence illuminates one of the defining moments in Western history - the bloody and dramatic story of the battle for the soul of Renaissance Florence. By the end of the fifteenth century, Florence was well established as the home of the Renaissance. In an exhilaratingly rich and deeply researched story, Paul Strathern reveals the paradoxes, self-doubts, and political compromises that made the battle for the soul of the Renaissance city one of the most complex and important moments in Western history.
-
-
Extravagant rich peacocks and true believers
- By Philo on 10-17-15
By: Paul Strathern
-
Botticelli's Secret
- The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance
- By: Joseph Luzzi
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some 500 years ago, Sandro Botticelli, a painter of humble origin, created work of unearthly beauty. An intimate associate of Florence’s unofficial rulers, the Medici, he was commissioned by a member of their family to execute a near-impossible project: to illustrate all 100 cantos of The Divine Comedy by the city’s greatest poet, Dante Alighieri. A powerful encounter between poet and artist, sacred and secular, earthly and evanescent, these drawings produced a wealth of stunning images but were never finished.
-
-
Great story
- By Chris M on 12-09-22
By: Joseph Luzzi
-
The Venetians
- A New History: From Marco Polo to Casanova
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Republic of Venice was the first great economic, cultural, and naval power of the modern Western world. After winning the struggle for ascendency in the late 13th century, the Republic enjoyed centuries of unprecedented glory and built a trading empire which at its apogee reached as far afield as China, Syria, and West Africa. This golden period only drew to an end with the Republic's eventual surrender to Napoleon. The Venetians illuminates the character of the Republic during these illustrious years by shining a light on some of the most celebrated personalities of European history.
-
-
Mesmerizing
- By Gary R. Frank on 08-24-15
By: Paul Strathern
-
Henry IV
- The Righteous King
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The talented, confident, and intelligent son of John of Gaunt, Henry IV started his reign as a popular and charismatic king after he dethroned the tyrannical and wildly unpopular Richard II. But six years into his reign, Henry had survived eight assassination and overthrow attempts. Having broken God's law of primogeniture by overthrowing the man many people saw as the chosen king, Henry IV left himself vulnerable to challenges from powerful enemies about the validity of his reign. Even so, Henry managed to establish the new Lancastrian dynasty and a new rule of law.
-
-
Detailed and compelling
- By kayakman on 12-15-17
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Edward III
- The Perfect King
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Holding power for over 50 years starting in 1327, Edward III was one of England's most influential kings and one who shaped the course of English history. Revered as one of the country's most illustrious leaders for centuries, he was also a usurper and a warmonger who ordered his uncle beheaded. A brutal man, to be sure, but also a brilliant one.
-
-
Great book about Edward III
- By Kiesha on 07-05-16
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Castles
- Their History and Evolution in Medieval Britain
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning with their introduction in the 11th century, and ending with their widespread abandonment in the 17th, Marc Morris explores many of the country's most famous castles, as well as some spectacular lesser-known examples. At times this is an epic tale, driven by characters like William the Conqueror, King John, and Edward I, full of sieges and conquest on an awesome scale.
-
-
Great book!
- By B Hart on 06-21-18
By: Marc Morris
-
Richard III
- England's Most Controversial King
- By: Chris Skidmore
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From acclaimed historian Chris Skidmore comes the authoritative biography of Richard III, England's most controversial king, a man alternately praised as a saint and cursed as a villain.
-
-
Glad I read it now that it is over
- By Missee on 08-08-19
By: Chris Skidmore
-
Imprudent King
- A New Life of Philip II
- By: Geoffrey Parker
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Philip II is not only the most famous king in Spanish history, but one of the most famous monarchs in English history: the man who married Mary Tudor and later launched the Spanish Armada against her sister Elizabeth I. This compelling biography of the most powerful European monarch of his day begins with his conception (1526) and ends with his ascent to Paradise (1603), two occurrences surprisingly well documented by contemporaries. Eminent historian Geoffrey Parker draws on four decades of research on Philip as well as a recent, extraordinary archival discovery - a trove of 3,000 documents in vaults in New York City....
-
-
Great, but I jumbled
- By Missee on 03-18-19
By: Geoffrey Parker
-
Ten Cities That Led the World
- From Ancient Metropolis to Modern Megacity
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through 10 unique cities, from the founding of ancient capitals to buzzing modern megacities, Paul Strathern explores how urban centres lead civilisation forward, enjoying a moment of glory before passing on the baton. We journey back to discover Babylonian mathematics, Athenian theatre and intellectual debate, and Roman construction that has lasted millennia. We see Constantinople evolve into Istanbul, revolutionary sparks fly in Enlightenment Paris, and the railways, canals and ships that built Imperial London.
-
-
Garbage!
- By Neil Bhandar on 12-02-22
By: Paul Strathern
What listeners say about The Family Medici
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 09-25-23
Decent, Detailed History
Engaging. While it gets some details wrong (eg, Galileo Affair), it is a serviceable history.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- EC
- 01-07-19
Good story, bad narrator.
Good piece of history with some info not generally found on history books. I wish it had been read by someone else. Dreadful narrator, bad pronunciation of Italian names, bland voice that is irritating at times, and at others puts you to sleep. I couldn’t finish it. I purchased the printed copy, I think I will enjoy it much more.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Catlaw71
- 09-13-19
Disappointed
This is a strict historic report, and I’ve become addicted to histories like those by Chernow and Kearns-Goodwin. This was a slog.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lilly Family
- 04-26-23
Simply narration of information
Nothing more than reading facts / details. No characters ... just dry material. Although very nasal sounding, changing the narrator won't improve the material.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!