Detail from Francesco Rosselli's View of Florence from the Southwest (London, Victoria & Albert Museum).
A contemporary woodcut after this painting is the basis of the famous Veduta della Catena (painted in the 19th century), now on view at Florence's Palazzo Vecchio.

MACHIAVELLI & FLORENCE

Niccolò Macchiavelli

(1469-1527)

Portrait by Santi di Tito
(Florence, Palazzo Vecchio)

Italy in 1494

Source: Lauro Martines, Power and Imagination: City-States in Renaissance Italy (NY: Knopf, 1979)

1416	Donatello's marble statue of David is installed at the Palazzo della Signoria (the city hall)
		Donatello, David (Florence, Bargello) Donatello's marble David, carved in 1408-9, was commissioned as one of several statues of Old Testament figures intended for placement on the roof of Florence's Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. However, in 1416, at the the request of Florence’s Signoria (the governing council), the statue is relocated from the cathedral to the Palazzo della Signoria (the city hall, the building now known as the Palazzo Vecchio). The relocated statue is placed on a pedestal with an inscription evoking the civic ethos of (pagan) classical Rome: “To those who fight bravely for the fatherland, the gods will lend aid even against the most terrible foes.”

1436	• Paolo Ucello paints fresco funerary monument for the condottiere Sir John Hawkwood in the Florence Cathedral.
		Paolo Ucello, Funerary Monument for Sir John Hawkwood (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore) Sir John Hawkwood had been a prominent condottiere - private military contractor (i.e., mercenary). He was given this monument to honor his services on behalf of the city of Florence. This is just one of several famous monuments to condotierri produced by major artists of era. Others include Andrea del Castagno’s fresco of Niccolò da Tolentino (1458), also for Florence's Cathedral, and Verrocchio’s bronze equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni (completed 1488), in Venice.
1438	• Cosimo de' Medici, the head of a prominent family-run mercantile bank, becomes pre-eminent figure in Florentine government.
1444	• Construction begins on the Palazzo Medici (Medici Palace), designed by Michelozzo for Cosimo de' Medici.
		Palazzo Medici, Florence (image: Encyclopedia Britannica/Alinari) The Palazzo Medici is just one of several major architectural projects built by Michelozzo in Florence for Cosimo de' Medici. Another is the Convent of San Marco (begun 1437), decorated by frescoes by Fra Angelico.
1450	• With financial backing from Cosimo de' Medici, the condottiere Francesco Sforza gains the dukedom of Milan.
		Antonio Pollaiuolo, Study for an Equestrian Monument to Francesco Sforza (early 1480s) (New York, Metropolitan Museum / Lehman Collection)
1464	• Death of Cosimo de' Medici. His son Piero [1] (di Cosimon) de' Medici succeeds him as head of the Medici house, and leading figure in Florence's government
1469	• Birth of Niccolo Machiavelli
	• On the death of his father, Piero (di Cosimo) de' Medici, Lorenzo (di Piero) de' Medici. "the Magnificent," comes to power in Florence.	Lorenzo de' Medici, "the Magnificent" Sixteenth-century copy of a (lost) wax portrait bust by Andrea Verrocchio, commissioned in 1478. (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art)
1482	• Domenico Ghirlandaio is commissioned by the Signoria to paint frescoes depicting heroes of the early (ancient) Roman Republic for the city hall.
		Domenico Ghirlandaio, Fresco of Lucius Junius Brutus, Gaius Mucius Scaevola, and Marcus Furius Camillus Sala Gigli, Palazzo Vecchio. All three of these figures appear prominently in Titus Livy's chronicle of the legendary early days of the Roman republic.
*1492*	• Death of Lorenzo the Magnificent. He is succeeded by his eldest son Piero (di Lorenzo) de' Medici
	• King Ferdinand of Aragon, married to Isabella of Castile, conquers Granada, completing the unification of Spain.
	• The Aragonese nobleman-prelate Rodrigo Borja (Roderigo Borgia) is elected Pope Alexander VI. In the following year, Alexander VI issues papal decrees to confirm Spain’s claims in the Western Hemisphere..
*1494*	• King Charles VIII of France invades Italy, for the purpose of asserting his claimed hereditary title to the kingdom of Naples. (He occupies Naples, but is later forced to withdraw.)
	• The charismatic Dominican preacher-friar Girolamo Savonarola preaches the imminent establishment of Florence as the New Jerusalem, with Christ as its king. His followers, motivated by republican ardor as well as religious fervor, overthrow the Medici-dominated government. • Piero (di Lorenzo) de' Medici and the entire Medici family are driven into exile.	Fra Bartolomeo, Portrait of Girolamo Savonarola (c.1494) (Florence, Museum of San Marco)
*1497*	• On Shrove Tuesday (February 7) Savonarola's followers carry out a massive "bonfire of the vanities" in Florence's Piazza della Signoria - consigning finery, luxuries, and also artworks to the flames.
	• In response to Savonarola's denunciations of the papacy, Pope Alexander VI* excommunicates Savonarola, threatening to deny sacraments of the church to his followers.*
*1498*	• Savonarola, challenged by rival clerics, loses his popular following. He is put on trial and burnt at the stake.
	• A new Forentine government is formed, under the leadership of Piero Soderini.
	• Machiavelli* (then 29 years old) enters Soderini's government of Florence, serving as the secretary to the commission on foreign relations, the so-called "Ten of War").*
*1499*	• King Louis XII of France invades Italy to assert a claimed hereditary right to the duchy of Milan. He subsequently traverses Italy to reassert his predecessor's claim to the kingdom of Naples.
*1501*	• Pope Alexander VI secures for his son, Cesare Borgia, rule over of Romagna, a duchy to the northeast of Florence. (Thanks to his father’s influence, Cesare Borgia had already, in 1498, been given the title Duke of Valentinois by King Charles VIII of France - hence his nickname, ‘Duke Valentino.’)	Bartolomeo Veneto (?), Portrait of Cesare Borgia (c. 1500) Rome, Palazzo Venezia
*1502*	• Machiavelli* goes on diplomatic missions to Cesare Borgia in Romagna*
*1503*	• King Ferdinand of Spain, already ruler of Sicily, invades the kingdom of Naples.
	• Death of Pope Alexander VI. • After brief papacy of Pius III (lasting 28 days), Giuliano della Rovere is elected Pope Julius II. • Pope Julius II forces Cesare Borgia* to surrender his conquests.*
*1504*	• Machiavelli* on diplomatic mission to the court of King Louis XII of France*
	• Michelangelo’s statue of David* is unveiled in front of Florence's Palazzo della Signoria.*
		*Michelangelo Buoanorroti, David (1501-4)* Florence, Accademia. (image: Encyclopedia Brittanica) Like Donatello's marble statue of 1408-9, Michelangelo's David was originally intended for Florence's Cathedral. Its placement in front of the city hall was dictated in part by a mundane consideration-- it was too heavy to lift to its intended pedestal on the Cathedral roof. However, the statue had a civic significance from the start: it had been commissioned as a symbol of Florence's independence from the great European powers vying for dominance in Italy.
*1505*	• Machiavelli works on plan to set up a citizens' militia for Florence.
	• The Florentine government of Florence commissions both Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci to paint murals for a chamber of the Palazzo della Signoria, depicting the city's historic military victories.
	Leonardo's mural, of the Battle of Anghiari, was only partly completed, and was later destroyed in a redesign of the palace (after the Medici's restoration). Michelangelo apparently never got beyond preparatory sketches for his planned mural of the Battle of Cascina. **Leonardo da Vinci, Study for The Battle of Anghiari** (Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts)	Michelangelo, Study for The Battle of Cascina (Florence, Casa Buoanarroti)
*1512*	• Downfall of Soderini's republican government of Florence, after city is sacked by armies of King Ferdinand of Spain.
	• Restoration of the Medici to power in Florence, under the leadership of Cardinal Giovanni (di Lorenzo) de' Medici,* the second son of Lorenzo "the Magnificent."*
	• Machiavelli is dismissed from government service. Suspected of conspiring against the new government, he is briefly imprisoned (and probably tortured). He is then allowed to retire to his rural farm. No longer able to take part in politics, he devotes himself to writing.
*1513*	• Death of Pope Julius II. Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici, then the leading figure in Florentine politics, is elected to succeed him, as Pope Leo X.
	• As pope, Leo X retains (and consolidates) his effective sway over Florentine politics, although he is seldom there in person. In his absence (and acting on his behalf), leadershp in Florence falls to his younger brother, Giuliano (di Lorenzo) de’ Medici	Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio) Pope Leo X Cardinals Giulio de' Medici and Luigi de' Rossi (c. 1518) Florence Uffizi. The figure at left, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, is the first cousin of Pope Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici). Not long after this portrait was painted, in 1519, the pope will place him in charge of Florence. (Giulio de' Medici will eventually succeed his cousin in Rome, as Pope Clement VII.)
	*• Machiavelli writes The Prince,* intending to dedicate it Giuliano de’ Medici.** • Around the same time, he also begins work on the Discourses on Livy.
*1515*	• Pope Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici) arranges for his brother Giuliano de’ Medici to marry a member of the French royal family, Philiberte of Savoy (aunt of King François I). Upon his marriage, Giuliano is given the title Duke of Nemours by King Francois I of France.
*1516*	• Giuliano de’ Medici (duke of Nemours) dies unexpectedly.
	• Pope Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici) installs his nephew Lorenzo de’ Medici, as head of the Medici house in Florence. (This Lorenzo is the grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Confusingly, both have the full name Lorenzo di Piero, as both men's fathers were named Piero.) • Pope Leo X grants his nephew Lorenzo the title of Duke of Urbino, a nearby duchy that had until then ruled by a nephew of the previous pope, Julius II. (This results in inconclusive armed conflict between the Della Rovere and Medici claimants to the title.) Lorenzo (2) continues to reside in Florence, remaining the dominant figure in Florentine politics.	Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio), Portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino. (c. 1518) Private Collection. Note: This portrait is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum (through October 11, 2021) as part of its exhibition, The Medici: Portraits and Politics: !512-1570

*1516*	• Machiavelli dedicates *The Prince* to Lorenzo de’ Medici (2), Duke of Urbino, presenting him with a manuscript copy.
*1519*	• Death of Lorenzo (2) de Medici, Duke of Urbino. Pope Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici) places another of his cousins, Cardinal Giulio de Medici, in charge of Florence.
	• Upon the death of his maternal grandfather, Emperor Maximilian (Hapsburg), King Carlos of Spain (formally, Aragon & Castile) is elected Holy Roman Emperor, taking the name Charles V. (Although the position was formally elective — bestowed by the seven Imperial Electors in Germany — he effectively owed his title to his hereditary rank as next in line in the House of Hapsburg.)
	• Michelangelo* begins work on the Medici Chapel in the church of San Lorenzo, as both architect and sculptor.* • The original plan was for the chapel to contain a free-standing, monumental tomb for Lorenzo (1) de' Medici the Magnificent, with tombs along the facing walls for his two more recenty-deceased descendants, his third son Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, and his grandson (Giuliano's nephew) Lorenzo (2) de' Medici, Duke of Urbino. However, only the latter two tombs were ever produced, as Michelangelo interrupted work on the project when he left for Rome in 1534, and never returned to finish it. Note the connection between this famous work of Michelangelo and Machiavelli's Prince: the two Medici whom Michelangelo memorialized are none other than man to whom Machiavelli first intended to dedicate the Prince, Giuliano de' Medici, and the man to whom (after the former's death) the book was eventually dedicated, Lorenzo (2) de' Medici. Michelangelo, Buonarroti, Tomb of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours (detail, showing figure of Giuliano) Florence, Church of San Lorenzo	Michelangelo Buonarroti, Tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino. Florence, Church of San Lorenzo
*1520*	• Machiavelli is comissioned by Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici* to write a history of Florence.*
	• Pope Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici) formally condemns the teachings of the German monk Martin Luther, after his emissaries fail to persuade Luther to retract them.
*1521*	• Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther, and directs the German Emperor, Charles V, to take action to stop the spread of Luther’s teachings.
	• Death of Pope Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici) His cousin, Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici is a leading candidate to succeed him; however, united opposition of French cardinals results instead of election of a compromise candidate, the Dutchman Adriaan Boeyens, as Pope Adrian VI.
*1523*	Upon the death of Pope Adrian VI, Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici is elected pope, as Clement VII.	Sebastian del Piombo, Pope Clement VII (1526) Naples, Capodimonte Museum Note: This portrait is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum (through October 11, 2021) as part of its exhibition, The Medici: Portraits and Politics: !512-1570
*1525*	Machiavelli travels to Rome to present his Florentine Histories to Pope Clement VII (Giulio de’ Medici).
*1527*	• Rome is sacked by mutinous troops of discontented, unemployed mercenaries (many of them German Lutherans) that had brought into the region as part of Charles V’s wars in Italy, one aim of which was to sever Pope Clement VII from the influence of Charles’s great enemy, King François I of France. Humiliated, Pope Clement VII spends six months a prisoner in the Castel Sant’Angelo, the papal fortress.
	• In the chaos precipitated by the sack of Rome, and effective imprisonment of Pope Clement VII, the Medici family loses its hold on Florentine politics. They are expelled from Florence, by new leaders promising to restore the republic.
	• Just a few weeks after the restoration of the Florentine republic, Machiavelli dies, of natural causes, at the age of 58. No longer a prominent figure, even in Florence, he is buried, as previous members of his family had been, beneath a modest slab at the Church of Sante Croce.
*1529*	As the Florentine republic braces for invasion by forces under Emperor Charles V, Michelangelo is appointed commissioner of fortifications for Florence and its territory.
	Michelangelo, Study for the Fortification for the Porta al Prato of Orgnissanti,(1529-30). Florence, Casa Buonarroti
*1530*
	• Emperor Charles V, in Bologna, is ceremonially crowned Holy Roman Emperor, and also King of Italy by Pope Clement VII. (Note: At the time, Charles V had been already been emperor for eleven years, since 1519.)	Titian (Tiziano Vecelli), Emperor Charles V With His Dog* (1533)* Madrid, Prado
	• Unable to resist the combined forces of emperor and pope, Florence is forced to accept the return of Medici rule.
	• Emperor Charles V names the young Alessandro de' Medici* (a son of Lorenzo (2) de' Medici, Duke of Urbino) as the first-ever Duke of Florence.*	Jacopo Pontormo, Portrait of Alessandro de' Medici Philadelphia Museum of Art Note: This portrait is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum (through October 11, 2021) as part of its exhibition, The Medici: Portraits and Politics: !512-1570
*1531*	• Four years after the Machiavelli's death, The* Discourses on Livy is published, with official approval from the author's sometime patron, Pope Clement VII.*
*1532*	• Machiavelli’s Prince is* published, likewise with full papal privilege.*