"Burning of the Vanities" Savonarola: first pub 10/24/13, Hunted Machiavelli A Wanted Man, Cosimo de Medici was not to be insulted

... The real rot comes from within - not from an external power. Think of the late Soviet Union. Think of the current decline of the American Empire. But then again, mediocre exceptionalists never got the picture; Leo Strauss, at the University of Chicago in the 1950s, taught that Machiavelli was "a teacher of evil" ... Savonarola had also conducted the original bonfire of the vanities, whose flaming pyramid included wigs, pots of rouge, perfumes, books with poems by Ovid, Boccaccio and Petrarch, busts and paintings of "profane" subjects (even - horror of horrors - some by Botticelli), lutes, violas, flutes, sculptures of naked women, figures of Greek gods and on top of it all, a hideous effigy of Satan ... And then, only one month after Savonarola's burning, the slender, beady black-eyed and black-haired man with a small head and aquiline nose, described by his biographer Pasquale Villari as "a very acute observer with a sharp mind" got a job; and for 14 years he was a loyal servant of the restored Florentine republic, always on horseback on sensitive missions, negotiating, among others, with pope Julius II, the king of France Louis XII, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and the unpredictable, larger than life Cesare Borgia, the illegitimate second son of the man who would become pope Alexander VI. Machiavelli was in charge of Florence's foreign policy; definitely not your usual Beltway think-tank armchair "expert".  Pepe Escobar >> http://www.atimes.com/atimes/World/WOR-01-140114.html

500-yr-old arrest warrant for 'The Prince' author Niccolo Machiavelli discovered

http://newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/02/25/167-500-yr-old-arrest-warrant-for-The-Prince-author-Niccolo-Machiavelli-discovered.html 

http://article.wn.com/view/2013/02/25/500yrold_arrest_warrant_for_The_Prince_author_Niccolo_Machia/#/related_news 

http://article.wn.com/view/2013/05/27/At_500_Machiavellis_Prince_Still_Inspires_Love_And_Fear/#/related_news 

		Enter the 15th century: Assassin's Creed II is a tale of political intrigue set in Florence, Venice, San Gimignano and Rome. "Ubisoft has put so much time into the physical accuracy and the historic setting of these cities," says Morgan Webb, co-host of G4's X-Play series. Ubisoft

Plunge into the Renaissance with 'Assassin's Creed II'

The artist as a young man: Inventor Leonardo da Vinci has more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

By Mike Snider, USA TODAY

Fifteenth-century Italy, the heart of the Renaissance, was home to Leonardo da Vinci, Machiavelli and the mighty House of Medici, patrons to Michelangelo and Botticelli.

It was also home to a young assassin named Ezio, whose arsenal includes a hidden blade, repaired by Leonardo, that he'll use to avenge the deaths of his father and brothers.

All right, that's not part of official Italian history. It's the central conceit of a new video game, Assassin's Creed II.

If you can't see the Renaissance as the setting for an action game, you don't know much about history, says creative director Patrice Desilets. He set the original 2007 Assassin's Creed in the Holy Land during the Crusades, and it sold more than 8 million copies worldwide. And it helps that webs of political and religious intrigue were spun in both historical periods.

In Creed II (rated M for ages 17-up, out today for Xbox 360 and PS3, $60; due for PC in early 2010), you play as Ezio, one in a long line of assassins, with even more weapons at his disposal than Altair, the knife-wielding protagonist of the first game.

Again, the present-day character of Desmond serves as the bridge to the past. A captive, Desmond is forced into an MRI-like device that connects him with the memories of his ancestors. While reliving the life of Altair in Assassin's Creed, Desmond learned that those who hold him are modern-day descendants of the Knights Templar, who maintain a rivalry with the assassins.

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New York, February 25 (ANI): A British academic has discovered the 500-year-old arrest warrant for famed Italian Renaissance man Niccolo Machiavelli, one of the world's most influential political writers.

The historic document was found in Florence's state archives and marks the turning point in Machiavelli's life that would inspire him to write his famous political treatise "The Prince," the New York Daily News reported Professor Stephen J. Milner of the University of Manchester found it while researching Florentine town criers in the 15th to early 16th centuries.

The proclamation on Feb. 19, 1513, stated Florentines had one hour to surrender any information regarding the whereabouts of Machiavelli or anyone who may be hiding him to authorities.

Milner also found a document describing Florentine authorities paying four horsemen to ride through the streets in search of Machiavelli and the subsequent reward they would receive for his capture.

Machiavelli was an Italian historian, writer, playwright, politician and philosopher. He became a wanted man when the power of the Florentine government changed hands and his name was linked to a conspiracy to overthrow the returning Medici family.

Machiavelli was exiled from Florence and lived in poverty until his death in 1527.

He wrote "The Prince" - and dedicated the publication twice to members of the Medici family - in an effort to fall into their good graces so he may return to the city.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2009-11-17-assassins17_ST_N.htm

THE MEDICI FAMILY

Cosimo de Medici (1389-1464)

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INTRODUCTION

While the Medici family was predominant, Florence became the cultural center of Europe and also became the cradle of new Humanism.

BACKGROUND

The Medici were possibly the richest family in Italy. In the 13th Century the family began to gain wealth. At the end of the thirteenth century, the family's wealth increased when one of the members of the family served as gonfalero (bearer of a high ceremonial office). 

In the fourteenth century their wealth increased again.

Savestro de Medici led people in revolt against the ciompi (small artistanate) and later he became so popular that he became defacto dictator of Florence. Then in 1383 his wealth decreased when he was banished.

Giovanni Bicci de Medici regained family power by making the family the richest family in Italy, possibly Europe. The growth in political power also increased when he became gonfalero in 1421.

Giovanni's son, Cosimo de Medici, was to be the real founder of the family's fortune. In 1434, Cosimo controlled the government in Florence. For the sixty years Cosimo ruled Florence but he had no official title. He ruled in the early 15th Century when he ran for office. He held office in Florence's highest magistry and at the same time he managed interests in banking, trade, and industry. Later on in a political battle with another powerful family called the Albizzi family, Cosimo lost and was banished. But since a lot of people supported him, he was recalled and the Albizzi family was banished in return.

Cosimo had done a lot for the city of Florence. He had spent lots of his money on his city and supported artists and sculptors. Churches were built and many large libraries were produced with the books he collected. After Cosimo had died he won the title of Pater Palrige (father of his country).

Cosimo had two sons and while his first son, Pier, ruled things kind of slipped. Then once again their wealth increased because of his other powerful son named Lorenzo.

Lorenzo was a poet, statsman, politician, banker, patron of artists, writer, philosopher, and he played an important role in Italian politics. He had spent some of his time writing poetry and carnival songs.

Although he didn't occupy any official post, he did a lot of good things for the people. An example of one of his qualities was he paid for artists' education and supplied them with homes by buying their work. He was truly a man of the Renaissance.

[sidebar:  Too many Machiavellian & wannbe Machiavellis and not enough Medicis and/or vice versa history's jury is still out !!??]