Description

Two manuscripts in one book:

• House of Medici: A Captivating Guide to the History of the Medici Family and Dynasty
• House of Borgia: A Captivating Guide to the Borgias and Their Feuds with the Medici Family, Sforza Dynasty, and Girolamo Savonarola

Meet the Medici family, who, in some ways, can be considered to be the godfathers of the Renaissance. They patronized Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Sandro Botticelli, among many other famous artists. They helped to recover many famous ancient Roman and Greek writings and built academies to encourage the spread of learning.

In the first part of this book, you will discover:

• The humble beginnings of a family that is estimated to have made over one hundred twenty billion dollars in today's currency
• Cosimo the Great, the true founder of the Medici dynasty, who built the city of Florence into one of the greatest cities on Earth
• Cosimo's son Lorenzo, called "the Magnificent" for his athletic abilities, knowledge, wisdom, and desire to improve not only the lives of his family but also those throughout Europe
• Lorenzo's Platonic Academy, where the greatest minds of the Renaissance gathered to discuss and debate the great questions of both the age and human existence
• The bloody attempt on Lorenzo's life and his swift revenge
• The growth of Florence into both a city of great culture and great pleasure
• Savonarola, the religious fanatic who terrified Lorenzo and who ruled a city by fear and was finally burned at the stake himself
• The Medici popes, Leo X and Clement VII
• The great Dome of Florence, which was built by the revolutionary thinker Brunelleschi
• Catherine de' Medici, the de facto ruler of France and mother of three kings

Do you know the WHOLE story of the House of Borgia-from their rise from obscurity to the highest echelons of European society? The family produced two popes and a saint, but they are more known for stories of murder, debauchery, and incest. What is accurate, and what is just slander? Were the Borgias worse than any other powerful family of the time? Was Rodrigo Borgia, who became Pope Alexander VI, a monster? Was his son Cesare a psychopath? Was his daughter Lucrezia a murderous temptress?

In the second part of this book, you will learn about:

• The origins of the House of Borgia in Spain
• The rise of the first Borgia pope, Callixtus III
• The power struggles between the great houses of Italy: the Borgia, the Sforza, the Medici, the Orsini, and the Colonna, among others
• The character of the infamous Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI
• The fiery battle between the Borgias and Friar Savonarola that ended in death and ruin
• The reality of Cesare Borgia and his attempts to carve out his own kingdom
• The real story of Lucrezia Borgia
• The role Christopher Columbus and Machiavelli played in the story of the Borgias, along with the monarchs of Spain, France, and Naples
• How the Borgias helped shape the Renaissance and the future of Europe
• How a descendant of the Borgias became a revered saint in the Catholic Church
• And so much more