In the affluent yet militarily vulnerable city of fifteenth and sixteenth-century Florence, an ambitious family of financiers emerged from modest provincial roots to seize ultimate control of the state through cunning and wealth. The House of Medici's astonishing ascent intertwined closely with Florence's destiny, as their Tuscan mercantile lineage extended its influence to royal dynasties in France, Spain, Austria, and England. Leveraging their patronage of artistic geniuses such as Brunelleschi, Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo, the Medicis inadvertently ignited the Florentine Renaissance, a cultural renaissance that later swept across Europe and propelled the world out of the Middle Ages.

This sweeping new narrative history of the Medici spans the pivotal period from 1360 to 1537, tracing the family's meteoric rise from the humble origins of Giovanni di Bicci to the patriarch Cosimo de' Medici, known as the 'Pater Patriae, ' and his struggles against Rinaldo degli Albizzi. It follows the succession of Cosimo's son Piero 'the Gouty, ' his grandson Lorenzo 'il Magnifico, ' and the golden age of Renaissance Florence under the patronage of the Medici. Key events, such as the treacherous Pazzi Conspiracy, the family's expulsion and exile from Florence under Piero 'the Unfortunate, ' and their subsequent restoration to power under the deeply flawed Medici popes Leo X and Clement VII, are vividly recounted. The narrative climaxes with the brutal assassination of Duke Alessandro de' Medici and the rise of Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who solidified Medici hegemony over Florence for the next 168 years.

Examining the family's ascent and the strategies employed to wield and sustain absolute political power, this saga is placed within the broader context of Renaissance Italian city-states and the turbulent Italian Wars of 1494-1559. The narrative also delves into the lives of illustrious Renaissance figures such as Francesco Sforza, Girolamo Savonarola, Cesare Borgia, Niccolò Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, Baldassare Castiglione, Pietro Aretino, Francis I, and Emperor Charles V. Notorious Renaissance popes, including Sixtus IV, Pius II, Paul II, Alexander VI, Julius II, and Paul III, play prominent roles in this gripping narrative. Danny Chaplin presents a rich and captivating tapestry of secular, ecclesiastical, artistic, and humanist figures associated with the remarkable Medici family.