The Medici Conspiracy

Author : Peter Watson,Cecilia Todeschini
Publisher : PublicAffairs
Page : 400 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2007-06-12
Category : Art
ISBN : 9781586485405

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The Medici Conspiracy by Peter Watson,Cecilia Todeschini Pdf

The story begins, as stories do in all good thrillers, with a botched robbery and a police chase. Eight Apuleian vases of the fourth century B.C. are discovered in the swimming pool of a German-based art smuggler. More valuable than the recovery of the vases, however, is the discovery of the smuggler's card index detailing his deals and dealers. It reveals the existence of a web of tombaroli—tomb raiders— who steal classical artifacts, and a network of dealers and smugglers who spirit them out of Italy and into the hands of wealthy collectors and museums. Peter Watson, a former investigative journalist for the London Sunday Times and author of two previous exposés of art world scandals, names the key figures in this network that has depleted Europe's classical artifacts. Among the loot are the irreplaceable and highly collectable vases of Euphronius, the equivalent in their field of the sculpture of Bernini or the painting of Michelangelo. The narrative leads to the doors of some major institutions: Sothebys, the Getty Museum in L.A., the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York among them. Filled with great characters and human drama, The Medici Conspiracy authoritatively exposes another shameful round in one of the oldest games in the world: theft, smuggling and duplicitous dealing, all in the name of art.

Author : Marcello Simonetta
Publisher : Doubleday
Page : 274 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2008-06-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9780385526807

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The Montefeltro Conspiracy by Marcello Simonetta Pdf

A brutal murder, a nefarious plot, a coded letter. After five hundred years, the most notorious mystery of the Renaissance is finally solved. The Italian Renaissance is remembered as much for intrigue as it is for art, with papal politics and infighting among Italy’s many city-states providing the grist for Machiavelli’s classic work on take-no-prisoners politics, The Prince. The attempted assassination of the Medici brothers in the Duomo in Florence in 1478 is one of the best-known examples of the machinations endemic to the age. While the assailants were the Medici’s rivals, the Pazzi family, questions have always lingered about who really orchestrated the attack, which has come to be known as the Pazzi Conspiracy. More than five hundred years later, Marcello Simonetta, working in a private archive in Italy, stumbled upon a coded letter written by Federico da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino, to Pope Sixtus IV. Using a codebook written by his own ancestor to crack its secrets, Simonetta unearthed proof of an all-out power grab by the Pope for control of Florence. Montefeltro, long believed to be a close friend of Lorenzo de Medici, was in fact conspiring with the Pope to unseat the Medici and put the more malleable Pazzi in their place. In The Montefeltro Conspiracy, Simonetta unravels this plot, showing not only how the plot came together but how its failure (only one of the Medici brothers, Giuliano, was killed; Lorenzo survived) changed the course of Italian and papal history for generations. In the course of his gripping narrative, we encounter the period’s most colorful characters, relive its tumultuous politics, and discover that two famous paintings, including one in the Sistine Chapel, contain the Medici’s astounding revenge.

Author : Peter Watson
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 918 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2010-09-16
Category : History
ISBN : 9780857203243

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The German Genius by Peter Watson Pdf

From the end of the Baroque age and the death of Bach in 1750 to the rise of Hitler in 1933, Germany was transformed from a poor relation among western nations into a dominant intellectual and cultural force more influential than France, Britain, Italy, Holland, and the United States. In the early decades of the 20th century, German artists, writers, philosophers, scientists, and engineers were leading their freshly-unified country to new and undreamed of heights, and by 1933, they had won more Nobel prizes than anyone else and more than the British and Americans combined. But this genius was cut down in its prime with the rise and subsequent fall of Adolf Hitler and his fascist Third Reich-a legacy of evil that has overshadowed the nation's contributions ever since. Yet how did the Germans achieve their pre-eminence beginning in the mid-18th century? In this fascinating cultural history, Peter Watson goes back through time to explore the origins of the German genius, how it flourished and shaped our lives, and, most importantly, to reveal how it continues to shape our world. As he convincingly demonstarates, while we may hold other European cultures in higher esteem, it was German thinking-from Bach to Nietzsche to Freud-that actually shaped modern America and Britain in ways that resonate today.

Author : Lauro Martines
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 321 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2003-04-24
Category : History
ISBN : 9780195348439

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April Blood by Lauro Martines Pdf

One of the world's leading historians of Renaissance Italy brings to life here the vibrant--and violent--society of fifteenth-century Florence. His disturbing narrative opens up an entire culture, revealing the dark side of Renaissance man and politician Lorenzo de' Medici. On a Sunday in April 1478, assassins attacked Lorenzo and his brother as they attended Mass in the cathedral of Florence. Lorenzo scrambled to safety as Giuliano bled to death on the cathedral floor. April Blood moves outward in time and space from that murderous event, unfolding a story of tangled passions, ambition, treachery, and revenge. The conspiracy was led by one of the city's most noble clans, the Pazzi, financiers who feared and resented the Medici's swaggering new role as political bosses--but the web of intrigue spread through all of Italy. Bankers, mercenaries, the Duke of Urbino, the King of Naples, and Pope Sixtus IV entered secretly into the plot. Florence was plunged into a peninsular war, and Lorenzo was soon fighting for his own and his family's survival. The failed assassination doomed the Pazzi. Medici revenge was swift and brutal--plotters were hanged or beheaded, innocents were hacked to pieces, and bodies were put out to dangle from the windows of the government palace. All remaining members of the larger Pazzi clan were forced to change their surname, and every public sign or symbol of the family was expunged or destroyed. April Blood offers us a fresh portrait of Renaissance Florence, where dazzling artistic achievements went side by side with violence, craft, and bare-knuckle politics. At the center of the canvas is the figure of Lorenzo the Magnificent--poet, statesman, connoisseur, patron of the arts, and ruthless "boss of bosses." This extraordinarily vivid account of a turning point in the Italian Renaissance is bound to become a lasting work of history.

Author : Miles Unger
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 530 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780743254342

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Magnifico by Miles Unger Pdf

Miles Unger's biography of this complex figure draws on primary research in Italian sources and on his intimate knowledge of Florence, where he lived for several years."--BOOK JACKET.

Author : Donna Russo Morin
Publisher : Next Chapter
Page : 363 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2021-12-07
Category : Fiction
ISBN : PKEY:6610000322053

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Portrait Of A Conspiracy by Donna Russo Morin Pdf

In 15th century Florence, five women and a legendary artist weave together a dangerous plot that could bring peace - or get them all killed. Seeking to wrest power from the Medici, members of the Pazzi family slay the beloved Giuliano. But Lorenzo de' Medici survives the attack and seeks revenge on everyone involved, plunging the city into murderous chaos. Bodies are dragged through the streets, and no one is safe. Five women steal away to a church to ply their craft in secret. Viviana, Fiammetta, Isabetta, Natasia and Mattea are painters, not allowed to be public with their skill but freed from the restrictions in their lives by their art. When a sixth member of their group, Lapaccia, goes missing and is rumored to have stolen a much sought-after painting before she vanished, the women must venture out into the dangerous streets to find their friend. They will have help from one of the most renowned painters of their era: the peaceful and kind Leonardo da Vinci. It is under his tutelage that they flourish as artists and with his access that they infiltrate some of the highest, most secretive places in Florence, unraveling one conspiracy as they build another in its place. Vibrant and absorbing, Portrait Of A Conspiracy is the first novel in Donna Russo Morin's Da Vinci's Disciples series.

Author : Richard Stapleford
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 231 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : Art
ISBN : 9780271056418

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Lorenzo De' Medici at Home by Richard Stapleford Pdf

"An inventory of the private possessions of Lorenzo il Magnifico de' Medici, head of the ruling Medici family during the apogee of the Florentine Renaissance"--Provided by publisher.

Author : Michael White
Publisher : Random House
Page : 418 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2011-10-31
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9781448106653

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The Medici Secret by Michael White Pdf

This breathtaking mystery thriller international bestselling author Michael White expertly meshes past and present, cryptic clues and constant menace. It's absolutely perfect for fans of Dan Brown, James Becker and Chris Kuzneski. READERS ARE LOVING THE MEDICI SECRET! 'If you like historic mysteries where the plot is unravelling the clues, this is the book for you.' -- ***** Reader review 'This is one of those novels which grabs you on page one and doesn't let you go until the final page.' -- ***** Reader review 'Gripping.' -- ***** Reader review 'Could not put the book down.' -- ***** Reader review *********************************************************************************** AN ANCIENT MYSTERY. A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE. A SECRET TO KILL FOR. The crypt of the Medici Chapel, Florence: palaeopathologist, Edie Granger, and her uncle, Carlin Mackenzie, examine the mummified remains of one of the most powerful families in Renaissance Italy. Under the crisp skin, the organs have shrivelled to a fraction of their original size, meaning it is difficult to gather a usable DNA sample. Edie and Mackenzie both have serious doubts about the true identity of at least two of the five-hundred-year-old bodies. And no one can explain the presence of an alien object discovered resting against Cosimo de Medici's spine. For Carlin Mackenzie, this is the most fascinating and the most dangerous discovery of his life. For Edie, it is the beginning of an obsessive, life-threatening quest...

Author : Edgcumbe Staley
Publisher : DigiCat
Page : 212 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2022-05-28
Category : Fiction
ISBN : EAN:8596547012160

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The Tragedies of the Medici by Edgcumbe Staley Pdf

The Tragedies of Medici is an account of the Medici Family during the Rennaisance period, giving great insight into life in Rennaissance Italy. The book pays special attention to the life of Lorenzo Medici.

Author : Jason Felch,Ralph Frammolino
Publisher : HMH
Page : 397 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2011-05-24
Category : Art
ISBN : 9780547538020

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Chasing Aphrodite by Jason Felch,Ralph Frammolino Pdf

A “thrilling, well-researched” account of years of scandal at the prestigious Getty Museum (Ulrich Boser, author of The Gardner Heist). In recent years, several of America’s leading art museums have voluntarily given up their finest pieces of classical art to the governments of Italy and Greece. Why would they be moved to such unheard-of generosity? The answer lies at the Getty, one of the world’s richest and most troubled museums, and scandalous revelations that it had been buying looted antiquities for decades. Drawing on a trove of confidential museum records and candid interviews, these two journalists give us a fly-on-the-wall account of the inner workings of a world-class museum, and tell a story of outlandish characters and bad behavior that could come straight from the pages of a thriller. “In an authoritative account, two reporters who led a Los Angeles Times investigation reveal the details of the Getty Museum’s illicit purchases, from smugglers and fences, of looted Greek and Roman antiquities. . . . The authors offer an excellent recap of the museum’s misdeeds, brimming with tasty details of the scandal that motivated several of America’s leading art museums to voluntarily return to Italy and Greece some 100 classical antiquities worth more than half a billion dollars.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “An astonishing and penetrating look into a veiled world where beauty and art are in constant competition with greed and hypocrisy. This engaging book will cast a fresh light on many of those gleaming objects you see in art museums.” —Jonathan Harr, author of The Lost Painting

Author : Josephine Jungić
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2018-04-13
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780773553699

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Giuliano de' Medici by Josephine Jungić Pdf

Most modern historians perpetuate the myth that Giuliano de' Medici (1479–1516), son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was nothing more than an inconsequential, womanizing hedonist with little inclination or ability for politics. In the first sustained biography of this misrepresented figure, Josephine Jungic re-evaluates Giuliano’s life and shows that his infamous reputation was exaggerated by Medici partisans who feared his popularity and respect for republican self-rule. Rejecting the autocratic rule imposed by his nephew, Lorenzo (Duke of Urbino), and brother, Giovanni (Pope Leo X), Giuliano advocated restraint and retention of republican traditions, believing his family should be “first among equals” and not more. As a result, the family and those closest to them wrote him out of the political scene, and historians – relying too heavily upon the accounts of supporters of Cardinal Giovanni and the Medici regime – followed suit. Interpreting works of art, books, and letters as testimony, Jungic constructs a new narrative to demonstrate that Giuliano was loved and admired by some of the most talented and famous men of his day, including Cesare Borgia, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Niccolò Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael. More than a political biography, this volume offers a refreshing look at a man who was a significant patron and ally of intellectuals, artists, and religious reformers, revealing Giuliano to be at the heart of the period’s most significant cultural accomplishments.

Author : Peter Watson,Cecilia Todeschini
Publisher : Hardie Grant Publishing
Page : 380 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Archaeological thefts
ISBN : 1740664272

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The Medici Conspiracy by Peter Watson,Cecilia Todeschini Pdf

With unprecedented access to confidential Carabinieri and court documents in Italy, Watson details startling evidence from dealers and museums on three continents, from the auction houses of Sotheby's and Christie's in London and New York to art dealers and collectors in Japan, Germany and Paris.

Author : Niccolò Machiavelli
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 662 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 1674
Category : Florence (Italy)
ISBN : BNC:1001934415

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The Florentine History in VIII Books by Niccolò Machiavelli Pdf

Author : Edward L. Goldberg
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
Page : 369 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2011-01-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781442613331

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Jews and Magic in Medici Florence by Edward L. Goldberg Pdf

In the seventeenth century, Florence was the splendid capital of the Medici Grand Dukedom of Tuscany. Meanwhile, the Jews in its tiny Ghetto struggled to earn a living by any possible means, especially loan-sharking, rag-picking and second-hand dealing. They were viewed as an uncanny people with rare supernatural powers, and Benedetto Blanis—a businessman and aspiring scholar from a distinguished Ghetto dynasty—sought to parlay his alleged mastery of astrology, alchemy and Kabbalah into a grand position at the Medici Court. He won the patronage of Don Giovanni dei Medici, a scion of the ruling family, and for six tumultuous years their lives were inextricably linked. Edward Goldberg reveals the dramas of daily life behind the scenes in the Pitti Palace and in the narrow byways of the Florentine Ghetto, using thousands of new documents from the Medici Granducal Archive. He shows that truth—especially historical truth—can be stranger than fiction, when viewed through the eyes of the people most immediately involved.

Author : Noah Charney
Publisher : Springer
Page : 364 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2016-03-02
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781137407573

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Art Crime by Noah Charney Pdf

Since the Second World War, art crime has shifted from a relatively innocuous, often ideological crime, into a major international problem, considered by some to be the third-highest grossing criminal trade worldwide. This rich volume features essays on art crime by the most respected and knowledgeable experts in this interdisciplinary subject.