Présentation de l'éditeur
In 1537 Alessandro de Medici, Duke of Florence, was brutally stabbed to death by his cousin Lorenzino. Here, for the first time in English, we can examine the murderer s own defence of his actions in this jewel of Renaissance rhetoric. In a compelling diatribe, Lorenzino presents himself as a heroic tyrannicide, worthy of comparison with some of the greatest heroes of classical Greece and Rome, and motivated purely by love of liberty. His account, however, is generally assumed to be false; the reason behind the murder remains obscure and Lorenzino s reputation that of a brutal and amoral thug: the antihero of Alfred de Musset's drama Lorenzaccio. When the Medici regime was reinstated the year of the Duke s death, Lorenzino s own assassination was promptly ordered. Here, dramatically paired with the 'Apology', is the fascinating account of Francesco Bibbone, Lorenzino s murderer. A selection of Lorenzino s own poems, also translated into English for this first time, completes this fascinating volume.
Revue de presse
'It is a beautifully written - and translated - piece of writing, but interesting chiefly insofar as it was written at all' --The Independent Online
'A wonderful Renaissance curiosity. It's a little gem of moralising spin, in defence of pre-emptive violence' --The Independent
Biographie de l'auteur
Florentine nobleman and dramatist Lorenzino de' Medici (1515-47) is one of the most notorious figures of Renaissance Italy, whose crimes ranged from vandalism to murder.
