Florence, August 1464. Cosimo de Medici, the richest banker in Florence and perhaps Italy, has died and three young men attend his funeral. The first, 12 year old Lorenzo, does not want to attend but is forced to by his father, a notary. Tucked into his pants, as always, is a piece of charcoal and a scrap of paper to sketch what he sees as he walks to the church. He doesn't want to follow his father's work path and is made one of the apprentices to a famous artist and sculptor. The second, 14 year old Lorenzo, is Cosimo's grandson, who with his family accept the obeisances from the swarm of church attendants. Everyone breathes through a cloth over their mouths and noses so as not to catch the plague. And lastly, Francesco, a 20 year old cleric, who is a member of the Salviati/Pazzi banking family, who's wealth rivals the Medicis. He has always been ridiculed for his swarthy skin tone and his unusual looks.
The novel follows each of these youths as they grow up and find their places in the early Renaissance world of Tuscany. Leonardo da Vinci models for a statue of David commissioned by the Medici family and scores his own first commission. He sees things in different ways than his fellow artists, and longs to break the stultifying mold of religious iconography. He also wonders if he should have sought an engineering career, as he's very interested in how things work. Lately, his interests have turned to a boy model who he can't help wanting to pursue...could he possibly be a Florenzer, especially knowing the consequences of that?
Lorenzo de Medici is the heir to the Medici fortune after his father dies. Counseled by his mother Lucretia, he is the de facto ruler of Florence, but not the actual one. He chafes against the council of priors who are the true government and plots to take their power. It is not helpful that his younger brother refuses to wed his designated wife-to-be and add her ample dowry to the family coffers.
Francesco Salviati is given a small church in a poor part of town. He wants more and, when his uncle becomes Pope, he sees his chance. When he finally becomes the Archbishop of Pisa, he realizes that his ambition is greater than he had believed...perhaps his destiny will be fulfilled if he joins the Pazzi conspiracy and overthrows the De Medicis.
This is an amazing historical novel-the kind that propels you to the history books to find out what is true and what is artistic license. The reader becomes enmeshed in the lives of these three who have dreams beyond their station and the courage to make them happen. I especially enjoyed reading about Leonardo's days in Florence and the inspiration for his earliest works, as I followed the novel with an open art book. Adding Florence to my "must visit" now.
Reviewed by Donna Ballard
June 10, 2025
Reserve a physical copy - Coming soon
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