Table of Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Maps xi
The Medici Family Tree xiii
Leading Dramatis Personae and Main Factions xv
Prologue: 'The needle of the Italian compass' 1
1 A Prince in All but Name 11
2 'Blind wickedness' 39
3 Lorenzo's Florence 54
4 Securing the Medici Dynasty 75
5 Pico's Challenge 86
6 The Return of Savonarola 99
7 Cat and Mouse 111
8 The End of an Era 128
9 Noah's Ark 141
10 A Bid for Independence 152
11 Italy faced hard times… beneath stars hostile to her good' 167
12 I will destroy all flesh' 179
13 Humiliation 197
14 A New Government 211
15 The Voices of Florence 230
16 'A bolt from the blue' 239
17 The Bonfire of the Vanities 259
18 'On suspicion of heresy' 274
19 Open Defiance 291
20 The Tables Are Turned 303
21 Ordeal by Fire 316
22 The Siege of San Marco 322
23 Trial and Torture 331
24 Judgement 349
25 Hanged and Burned 359
Aftermath 368
Notes 372
Bibliography 405
Index 409