Italian dynasties: The great families of Italy from the Renaissance to the present day

The names of the great Italian dynasties - the Sforza, the Visconti, the Este, and the rest - are well known. But who were the people who made up these remarkable dynastic clans? How did they come to wield such widespread political and cultural influence? And where are they now? These are some of the questions historian and long-time Italian resident Edward Burman sets out to answer. From the 14th to the 16th centuries the great dynasties dominated the cultural and administrative life of Italy. Through internecine wars, terror, and intrigue - as well as through marriage, political alliance, and trade - they secured positions of immense power and privilege and, by their lavish patronage of the arts, perpetuated their family names and provide the Italian Renaissance with much of its driving force. Thiers is a story of vivid contrasts in which violence and cynicism co-mingle with piety and idealism, barbarism and extravagance with a commitment to civilized values. The cast of memorable figures also includes the formidable Ludovico Sforza, known as 'Il Moro' because of his dark complexion; Vittoria Colonna, poetess and inspirer of Michelangelo; Cosimo de 'Medici, perhaps the greatest of all Renaissance patrons; the dazzling Beatrice d'Este; and Caterina Sforza, the Lady of Amazon of Forli, who was said to fight like a man and who, on one celebrated occasion, gave birth to a child after spending nearly 24 hours in the saddle. Besides these, Edward Burman introduces us to some modern representatives of these ancient lines, such as the present head of the Sforza family, Count Giovanni Sforza. ITALIAN DYNASTIES also directs the reader and traveler to the places and artefacts associated with individual dynasties - the palaces and churches, the universities, streets, and ruins, the paintings and the sculptures - from a classical temple in Rimini to a morgue in Milan: witnesses all to the abiding presence of Italy's dynastic rulers.