Without the Medici, would the Renaissance have even been born?
In Godfathers of the Renaissance, Strathern, as always, leads you from the beginnings of the Medici family along past the origins of the Medici bank, through the lives of Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent, all the way through to the Medici Popes and Queens.
A vivid picture is painted. Of the period, the players and, most importantly, the art, science and philosophy their patronage and passions encouraged. Look out for references to Michelangelo Buonarotti, Sandro Botticelli, Donatello and Galileo.