Title: Medici – The Power of Money (Book 1 of 3)

Author: Matteo Strukul

Pages: 433

Hi all,

I have just finished another historic fiction that I believe would be of interest to anyone that enjoys this genre as much as I do. A bonus for this book is that it was translated from Italian and the book itself is not only glued together, but is bound with threads on the inside, which makes it unusual to the standard books you will find in the store.

Though I know so little of the Medici, I have heard that they made quite a contribution (financing the construction projects of artists of an architectural nature) to the city of Florence. As with all families, they also had some skeletons in their closets, but at least we are still able to enjoy some of the legacy they left behind.

The book is broken down into the following parts:

• February 1429 (7 chapters – pg. 1 to pg. 60)
• August 1430 (7 chapters – pg. 61 to 102)
• September 1430 (3 chapters – pg. 103 to 120) – Around the time the plague started hitting Europe
• April 1431 (3 chapters – pg. 121 to 140)
• April 1433 (2 chapters – pg. 141 to 154)
• September 1433 (5 chapters – pg. 155 to 188)
• October 1433 (5 chapters – pg. 189 to 226)
• January 1434 (4 chapters – pg. 227 to 258)
• September 1434 (2 chapters – pg. 259 to 284)
• September 1436 (4 chapters – pg. 285 to 324)
• February 1439 (3 chapters – pg. 325 to 354)
• July 1439 (2 chapters – pg. 355 to 372)
• June 1440 (4 chapters – pg. 373 to 402)
• July 1440 (4 chapters – pg. 403 to 433) – Around the time Constantinople (now Istanbul) fell into the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

The book mainly revolves around the lives of two Medici brothers (Cosimo and Lorenzo) who inherited their father’s (Giovanni) banking network. Lorenzo is better with finances and deals with the family business, whilst his brother is better with the politics and funding of projects side.

Cosimo is still new to the political life and starts to attend events more frequently to build up his network. However, another family, degli Albizzi, is not fond of the Medici and wants them removed from the city so their family can become more influential in Florence.

At first the Albizzi try to scare the Medici brothers away using care tactics (poisoning their food, attacking them in the dark after returning from parties) but this does not alter their course to take on their father’s work. Thus, Albizzi tries another means. He and his followers accuse Cosmio of treason, since the Medici are trying to improve upon their livelihoods and potentially wanting to become a new emperor. Thanks to Italy’s bad history with kings and emperors, the people fear such an event and admit he should be locked away. Though Cosimo was hoping to build a castle-like building, it was not intended for the purposes for which he was accused of. Knowing the punishment for treason is death, he decides to bribe the magistrate so that he would be sent into exile instead. On the date of the hearing, the judge approves the claim of treason, but favours the punishment of exile instead, contrary to the Albizzi’s hopes.

Cosimo and his brother spend their exile in Venice and decide to continue their business dealings from their bank there, whilst also improving their relations with the leadership of this republic. Meanwhile, the Albizzi have taken over control of Florence and their leadership is proving to be fatal to the locals. It goes so far that the locals expel the Albizzi and have issued a recall for the Medici brothers instead. During this time in exile, the Albizzi have tried to have the Medici brothers killed on multiple occasions, but they have been fortunate to evade such attempts all the time.

Albizzi spends his exile in Milan, hoping that the ruler will one day agree to invade the republic of Florence and he can fulfil his desire of revenge. Many years will pass until the ruler finally agrees to follow through.

Until then, the Medici are back in Florence and have upscaled their political dealings. They have reached out to both the religious ruler of the Eastern Roman Republic (in Constantinople) and the Pope in Vatican in the hopes that the two churches may reconcile their differences and become a reunited institute. Their hopes are not fully met, but the two parties agree to improve their relations with one another.

A final battle is initiated by the ruler of Milan against Florence and Venice. The latter republics end up as the victors. The Albizzi lose their only hope of ever getting revenge and a new ruler is instated for Milan, an alley to the other republics.

Many years have passed, Lorenzo has already passed away, and Cosimo is the only head remaining of the two families. He has retreated from political life of Florence to his estate in the country side to dedicate his time and energy to his family. A sad letter arrives, informing him that Constantinople has fallen to the Ottomans and that the hoped for unity of the two churches is dismantled. Also, the friend informs him that all the knowledge that was secured in the old Eastern Roman Republic is now doomed to be lost.

Summary:

Fascinating story, simply written and also written in such a way that the author can well relate to. The problems experienced by the brothers are similar problems that we can experience today and we can learn from past mistakes. The end of the book clearly shows to the character that the most important matter in the end is the family and nothing else in the world. After all that the brothers have tried to achieve, this final realization is a powerful way to end.

The book receives a rating of 4.1/5.

Link (German): https://amzn.to/3Yj5mdk

Link (English): Not available