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Nov. 02, 2008

Miles Unger '81 chronicles the rise and fall of an Italian dynasty in 'Magnifico'

Miles Unger '81

Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008
4-5:30 p.m.
Shapiro Campus Center, 2nd floor
Multipurpose Room

Miles Unger ‘81
“Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de’ Medici”

Lust, murder, intrigue, money, beauty and clever ruses sound like the ingredients of a classic adventure novel, but here Unger puts them together to construct a historical biography of Lorenzo de’ Medici. Groomed from birth to lead the Medici dynasty—and, indeed, 15th century Florence—Lorenzo was a natural statesman, an erudite scholar and poet, an indomitable fighter, and an insatiable lover. Re-creating the city’s foremost period of massive wealth and unprecedented cultural achievement, Unger—former managing editor of Art New England and a contributor to the New York Times—tells Lorenzo’s story with grandeur, passion, and historical accuracy. Medici scholar Bill Kent said the Italian Renaissance figure emerges as “a believable and comprehensible Lorenzo, neither the impossible hero of some accounts nor the dark and divided villain of others.”

“…a sweeping chronicle of the rise and fall of the Medici dynasty and an illuminating portrait of the brilliant but conflicted man who ruled Florence during an age of unprecedented cultural achievement and unspeakable violence.” – Simon & Schuster

Free and open to the public. Buy a book. Have it signed.