Synopsis

Following the Pazzi Conspiracy, which was the subject of the first volume, Florence finds itself at war with Rome and Naples. Lorenzo de’ Medici, whose brother was murdered by the Pazzi, has no doubt that he has God on his side – at first. He has sent his wife and family into the country for their safety, under the protection of his close friend, the poet Angelo Poliziano. His wife, Roman-born and pious is in every way a medieval woman and believes that the troubles besetting the family are due to Lorenzo’s ‘heresy’, that is, his Platonism. Powerless against her husband, she sets out to destroy Poliziano.

She wages war with him over the education of Lorenzo’s children. After the birth of her ninth child, and suffering from post-natal fever, she walks the house at night. When she comes upon her son Piero in the poet’s bed, she has her excuse for expelling Poliziano from the house. Poliziano returns to Florence and, to his relief, finds that he retains Lorenzo’s support. Lorenzo is being called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice, to surrender himself to the enemy and thereby save Florence. Poliziano expects to go with him, but when Lorenzo leaves Florence he leaves Poliziano behind. Shame forces the poet to go into self-exile and wanders the northern courts looking for new patronage.
The book examines the relationship between man and woman, husband and wife, brother and sister from many angles. The narration is shared by Poliziano’s sister, a budding Renaissance woman, and his friend, Tommaso de’ Maffei. A newly-married scribe, Tommaso is besotted by his wife, a daughter of the Pazzi family.

The domestic conflicts reflect – in fact, are intimately connected with – world affairs. As Lorenzo’s marriage falls apart, so does his hold on the power-politics of Florence and Italy. Events move to dramatic conclusions that explode each character’s beliefs and certainties.

The war is not just between Florence and Rome but is a battle between the medieval world and the Renaissance, between superstitious Christianity and Christian Platonism, between faith and reason, between a woman and a man. It is the battle of Juno and Zeus.

What the story shows is that, in a powerful man, it is the woman who is the power, and only when she uses it for him rather than against him, will there be peace.