The City of Man: Paradiso

Book III of a trilogy based on a true story of the Italian Renaissance.

Renaissance Florence celebrated its Golden Age during the late 15th century under Lorenzo de’ Medici, the Magnificent. This was the age of artists, philosophers and poets like Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Pico della Mirandola, Poliziano, and Machiavelli.

But a societal crisis was imminent by the century’s last decade. The Italian peninsula was surrounded and threatened by imperialist powers, trade declined and poverty increased in the face of obscene wealth. Avaricious popes made a family business of the Church while floods, droughts, famines, and the plague all combined to create an atmosphere of overwhelming fear and anxiety.

As chaos loomed, an obscure Dominican friar arose to restore order. Fra Girolamo Savonarola was a charismatic preacher and prophet who advocated religious and political reform. His mission was to transform his corrupt and decaying society into St. Augustine’s mythical City of God. At the height of his short reign he orchestrated the infamous Bonfire of the Vanities, riding a wave of popular discontent to become the most influential religious, political, and cultural figure of the age. The Savonarolan theocratic republic left its indelible mark on the face of Florence, Italy, and Western history.

The City of Man is the dramatic story of this preacher’s fantastic rise and tragic fall, symbolizing a critical juncture in the conflict between Church and State in the Christian world. More dramatized history than historical fiction, the story integrates the art, religion, and politics of this glorious period.

Young Niccolo Machiavelli provides the counterpoint to Savonarola as he develops his new political philosophy. Their momentous clash illuminates the transition from the Age of Faith to the Age of Reason, heralding the birth of our modern age.

Formatted for the Kindle, the digital version of The City of Man incorporates special features to explore the world of Renaissance Florence, including maps, family trees, art images, dozens of internal and external hyperlinks to biographies and historical events on Wikipedia, an extensive glossary and selected scene index.

In Book III: Paradiso, Savonarola suffers setbacks in Florence but presses ahead to challenge Pope Alexander VI's rule in Rome. Machiavelli begins to assert his strategies of realpolitik to assure Florentine interests survive the battle between Savonarola and the pope. The dramatic conclusion of this classic tragedy captures imaginations to this day, more than 500 years later.

Reader’s Reviews:

“…a powerful story, wonderfully written, and very relevant to our conflicted times. The quality of writing, the intensity of scholarly research, the recreation of historical events, is truly superb.”

“I enjoyed The City of Man tremendously. The characters were very engaging, and had depth to them, especially Niccolò Machiavelli. The vivid descriptions of Florence sent me right back in time. It’s a tremendous book, the style and language is beautiful.”

“Awesome. Quite impressive…”