Machiavelli was born in Florence in 1469 to a fairly well-off bourgeois family; he had a humanistic education, based on reading Latin classics. Important in Machiavelli's life were the roles he held within the Florentine Republic, since from these roles and the experience he acquired, several writings were born. In 1498 he was elected secretary of the second chancellery of the city. Chancelleries were very important offices at the time, since they dealt with the administrative management of the city. It was thanks to his role as secretary of the city chancellery that Machiavelli was able to carry out diplomatic functions. In 1500 he had the opportunity to see the France of Louis XII, in 1502 he carried out a mission to Cesare Borgia, who with the support of his father, Pope Alexander VI, had taken over the Duchy of Urbino. Machiavelli's observations on the kingdoms he observed were later contained in two reports: Rapporto delle cose della Magna, for Germany, and Ritratto delle cose di Francia. A turning point in Machiavelli's life was 1512. Following the defeat against the papal and Spanish militias in Prato in 1512, the Medici returned to Florence and Machiavelli was removed from political life and the chancellery because he was considered close to the republicans. A very hard period began for him, which led him to isolate himself in forced exile on his farm in San Casciano. From this exile - as we will see - many works were born, including the famous prince. When Giulio de Medici came to govern Florence, Machiavelli's hope of returning to political office was renewed. When Giulio became Pope Clement VII, Machiavelli dedicated the manuscript of the Istorie fiorentine to him again. In 1527 the Medici were again expelled from Florence and the Republic was re-established. But Machiavelli was considered too close, paradoxically, to the Medici (who, we remember, had excluded him because he was considered too close to the republicans!) and therefore regarded with suspicion and hostility. He died in June of that same year, without ever being able to hold any office again. Machiavelli's "family" letters have survived, written to friends and acquaintances. They are not letters composed for publication, so they are not literary like those of Petrarch. However, they are important for reconstructing the author's life and for recognizing his political observations, sent above all to his friend Francesco Vettori. Among the non-literary works we also find the writings that date back to the period of the Florentine secretariat. These works are made up of reports and dispatches sent to the Florentine government during his missions. Then there are the writings derived from his missions in Germany and France (Ritratto delle cose di Magna and R. delle cose di Francia). In particular, France in Machiavelli's eyes becomes the model of a modern, solid, united state, based on a strong army, contrary to the Germanic imperial model that appears divided into fiefdoms and city communities, therefore disunited and weak. The literary works themselves, however, date back to the period of exile, starting from 1513, the year in which The Prince was written. The Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius date back to the years between 1515 and 1518. The original nucleus is probably derived from the notes that Machiavelli made while reading the first ten books of Livy's History. The work was divided into three books, each arranged according to a specific theme: the first deals with Rome's internal political initiatives, undertaken on public initiative; the second deals with foreign policy initiatives in the Imperial period; the third deals with the actions of individual citizens who contributed to the greatness of Rome. The treatise The Art of War dates back to 1519-1520. It is the first important work published by Machiavelli, as The Prince and Discourses circulated only in manuscript form. It is written in the form of a typically Renaissance treatise, that is, in a dialogic form, among the main interlocutors stands out Fabrizio Colonna, spokesman for the ideas of Machiavelli himself. The central topic of the dialogue is the polemic against mercenary weapons, seen as a factor of weakness of a State. The Istorie Fiorentine and the biography Vita di Castruccio Castracani belong to the genre of the historical treatise. Among the works in prose and poetry, three writings in particular stand out: the novelette of Belfagòr Arcidiavolo; the two comedies, Mandragola and Clizia. Mandragola is a true masterpiece, one of the most important texts of the comic production of the sixteenth century. Another work is the Discourse on the Language, a treatise in which the author argues that the linguistic model for the vernacular must be the living language of Florentine use. Subscribe to the channel and leave a like to have other magnificent summaries of literature!