Apology for a Murder

This is the first ever translation of a work by one of the most notorious figures of Renaissance Italy, followed by the fascinating account of Francesco Bibbone, Lorenzino's own murderer, and will be of interest to historians and Italian Renaissance lovers alike. In 1537 Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, was brutally stabbed to death by his cousin Lorenzino. Here, for the first time in English, we can examine the murderer's own defence of his actions in this jewel of Renaissance rhetoric. In a compelling diatribe Lorenzino presents himself as a heroic tyrannicide, worthy of comparison with some of the greatest heroes of classical Greece and Rome, and motivated purely by love of liberty. His account, however, is generally assumed to be false; the reason behind the murder remains obscure and Lorenzino's reputation that of a brutal and amoral thug, the antihero of Alfred de Musset's drama Lorenzaccio. The Medici regime was reinstated the same year, and Lorenzino's own assassination ordered; and here, dramatically paired with the Apology, is presented the fascinating account of Francesco Bibbone, Lorenzino's own murderer. 'A wonderful Renaissance curiosity. It's a little gem of moralising spin, in defence of pre-emptive violence.' - The Independent