Set amid the ferment and factionalism of early modern Italy, Life of Castruccio Castracani is a vivid and action-packed account of the rise and fall of a very "Machiavellian" prince. A charismatic warlord of the early 14th century, Castruccio Castracani came from humble beginnings as a foundling, and ended his life as ruler of Lucca, Pisa, Pistoia, and Florence.
In this Life, Machiavelli extols Castracani for his acute understanding of the politics of warfare and statecraft, and while sparing no detail of his shrewd and often bloody tactics, he overturns our moral prejudice, depicting Castracani as a popular unifying force. Life of Castruccio Castracani is accompanied by selected passages from Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories to give a powerful, rounded portrait of the abandoned child who rose to become the most powerful man in Tuscany.
Niccolò Machiavelli was a prominent Florentine politician and writer, whose greatest work, The Prince, has ensured his lasting fame.
The Life of Castruccio Castracani is important because it shows Machiavelli thinking about what happens to power after it has been won. Written in 1520, it takes a real fourteenth-century warlord, the ruler of Lucca, and freely reimagines his life. Machiavelli makes him a foundling discovered in a vineyard, then follows his rise through military daring, calculation and ruthlessness. It makes a vivid companion to The Prince. Here we see the qualities that bring a ruler to power tested over the course of a life.
We often judge political leaders by what they win and how far they extend their influence. Machiavelli asks us to judge them also by what their successors inherit. Castruccio leaves his heir more territory, but also more enemies. It is a sharp way to ask whether a formidable leader has left behind a stronger state.
