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Caterina Sforza Part 4 - 1488: The Death of Girolamo Riario
San Mercuriale, ForliIn May 1487, Caterina Sforza began to take the reigns of power. Her husband had suddenly been taken ill with a mysterious illness and as he lay in his sick bed she had to govern...
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Caterina Sforza Part 5 - Ten More Sons.
Gina McKee as Caterina Sforza, shouting down from her ramparts that she had the "means to make ten more sons!"There is one story about Caterina Sforza that will always stick in someones mind. Ask...
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Sir Peter Lely
The works of Sir Peter Lely have long been my favourite Restoration, and whilst I love the work of Van Dyke and Kneller, I think Lely will always hold a special place in my heart. It probably has...
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Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh by an unknown artistOn this day in history, 1618; sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded upon the orders of James I. But why was this man, once a great favourite of Elizabeth I, given such...
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Review - The Bad Popes by Russell Chamberlin
Each of the Popes considered in this book, from the gentle hermit pope Celestine V to the degenerate Rodrigo Borgia and the emperor pope Boniface VIII shared one heavy burden. They were not only the...
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The Sistine Chapel Ceiling
When I visited Rome in the summer, one of the most amazing experiences was walking into the Sistine Chapel and just looking up. Despite the fact that the chapel was rammed with people and the scary...
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"What Idiot Wrote A Letter?"
Guy Fawkes by CruikshankRemember, remember!  The fifth of November,  The Gunpowder treason and plot;  I know of no reason  Why the Gunpowder treason  Should ever be forgot!I've never really been a fan...
View ArticleA Bit of Bloggy Stuff and Calling All Guest Posters.
I've just spent the past two hours contemplating moving this blog over to wordpress, even going so far as to create an account and export every single one of my blog posts and comments over to said new...
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The Expulsion of the Medici
Lorenzo the Magnificent by Agnolo BronzinoOn 21st March 1492, Lorenzo "Il Magnifico" de Medici was carried from his palace in Florence to his countryside villa at Careggi, not far from the city. The...
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We Will Remember Them
If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore,...
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The Trial And Execution of Girolamo Savonarola
The Execution of Savonarola by AnonymousI've been spending a lot of time recently researching Girolamo Savonarola recently, for particular reasons that will hopefully be announced soon as well as the...
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The Story Of The Travelling Red Dress
Today's post is somewhat unusual. But I'm not going to apologise in the slightest. Not so long back, I came across something online called The Travelling Red Dress, an idea set up by the fantastic...
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The Origins of the Borgia Incest Myth
Recently I have come across more and more people "shipping" Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. That's fine, do whatever you want but when these people insist that they "ship" these characters because it's...
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Girolamo Savonarola - A Novel In The Making
I've always wanted to write a book and when I was younger I would often write little stories. Looking back, they were kind of rubbish but even back then I was telling myself that one day I would write...
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Los Borgia
This evening I sat myself down with a large glass of pink lemonade, and curled up to watch Los Borgia. I've been a fan of The Borgias pretty much ever since it first started and although I love the...
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Happy Birthday Charles I
Today in 1600, a young prince was born to King James I and his wife Anne of Denmark. This prince, the couple's second son, would go on to become one the most famous monarchs that England had ever known...
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The Pazzi Conspiracy
Giuliano de Medici by Sandro BotticelliOn 26th April 1478 the ruler of Florence Lorenzo de Medici made his way through his city to the grand Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore - more commonly known as...
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Review: Death in Florence by Paul Strathern
I picked this book up on a bit of a whim when I was off sick from work. I'd had a really rough couple of weeks and needed cheering up. Plus, I adore Paul Strathern's work on the Medici and thought his...
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The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
I've had this sitting on my shelf for a while and never really gotten around to reading it until now. Honestly, I wish I'd sat down and read it before because this book is an absolute masterpiece. But...
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Borgia Season 1
As I sit here this morning, I am feeling rather sorry for myself. For the past two days I've been off work with a nasty sicky bug and so am sat here wrapped up in my PJs with a massive mug of tea. It's...
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