The Florentine S Secret

Florence, Italy 1996: a young archaeologist follows a hunch that compels her to knock down a wall and retrieve a hidden sketch which may be by the renown Renaissance master Botticelli. But before she can alert the authorities and claim the find, the sketch is stolen leaving her standing in the rubble. Three decades later, the drive for retribution brings this woman to Phoebe McCabe's door. The sketch may have been a study for a secret portrait, she claims, and she has enough clues to point the way to its location. When the Agency of the Ancient Lost & Found joins the hunt to track down what may become the art find of the century, little do they know that they will be dragged into the crosshairs of a ruthless arms cartel as well as plunged deep into a centuries-old mystery involving key players of Renaissance Florence. What does Lorenzo di Medici, the Bonfire of the Vanities, the artists Sandro Botticelli and Filippino Lippi have to do with a tailor's daughter who once dared to imbed a secret into a sleeve? That's only part of the story Phoebe must untangle. In the end, she must also grapple with remnants of her own past that not only come back to haunt her but chase at her heels with murderous intent. Either trump those monsters at their own game or perish. The wondrous city of Florence, past and present, combined with the sweeping vistas of Tuscany wrap the reader in visions of art, rich textiles, and political intrigue while revealing the triumph of the human spirit that thrives across the centuries. Welcome to book 3 of the Agency of the Ancient Lost & Found.

This book looks at the variety of Britons who became residents of Florence between the end of the Napoleonic wars and the absorption of Tuscany into the kingdom of Italy. Many of them were leisured, and some aristocratic; a few were writers or artists; the British clergy and physicians who ministered to them were gentlemen. Many others were shopkeepers, merchants and even engineers. Some achieved a more profound knowledge of the country (and its language) than others, but all were affected to some degree by the momentous events which led to Italian unification.

Lawyers at work-in diplomacy, in relations with the Church, in territorial government, in the formulation of policy, in administration, and in the political struggle provide the unifying theme in this analysis of the exercise of political power in Renaissance Florence. Professor Martines studies the actual techniques of government, the hidden legal and constitutional questions raised by everyday affairs, and the responses of individual lawyers to the pressures of politics. He shows precisely how Florentine lawyers, both republicans and oligarchs, viewed the state. An appendix lists and briefly characterizes the some 200 lawyers who practiced in Florence during the period 1380 to 1530. Originally published in 1968. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

A bundle of DEATH IN FLORENCE (BOOK #2) and VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3) in Blake Pierce’s A Year in Europe Mystery series! This bundle offers books two and three in one convenient file, with over 100,000 words of reading. In DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2), Diana arrives in Florence, ready to shake off the events of Paris and fulfill her lifelong dream of being proposed to on the romantic Ponte Vecchio bridge. But Diana can never possibly anticipate what she is about to find on that bridge, and how it may just turn her romantic dream into a ridiculous nightmare! In VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3), Diana travels to Vienna, hoping to fulfill her bucket list dream of being moved to tears by music. She is overwhelmed by the beauty, history and culture of the city and wonders if she’s finally settling into her trip in Europe—when an unforeseen catastrophe turns her plans upside down. Can Diana investigate her way out of this one? A YEAR IN EUROPE is a charming and laugh-out-loud cozy mystery series, packed with food and travel, with mysteries that will leave you on the edge of your seat, and with experiences that will leave you with a sense of wonder. As Diana embarks on her quixotic quest for love and meaning, you will find yourself falling in love and rooting for her. You will be in shock at the twists and turns her journey takes as she somehow finds herself at the center of a mystery, and must play amateur sleuth to solve it. Fans of books like Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun have finally found the cozy mystery series they’ve been hoping for! Book #4 (A FATALITY IN SPAIN) in the series is now also available!

DIVDIVIn this epic historical adventure, a quest for love and enlightenment brings the Renaissance-era Florence of Leonardo da Vinci and Lorenzo de Medici to life/divDIV Cardona, 1478. About to die in the dungeons of a Spanish castle, Mauricio’s father reveals the secret of his concealed Jewish ancestry. For centuries, the Coloma family, descendants of the rabbi Abraham Abulafia, has set out to protect an emerald ring with the inscription Light, light, more light. After his father’s execution, Mauricio is forced to flee Barcelona and travel to Florence in the hope of selling the ring to Lorenzo de Medici. In the city of the arts, he meets some extraordinary characters—including Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola, and Leonardo da Vinci./divDIV Mauricio seems poised to live the life he has always dreamed of, and yet, deadly dangers lurk: secret plots, murder, warfare, the ascent of the sinister Savonarola. But who is behind it all—and why seek to ruin Lorenzo and Mauricio? What is the source of the power of this emerald they all want to possess at any cost, and what mystery lies behind its cryptic inscription?/divDIV/div/div

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 In 1308, the exiled Florentine poet Dante Alighieri was lost in a dark wood, with no sign of a path. He had no idea how he had arrived where he was. He saw a ghostly form that said, I am not a man. I was a poet who sang of Troy. #2 The Divine Comedy is the greatest poem in the western canon. It is written in the Tuscan dialect of Dante’s native Florence, and it is imbued with the spirit of the medieval era. Yet it is instantly recognizable as being of the modern era. #3 Dante Alighieri was born around May 1265, and he wrote the Divine Comedy in 1300. The poem is set in the year 1300, when he was a serving signore. It is a constant reminder to him of how low he had fallen. #4 Dante’s father was a small-time moneylender, who occasionally speculated in plots of land. His mother was from the distinguished, ancient Abati family, but died when he was still a child. This fact may explain a certain austerity and lack of emotion in his character.

Visit a church in a prison, learn how Florence became the centre of hermetism during the Renaissance and where you can still find traces of it today, escape from the crowds of tourists to visit little-known artistic masterpieces, head off to hunt for the 34 plaques displaying quotes from the "Divine Comedy", fill up your tank at a vintage service station, have your children count the number of bees sculpted on the monument to the glory of Ferdinand I, look for the last wine distributors of the Renaissance, notice the minuscule windows designed to let children look out quietly onto the street, visit superb private gardens that even the Florentines don't know about, learn how the purple colour of the Fiorentina football team is connected to the pee of a Florentine crusader in Palestine ... Far from the crowds and usual clichés, Florence holds many well-hidden treasures that are revealed only to the city's inhabitants or travellers who know how to step off the beaten track. An essential guide for those who think they know Florence well or for those looking to discover the hidden side of the city.