The Birth of Venus Love and Death in Florence

Set in late 15th-century Florence, the novel tells the story of Alessandra Cecchi, a spirited and precocious girl not yet fifteen, who is captivated by a young painter her prosperous merchant father brings to their palazzo to decorate the new family chapel. Alessandra possesses a secret passion for art and a lively independence that draws her into a forbidden fascination with the painter and his talents. Her parents, however, arrange her marriage to a wealthy, much older man named Cristoforo Langella, an oppressive and loveless match that confines her. Despite her marriage, Alessandra continues to pursue her attraction to the young artist and his work. The personal drama unfolds against the turbulent backdrop of Renaissance Florence, which is caught between the Medici's lavish state, with its love of art and learning, and the rising political and religious fervor of the fundamentalist Dominican friar, Girolamo Savonarola. Alessandra's life and her native city are torn between this clash of high art, freedom, and the hellfire preaching and increasing violence of Savonarola's followers. Written as a memoir by Alessandra late in her life, the book is a story of love, art, religion, power, and a woman's discovery of her own strength amidst political and personal turmoil.

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