Republican Experiences in Renaissance Italy

An examination of how political turmoil in Renaissance Florence shaped the republican and democratic ideas of Machiavelli and Guicciardini.
About this Event

Violence, instability, and political upheaval have long shaped the histories of republics and democracies. In Renaissance Florence, these dynamics were central to the turbulent period between 1494 and 1512. During this time, influential thinkers Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini developed their distinctive views on republicanism and democratic governance.
In his lecture presentation, University of Toronto lecturer and researcher Giulio Leghissa will illuminate Renaissance approaches to republican and democratic ideas through the political experiences and writings of Machiavelli and Guicciardini.
Part of the “Democracy: Origins, Transformations and Global Legacies” lecture series.

Bio

Giulio Leghissa

Giulio Leghissa holds a PhD in Classics, Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology from the University of Toronto and is currently a Sessional Lecturer at the University of Toronto. His research examines the reception of Classical ideas and texts in modern Western culture, as well as the influence of the Classics on Western Orientalist literature. He also explores the relationship between the study of Greek and Latin and Western colonialism in Asia.