Luigi Alamanni and the Dark Side of the Renaissance

Luigi Alamanni, a poet, humanist, erudite, and refined man of letters, diplomat, and Pythagorean initiate, was one of the most interesting and, at the same time, least known and celebrated figures of the Renaissance. A disciple of the philosopher Francesco Cattani da Diacceto and a member of the Florentine Platonic Academy, he led an adventurous life, largely spent far from his native Florence, committed and involved in conspiracies and repeated attempts to overthrow Medicean power. His literary output was vast, bearing the full imprint of the Platonic-Pythagorean cultural climate of the Orti Oricellari Academy.In this brief essay, Luigi Alamanni and the Dark Side of the Renaissance, the historian Nicola Bizzi presents a completely new analysis of Alamanni's figure and the context in which he lived and operated, starting from a premise: the anti-Medicean hatred of certain Florentine Pythagorean circles had very ancient roots, going far beyond the mere defense of republican ideals. Not only were economic issues at stake, but also and above all secret knowledge, the possession of certain texts and "power" objects, and, obviously, a different esoteric approach to political management.