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To celebrate the 200th anniversary episode, which coincided with the 8th anniversary, we decided to hear from you, dear constant listener to create a special episode to celebrate this great milestone with many more hopefully to come.

As well as greetings, we'll hear about:

Sieges vs Battles

Moving Michelangelo artwork

An influential writer at the court of pope Leo X

The legend of the heart of bricks hidden among the alleyways of Venice

A warning from the lovely town of Carpi

The story of the unsung police hero Salvatore and his role in the notorious 1984 train bombing by the Sicilian Mafia and far-right terrorist organisations

Enjoy!

With Giovanni dalle Bande Nere gone, we return to Florence to witness the dramatic collapse of the centuries-old Florentine Republic and the emergence of Medici princely rule. Against the backdrop of the Sack of Rome, religious extremism, political infighting, and imperial intervention, this episode follows Florence’s final republican experiment and introduces one of its most controversial rulers: Alessandro de’ Medici, the first Duke of Florence.

1. Pope Clement VII’s humiliation after the Sack of Rome by mutinous imperial landsknechts and the blow to Medici prestige.
2. The pope’s political failures, including his looming clash with Henry VIII and the broader collapse of Medici papal authority.
3. Florence’s growing disillusionment with Medici “informal rule” and the sense that the moment for change had arrived.

1. Early unrest during the passage of imperial troops and the damage to Michelangelo’s David.
2. The fall of Cardinal Silvio Passerini’s authority after the Sack of Rome.
3. The decisive confrontation involving Clarice de’ Medici and Filippo Strozzi that triggered the Medici flight from the city.
4. The rise of a new republican government under Gonfalonier Niccolò Capponi.
5. Factional divisions among the anti-Medici forces, from aristocratic moderates to radical, Savonarola-inspired religious extremists.
6. The extraordinary moment when Jesus Christ was proclaimed King of Florence in February 1529.

1. The Treaty of Barcelona (1529) between Clement VII and Charles V, sealing Florence’s fate.
2. The imperial siege of Florence and Michelangelo’s role—brief and reluctant—in strengthening the city’s defenses.
3. Internal betrayal and wavering leadership under Malatesta Baglioni.
4. Florentine defiance through ritual and sport: frozen-Arno games, Carnival football in Santa Croce, and cannon fire aimed at celebration.
5. Capitulation in August 1530 after famine and plague, and Clement VII’s intervention to prevent a sack.
6. The definitive death of the Florentine Republic.

1. Alessandro’s appointment as Gonfalonier for life and later Duke of Florence, with authority imposed by imperial decree rather than civic choice.
2. Competing theories about his parentage and his nickname il Moro.
3. The...

In this episode, we trace the final chapters in the life of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, the last great condottiero of Renaissance Italy, and his unlikely, enduring friendship with the scandalous writer Pietro Aretino. From political satire in Rome to blood-soaked battlefields in Lombardy and Umbria, this story intertwines art, warfare, ambition, and the sweeping changes that transformed European conflict forever.

• Early life in Arezzo, his refusal of his father’s name, and his rise as a sharp-tongued writer and showman in the papal court of Leo X.
• The “talking statues” of Rome—especially Pasquino—and how Aretino’s biting pasquinades shaped political discourse.
• His alignment with Giulio de’ Medici (future Pope Clement VII), flight after the election of Hadrian VI, and continued clashes with papal officials.
• The scandal of the erotic engravings of Giulio Romano, ensuing arrests, and Aretino’s provocative “lustful sonnets.”
• His stabbing in Rome, survival, and eventual wanderings through Mantua and finally Venice, where he spent the last decades of his colourful life.
• His literary legacy, including La Cortigiana and the Ragionamenti, with their unfiltered depictions of sex, society, and the hypocrisy of his age.

• Giovanni’s campaigns under various Italian powers and his growing reputation as a fearless and impulsive commander.
• His service to Pope Leo X and later Hadrian VI, including action against the Baglioni in Umbria and the dramatic siege at Passignano.
• Giovanni’s early brushes with imperial interest—and his surprising decision to instead enter French service under Francis I.
• The Battle of Bicocca (1522): a turning point in military history marking the decline of heavy cavalry and mercenary companies in the face of firearms and artillery.
• Giovanni’s wounding at Pavia and the involvement of two remarkable physicians: Berengario da Carpi and Abraham of Mantua.
• His turbulent finances, reckless habits, and the selling of Aulla, which ended his dream of carving out a hereditary domain.
• Increasing tensions caused by his Black Bands as they created chaos across Tuscany and Emilia.

• The formation of the anti-imperial League of Cognac (1526): Italy and France united against Charles V.
• Giovanni’s renewed service—accompanied once more by Aretino—and widespread hopes that he might become the Italian hero capable of unifying the peninsula.
• Frustration with Duke Francesco della Rovere’s hesitant leadership and obstacles created by Italian rivalries, especially the Este of Ferrara.
• Giovanni’s last victory at Governolo near Mantua.
• His mortal wounding from a hidden sniper’s shot—ironically not from the artillery that was reshaping warfare—and the dramatic amputation performed by Dr. Abraham.
• Giovanni’s final days, the legendary accounts of his stoicism, and his death at just 28 years old.

• The consequences of Giovanni’s death: the failure of the League of Cognac to stop the imperial advance and the catastrophic Sack of Rome in 1527.
• The continuation of the Black Bands under Pier Maria de’ Rossi—and Maria Salviati’s refusal to let young Cosimo join them as a mascot.
• Giovanni’s relocation from Mantua to Florence and his enduring presence in the city’s memory.
• A glimpse of his statue near the Uffizi, standing guard toward the Arno—a symbolic link to his son, Cosimo I, future Grand Duke of Tuscany.