Search results for "Cesare Borgia"

"Tagliare a pezzi". Cesare Borgia tra rimandi biblici e fonte senofontea in Machiavelli

2012

Only in tree parts of Machiavelli’s writings occurs a stark expression: «tagliare a pezzi». Two of them are in The Prince, the third one in Discorsi. Two of them concern ancient examples (Hiero and Clearchus), the other one a modern experience, the famous and violent episode in which Cesare Borgia executes his lieutenant Rimirro, a capital punishment that Machiavelli watched in Cesena. The essay tries to show how all of Machiavelli’s examples deal in a subtle way with a topical Machiavelli’s view – civil principality. From this discussion, a survey (or journey) between Machiavelli’s text and historical context begins, where some other striking questions are approached, such as the absence o…