This title follows the the fortunes of the Medici family in Florence as well as those who achieved success away from Florence, including the two Medici popes and Catherine de' Medici who became Queen of France. The Medici has been written to accompany a Channel 4 series (of four one-hour parts), due to be screened at the end of 2003. It explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence, as well as the Italian Renaissance which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Interwoven into the narrative are the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings - including Leonardo de Vinci, Michelangelo and Donatello, together with scientists such as Galileo and philosophers such as Pico della Mirandola - both of whom clashed with the religious authorities. The book ends by describing the decadent decline of the Medici family in Florence as they strove to be recognized as European princes.