Following the rise and fall of Machiavelli

Boats under the Ponte Vecchio on the Arno River in Florence. Machiavelli died in 1527, in a spot marked by plaques nearby.[Photo/China Daily]

But even as Machiavelli was creating his masterpiece, he had fears it would be misinterpreted, seen by the court as less a letter of forgiveness to the Medicis than a master plan for Machiavelli and other ambitious types to orchestrate their own takeovers. After The Prince was written in 1513, his fears were almost immediately realized, the treatise was quickly vilified, and Machiavelli labeled "an agent of the devil."

Now, however, just before the 500th anniversary of the presentation of The Princ to the Medicis in Florence, theorists and political scientists not only believe that in parts it was indeed misread, but also that it, in fact, marks the starting point for modern politics, serving as a highly persuasive treatise on diplomacy and the behind-the-scenes maneuvering required to curry favor in an ever-changing political landscape.

"One must be a fox in order to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten off wolves"－it was just this sort of pragmatic thought that has made him so important across the centuries.

Leaders from John Adams to Bill Clinton have been influenced by Machiavelli, reciting from his work or studying his texts to put in context their own political times.

Not least of whom is Matteo Renzi, the brash and charismatic 39-year-old who became Italy's prime minister in February, and is often described as Machiavellian by both local and international journalists.

In a very particular machination of Italian politics (and a move Machiavelli might have related to), Renzi ascended to power after a close election that resulted in a divided parliament that failed to produce a consensus candidate for prime minister, and the typically ceremonial president drew upon his constitutional powers to name a new prime minister instead of calling for new elections.

The comparison to Machiavelli is something that Renzi doesn't seem to mind, and may even relish; he even cut the ribbon to kick off the events of the yearlong celebration of the philosopher that included readings of The Prince and a presentation of his play La Mandragola (The Mandrake) at the Teatro Goldoni in Florence, guided tours of Machiavelli's office in the Palazzo Vecchio, and an exhibit at the city's National Central Library. In fact it was Mr. Renzi's affinity for the philosopher that really piqued my interest in pondering Machiavelli's Florence today.

As you stand in the entryway of the Palazzo Vecchio, it's difficult even to move inside the main building, so compelling the courtyards with their gorgeous lunettes, frescoes by Giorgio Vasari among others, and replica of the adorable fountain of a winged angel with a dolphin sculpted by Andrea del Verrocchio that is now on the museum's second floor.

I had come to this former home of Cosimo I de' Medici many times before, but this time I was on the hunt for Machiavelli's office as part of a desire to understand his rise and fall, and rise again.

His slim "Prince" had remained in my mind ever since I first read it in high school, its hold on me growing stronger after I read it again in a contemporary civilization course at Columbia, where I came to appreciate it as a supreme example of a sublimely succinct, and beautifully crafted, polemic. Five hundred years later, the sites that offer clues to the life of the writer continue to be among the most vital, not to mention artistically exquisite, in the city.