Famous debate between E. Barbaro and G. Pico della Mirandola in 1485 concerning humanism and scholasticism and the role of rhetoric.

In order to combat arbitrary interpretations that make Machiavelli in a "monument" of Western culture and The Prince in a work full of excessive responsibility, this article brings us back to the author's biographical time. We analyze the specific context in which Machiavelli lived and wrote The Prince , a short treatise that today seems to have lost its most authentic historical sense. Besides this biographical immersion, the article discusses issues relating to the composition, flow, content and fortune of The (...) Prince. (shrink)