Proposing a comparative reading of the main writings of Machiavelli and More, the essay detects the compresence of political realism and utopian tension in Machiavellian thought as well as the intrinsic bond between idealism and realist irony that characterises More’s Utopia. Relying on such a reading, the essay underlines the deep affinities that, notwithstanding the noticeable differences between them, allow to identify a common substratum deeply rooted in the origins of modernity. The analysis aims at problematizing the utopia-realism divide, in (...) order to develop a nuanced interpretation in order to escape the simplistic dichotomous reading which is widespread in the literature. (shrink)