Tomb of Niccolò Machiavelli - Santa Croce Florence

This tomb, dedicated to Niccolò Machiavelli (d1527), was created by Spinazzi Innocenzo in 1787, and is in Santa Croce Florence.

Originally working as a secretary in the Republican Florentine Government he rose to become an envoy to France, and the Papal court where he met Cesare Borgia, Louis XII, and the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian. It was his encounters with these sort of people that influenced his work "The Prince" which he ostensibly wrote for the young Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino shortly after the Medici regained power after the overthrow of the Republican government, and Machiavelli was released from prison after being tortured. The cynicism in the work is at odds with Machiavelli republicanism. its premise that the ends of power and glory justify any means necessary is thought of have made the book a diabolical work. However, another interpretation of the work, especially since the 18th century, has led some to have suggested that the work is to be a satire.