The Content Reader

  We have reached week 2 of Nonfiction November, hosted by Julie@Julz Read . Week 2: (November 9-13) – is all about Book Pairing: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. It can be an “If you loved this book, read this!” or just two titles that you think would go well together. Maybe it’s a historical novel and you’d like to get the real history by reading a nonfiction version of the story.  I read a lot of historical fiction, and find that I often want to read a nonfiction book just to see how well the author has followed history. I recently read The Girl Who Tempted Fortune  by Jane Ann McLachlan. It is set in the Kingdom of Naples at the beginning of the 14th century. I have read quite a lot about the time as regards the region of Tuscany and Milan, but not so much about Naples. So far I have not found a nonfiction book to read about this time. Could you recommend one?   After having visited Florence in February this year (just before the pandem...

I recently visited Florence, which you can read about on my other blog The Content Reader Goes Outdoor .  Florence is one of the prominent city-states during the Italian Renaissance. I am currently reading various books about the de' Medici family and will return to the subject later on. While searching for books about this time, I happened to find a book about Caterina Riario Sforza (1463-1509). She was the illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan. The story of her life is more than life itself. She was an incredible woman; mother, wife, warrior, and icon.  She met many of the important men of her time: " Pope Sixtus IV , Caterina's benefactor and uncle by marriage, who commissioned the Sistine Chapel frescoes in which she is immortalized.   Count Girolamo Riario , Caterina's first husband and an originator of the Pazzi conspiracy, whose corrupt ways led to their flight from Rome to Forli.   Niccolò Machiavelli , the Florentine politic...