Christianity and Roman Church in the Liberation and Servitude of Italy. From "The Prince" to the "Discourses"
Abstract
Machiavelli’s diagnostic on the Italy of his time (in the Discourses on Livy, in the Art of the War or in the Florentine Histories) includes, among other things, a view on Christian religion scarcely compatible with his views on liberty or on political virtue. Machiavelli imputes to the papacy to be a source of corruption in customs and a barrier to the creation of a strong state in Italy. However, and apparently in contradiction with the former, in The Prince Machiavelli seems to propose the liberation of Italy with Papacy’s support and its territorial and political power. This article attempts to deal with this disparity or contradiction, exploring also how this problematic connects with Machiavelli’s thought and its chronological order.
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