The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence: A Story of Botticelli (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781250071507)

"In the tradition of Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring, Palombo has married fine art with romantic historical fiction in this lush and sensual interpretation of Medici Florence, artist Sandro Botticelli, and the muse that inspired them all." - Booklist

A girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated. Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family's favored circle.

Even before her marriage with Marco is set, Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici's glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosophers. The men of Florence--most notably the rakish Giuliano de' Medici--become enthralled with her beauty. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her more desirable and fashionable still. But it is her acquaintance with a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, which strikes her heart most. Botticelli immediately invites Simonetta, newly proclaimed the most beautiful woman in Florence, to pose for him. As Simonetta learns to navigate her marriage, her place in Florentine society, and the politics of beauty and desire, she and Botticelli develop a passionate intimacy, one that leads to her immortalization in his masterpiece, The Birth of Venus.

Alyssa Palombo's The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence vividly captures the dangerous allure of the artist and muse bond with candor and unforgettable passion.

Author: Alyssa Palombo
ISBN-10: 125007150X
ISBN-13: 9781250071507
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Language: English
Published: 04/25/2017
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.40w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 02/01/2017 pg. 28
Publishers Weekly 02/20/2017