How did the Medici influence the Renaissance? Just how rich were they? And what dark family secrets were lurking in their past? In the latest episode in our series on history’s biggest topics, historian Catherine Fletcher responds to listener questions and popular online search queries on the Florentine dynasty, covering everything from the family’s exorbitant wealth to their alleged scandalous affairs.  (Ad) Catherine Fletcher is the author of The Beauty and the Terror: An Alternative History of the Italian Renaissance(Bodley Head, 2020) Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beauty-Terror-Alternative-History-Renaissance/dp/184792509X/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-hexpod 
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