Apology for a Murder

Assassin, poet, and self-styled hero—Lorenzino de’ Medici stunned Italy when he murdered his cousin Alessandro, the Duke of Florence, in 1537. But his real legacy may lie in the bold, fascinating confession he left behind.

In Apology for a Murder, Lorenzino defends his crime as a political act, placing himself alongside the great tyrant-slayers of classical antiquity. This volume pairs his gripping justification with a firsthand account of his own dramatic assassination a decade later—plus a selection of his poetry—painting a full portrait of one of literature’s most complex antiheroes.

Provocative, theatrical, and steeped in Renaissance intrigue, this is the story of a man who killed for an idea—and made sure the world heard his side.