American Hero: Italian Style

In my historical novel, American Hero, I have tried to tell the truth through fiction. The never named main character is kidnapped and brought to a mysterious organization in Florence sponsored by the De Medici family and called The Academy. From there, he is sent on a secret mission with Columbus to Spain.

Actually, it was no secret. For years, Lorenzo De Medici had been dreaming of creating a democratic republic that would emphasize every individual’s right to pursue happiness. Though they based their plans on Plato’s Republic, being Italian they couldn’t help but go beyond Plato and include a primary place for music and art in their ideal society. Unfortunately, the Inquisition burned their dreams away and the tyranny of the Church and Court one-percenters ruled. Any parallels to today’s American political climate are purely inevitable.

The De Medici Academy, whose members included Leonardo Da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, Amerigo Vespucci, and Cristoforo Colombo, contracted with Spain to finance a voyage going west to get to Asia. This was mostly a cover. Spain, flushed with its final victory in their seven hundred year war with the Moslems and anxious to take on their rivals, The Portuguese, was ripe for De Medici manipulation.  The Academy really wanted to reach a rumored island—perhaps Atlantis itself—where their dreams of a true republic might be realized.

This has lot to do with the true origin of the unprecedented value on individual potential hard-wired into the political system of the United States. You can read more about it in American Hero.

"Let everyone open his ears well:
Let no one feed on tomorrow;
Today, young and old, let's be
Happy, everybody, women and men:
May every sad thought fall away;
Let's be celebrating always.
Let him be happy who wants to be:
There's no certainty of tomorrow."

Lorenzo De Medici