ABSTRACT
Although Michelangelo’s biographers attach great importance to his behavior before, during, and after the siege of Florence in 1529–30, his political opinions have not yet, so far as I know, been dealt with comprehensively. His behavior is regarded by some as proof of his great Italian patriotism, of his republicanism, of his violent hostility toward the Medici—and he is cast in the mold of a national hero. This was the view mainly held by the Italian writers during the period of Romanticism. 1 Others have seen the flight of 1529 as a betrayal of weakness and a morally reprehensible display of cowardice. This was the opinion of writers during the period of Positivism. 2
