MACHIAVELLI: EXPERT IN THE ART OF WAR? A CRITICAL READING OF MICHEL PRETALLI

Abstract

This research has as main theme the debate on one of the main works of the florentine author, "Dell'Arte della Guerra", initially published in 1521, one year after its written conclusion. The discussion is based on the understanding of the Florentine author as a connoisseur of the art of war, based on his theoretical analysis of the technical methods and strategies that should be used by an army.  However, according to Michel Pretalli (2020), lack of untie a problematic node not yet solved, from the analysis of the placement of the "Art of War" in italian military literature of the sixteenth century: with regard to the analysis from the point of view of military expertise, and because it treats war from a macro perspective, the dialogue presented in the work can be considered a manual or a technical text?  Thus, we propose a walk that walks from the information about the intellectual formation of the young Niccolò Machiavelli, based on the memoir his father Bernardo, the "Libro di Ricordi", obtaining fundamental information to understand precisely his political-military writings, as well as his influences.