Internationally renowned Renaissance historian and professor at Harvard University, James Hankins, presents a new volume that rekindles attention to one of Italy’s greatest yet long-forgotten political thinkers: Francesco Patrizi. Philosopher, humanist, and bishop, Patrizi (Siena, 1413 – Gaeta, 1494) imagined a republic built on civic virtue and duty.

In La meritocrazia politica nel Rinascimento italiano: La repubblica virtuosa di Francesco Patrizi da Siena, Hankins explores Patrizi’s bold political ideas and their significance, showing a mind as remarkable as those of the most celebrated Renaissance thinkers. Patrizi was an early advocate for universal literacy and civil justice. He also believed that private wealth must serve the common good rather than rule it. For Patrizi, only a society grounded in virtue, education, and fairness could endure. His ideas about political and participatory fairness in governance were both ahead of his time and widely read; so much so that shortly after his death, he was known all over Europe as “Il gran Patrizio” (“The great Patrizi”). Yet, in the second half of the sixteenth century, the rise of vast, strong, and centralized monarchies eventually eclipsed the vision he defended.

Professor Hankins’ monograph on Patrizi is now available in Italian thanks to the translation by Stefano U. Baldassarri, PhD (Director, ISI Florence) and Alessio Panichi, PhD (Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”).

Click here to buy the book now (Italian).

Sources:

Hankins, James. La meritocrazia politica nel Rinascimento italiano. La repubblica virtuosa di Francesco Patrizi da Siena. Italian edition translated by Stefano U. Baldassarri and Alessio Panichi. Rome: Viella Libri, 2025. https://www.viella.it/libro/9791254699409
Schola Humanistica. “James Hankins.” Accessed November 2025. https://www.scholahumanistica.com/consultants/james-hankins/
ISI Florence. “Stefano U. Baldassarri, Ph.D., Director.
Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale.” “Alessio Panichi, Professor.