"Tagliare a pezzi". Cesare Borgia tra rimandi biblici e fonte senofontea in Machiavelli

Only in tree parts of Machiavelli\u2019s writings occurs a stark expression: \uabtagliare a pezzi\ubb. Two of them are in The Prince, the third one in Discorsi. Two of them concern ancient examples (Hiero and Clearchus), the other one a modern experience, the famous and violent episode in which Cesare Borgia executes his lieutenant Rimirro, a capital punishment that Machiavelli watched in Cesena. The essay tries to show how all of Machiavelli\u2019s examples deal in a subtle way with a topical Machiavelli\u2019s view \u2013 civil principality. From this discussion, a survey (or journey) between Machiavelli\u2019s text and historical context begins, where some other striking questions are approached, such as the absence of Cesare Borgia in Discorsi (so sensational as neglected), the relationship between Machiavelli and Michelangelo linked by a \u2018republican\u2019 David, or the figure of pope Leo X, that would be, according to this essay, that \uabcertain prince of present times, whom it is best not to name\ubb, and not, according to the common opinion, Ferdinand the Catholic