The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence is the story of Simonetta Cattaneo, a young woman who moves to Florence in order to marry the rich and potentially powerful Marco Vespucci, but ends up finding love in the arms of another man. It's a richly drawn historical novel, filled with art, intrigue, love, and sadness, and I admit staying up way too late at night just to see how things would turn out.

Simonetta is only fifteen when Marco proposes to her. He's educated, wealthy, and handsome, but, even more intriguing to Simonetta is his friendship with the extremely powerful de’ Medici family. Even though she hardly knows Marco, she agrees to become his wife. She and her parents move to Florence before the marriage so Simonetta can begin to acclimate herself to Florentine society, and, almost as soon as they arrive, Simonetta is sure she's found the place she truly belongs.

The people of Florence are almost immediately enchanted by Simonetta's intellect and beauty. Her education is quite unconventional for the times, and she's not the kind of woman to hide her intelligence from anyone. She loves reading and discussing poetry, and this makes her quite popular among the de’ Medici's circle of artists, poets, philosophers, and politicians. It is at a social gathering at the home of Lorenzo de' Medici that Simonetta catches the eye of up-and-coming painter Sandro Botticelli. He is immediately drawn to her, and sets about convincing her to pose for him. Once Marco agrees that a portrait of his beautiful wife would be the perfect thing to commemorate their marriage, Simonetta and Sandro begin spending hours in one another's company.

At first, Marco and Simonetta seem to be quite happy together, but it soon becomes obvious that Marco feels threatened by her popularity. He seems to want her to look pretty on his arm without really attracting attention of her own, but that simply isn't possible, and so cracks begin to appear in their marriage. Marco is jealous of the time Simonetta spends with Botticelli, even though nothing untoward has happened between them. He doesn't go so far as to forbid her to continue posing for the portrait, but he makes his dislike of it abundantly clear. Simonetta, who is trying to figure out her place as a wife, isn't sure what to do. She doesn't want to displease her husband, but Sandro Botticelli is someone she's come to think of a friend, and she doesn't want to give him up. Of course, it is clear to the reader that Simonetta is attracted to the painter, but she doesn't realize it until quite a bit later in the story.

Life is further complicated by Simonetta's ill health. She is frequently ill with debilitating coughs and fevers, and also seems incapable of bearing children, a fact that makes her feel like a failure as a wife. But her social popularity continues to grow, and she becomes known as the most beautiful woman in all of Florence.

This novel might prove troubling to those readers who don't like reading about adultery. Nothing happens between Simonetta and Botticelli right away, but they do eventually give into their mutual attraction, despite Simonetta being married to Marco. I wasn't put off too much by this development since Marco is no saint, and it's painfully obvious he and Simonetta aren't nearly as well-suited as both of them had hoped they would be. I ended up really pulling for Simonetta to seize her own happiness, even at the cost of her marriage.

If you're looking for a sweet romance with an HEA, you won't find it here. The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence is historical fiction with a strong romantic arc, but it's important for readers to know that things don't end well for Simonetta and the artist she inspired. I won't tell you exactly what happens, but be prepared to cry.

Despite the lack of a happy ending, I found myself totally riveted by this novel. Ms. Palombo is to be applauded for her ability to transport readers back in time to fifteenth-century Florence, and I was able to lose myself completely in the world she so skilfully brings to life. Her characters practically leap off the page, and I found myself fully invested in their joys and struggles. I definitely plan to seek out the author's previous novel, and I can't wait to see what she'll write next.

I've been really turning to the art history books lately (like Stolen Beauty and The Girl Between) and enjoying the genre. This one didn't blow me away with the historical detail and characterization like the others have, but it was a solid piece of historical fiction constructed from tidbits of fact with a good amount of educated filling-in of the blanks. Particularly enjoyable for someone who has been to the Uffizi and admired The Birth of Venus in person.

This is an intriguing interpretation about the life of Simonetta Cattaneo, a young, intelligent girl who became known as the "Most Beautiful Woman of Florence" and who developed a close, intimate relationship with the famous Renaissance painter, Sandro Botticelli.

It is a story about familial responsibilities, duty, strength, coming-of-age, friendship, art, passion, desire, loss and love.

Simonetta was a feminist ahead of her time who understood quickly that her beauty was both a gift and a curse, and who ultimately longed and strived in her regrettably short life to be known and loved for her knowledge and mind instead.

The prose is smooth and fluid, and the storyline takes us back to the mid-to-late 1400s to the city of Florence when politics, learning and the liberal arts were revered and who you knew was certainly more important than what you knew.

This certainly is a well written, vivid, rich story, and even though there is not much known about Simonetta's life and the events that led up to Botticelli's immortalization of her in his famous painting, Palombo has done a remarkable job of taking those historical facts and surrounding them with fiction that is passionate, alluring and incredibly captivating.

Thank you to NetGalley, especially St. Martin's Press, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reading this book was as enjoyable as sipping an Italian wine while admiring art. Gosh, I just loved this story and all the characters. It makes me wish that I could just hope on a plane and head for Florence this minute! Alyssa Palombo is a new author to me, but her writing kept me glued to my seat and my heart swelled as she brought Simonetta Vespucci's story to life. In her author's note, Palombo explains that as an author she did have to flesh out Simonetta's story because there was little more than a footnote of information available. Even if Botticelli and Simonetta were never lovers,I just couldn't get enough of Alyssa Palombos version of the story.

Set in Florence during the time of the greatest patron of Renaissance artists, Lorenzo de Medici, (de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic), second part of the 15th century. Simonetta Cattaneo of Genoa and noble family marries Marco Vespucci of Florence (the cousin-in-law of Amerigo Vespucci – explorer) at the age of 16. She is not an ordinary woman. She craves knowledge, which is claimed not necessary for girls as “No man wants a wife as well learned as he is.” But the enlightened city of Florence gives her the opportunity she’s been longing for. Once in Florence, at Medici’s palace she meets a newly discovered artist by Lorenzo, Sandro Botticelli. At their first encounter, he asks her to pose for him. Once her portrait is revealed, she becomes both the icon of fashion and beauty instantly. Soon after Botticelli asks her to pose for him again, but now as Venus, meaning nude.

The story starts very strong, engrossing, but once she gets married, too many love making scenes present, finishing chapters as the end of each chapter meant night. In this self-absorbed discovery, historical background and her eagerness for knowledge are lost. It’s all about personal feelings.

Little is known about Simonetta. She is just a footnote in history. This gives an author a lot of freedom in using their imagination, which wasn’t strong in this story. Her eagerness for knowledge is short lived in this story. It’s more of a mention than showing it in action. The history and the richness of the Renaissance Florence is hardly felt in this story, which is a shame, since this is a story of the greatest artistic period with one of the greatest artists and beauty of Florence.

It’s a short work, taking me just a few hours to read, and it’s hopefully not too much of a spoiler to say that there’s not much of a happy ending. But in that short, and sad, time, Palombo builds a wonderful portrait of Simonetta, a naive young woman who arrives in Florence only to find that all she desires comes with a price.

At its heart, this short novel focuses on the idea that beauty simply isn’t enough, and certainly isn’t sustainable. The Medici, for all their patronage of the arts, most definitely found that to be the case. And while The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence isn’t much of a high brow historical exploration of the fact, it’s still a well crafted piece of historical fiction, and I definitely found myself swept up in the romance of it all – true to history or not.

Beautifully crafted story that was captivating from the start. I felt like I was transported to Renaissance Florence -- one of my favorite settings of all time! So much love for Alyssa Palombo right now!

Saying I enjoyed reading every word of this book is a bit of an underestimate.
The most beautiful woman in Florence is a beautiful story set in the back drop of one the most glamorous time periods in history. A beautiful woman, a beautiful city, beautiful paintings. Florence...Botticelli...Medici ...oh my!
So begins this story which centers around Simonetta, who has been given the title of the "reigning beauty of Florence", the moment she lands with her new husband into her new life. Simonetta is not just beauty, she is an intelligent woman, with a love for the arts. She is soon thrown into the famous Medici inner circle where her beauty captavates ever person in the room. She soon thrives in these social settings when everyone learns that she is also a learned woman wholeheartedly interested in all the arts this new age is bringing, a beautiful gem fitted perfectly in this glittering city.
She immediately catches the eye of Sandro Botticelli, an upcoming artist favored by the Medici family. After she agrees to sit for him as he paints her portrait, something happens that she can not undue. A bond grows between, she is left with thoughts of him, secretly scanning the room at every event, counting the minutes till their next session. What is this feeling ? She has all she has ever wanted in life, why is she still not satisfied?
In the book, Simonetta once describes a painting by saying : she felt close to the woman, she felt she could actually be friends with this woman. This is how I feel about Simonetta, the main character of this book.
The author did a great job bringing a strong beautiful woman to life, someone relatable, someone with real feelings, someone who might have lived centuries ago, but who could very well be a friend of today.

I have always loved the works of Botticelli, and have seen the famous painting of the Birth of Venus in the Uffizi. I was not prepared, however, for the way that Alyssa yanked me into her story and kept me there, so smitten was I that I stayed up far too late in the night to find out what happened to the beautiful Simonetta and her love, Sandro. I will never again be able to look at a Botticelli and not think of this novel. The characters are masterfully wrought, the setting of Florence bright and visual, and the love story is one that will warm your heart.

The painting, The Birth of Venus, is one of the most famous images of the Renaissance, but Who has given any thought to the identity of the model? Palombo takes an educated guess in this gorgeous story. Simonetta is considered to be the most beautiful women in her city and happily accepts the hand of Marco Vespucci, a man who can bring her into the magical circle of the Medici’s. Her world becomes filled with parties and gatherings of the most celebrated artists, philosophers and scientists. When she in invited to the studio of Sandro Boticelli to be the model for a paining, she readily accepts. 15th century Italy, with all its passion, glory and treachery comes to life in this elegant tale