This is one of the most colorful and fascinating autobiographies and what a wild, wild ride it is. Benvenuto Cellini the untameable goldsmith, sculptor, musician, artilleryman, sharpshooter, wheedler, and brute gives us the story of his life in his own words. Although esteemed for his art, when push came to shove he could as effectively dispatch an enemy with his words as with his sword. Cellini lived as the Italian renaissance was peaking where he was able to create masterpieces for his patrons - kings, popes, and leaders of sometimes waring Italian city-states. |