The Medici: Bankers, Gangsters, Popes - BBC Radio Drama - Mike Walker, Sian Ejiwunmi Le-Berre Audiobook

Written by Mike Walker, Sian Ejiwunmi Le-Berre
Read by Full Cast
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 160 Kbps
Dramatization

The Medici: Bankers, Gangsters, Popes

Mike Walker’s Historical drama series about the Medici’s family, the effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance.

EPISODE 1 - COSIMO BY MIKE WALKER.

Cosimo de’ Medici inherits his father’s bank. Through shrewd trade and business innovation he becomes the richest man in Europe and a great patron of the Arts, but will Albizzi and the ruling families of Florence ever accept him as an equal?

Cosimo de’ Medici - Patrick Baladi
Contessina de’ Bardi - Sirine Saba
Rinaldo degli Albizzi - Richard Elfyn
Niccolo Tinucci - Christopher Elson
Old Giovanni - Hugh Thomas
Silvio - Marc Danbury
Gio Verdi - Marco Fiera
The Manager - David Hounslow

EPISODE 2 - LORENZO THE MAGNIFICENT BY MIKE WALKER.

Young Lorenzo is more interested in Art and romance than banking. His mother Lucrezia is still holding the family and the business together. Can he step up to the task of ruling Florence in all but name? Or will his enemies put a knife in his back?

Lorenzo de’ Medici - Tom Cullen
Lucrezia Tornabuoni - Sharon Morgan
Clarice Orsini - Abra Thompson
Gio de’ Medici - Gareth Pierce
Marietta - Saran Morgan
Cardinal Orsini - Simon Armstrong
Soderini - Daniel Cerqueira
Pope Sixtus - John Cording
Tinucci - Tommy Sim’aan
Pazzi - Matthew Durkan
The Manager - David Hounslow

EPISODE 3 - BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES BY SIAN EJIWUNMI LE-BERRE.

Lorenzo the Magnificent has to try and stop the war with the Pope. To do it he will have to go alone to Naples to negotiate with King Ferrante - the most terrifying ruler in Europe. He would rather surround himself with Art and artists, but unexpected troubles are coming from the North too - the zealous monk Savonarola is determined to purge Florence of sin, which means the rich and all their baubles of beauty.. And the bank is in decline. Can he save anything for his dim witted successors? Will they even care?

Lorenzo de’ Medici - Tom Cullen
Lucrezia Tornabuoni - Sharon Morgan
Clarice Orsini - Abra Thompson
Savonarola - Matthew Gravelle
King Ferrante - Jonathon Forbes
Pope Innocent - Roger Ringrose
Leonardo da Vinci- Tom Kiteley
Botticelli - Hughie O’ Donnell
Organ - Branwen Munn

Sound Design - Nigel Lewis and Catherine Robinson

Producer - John Norton

A BBC Audio Wales production

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2023.

My recordings from BBC Sounds at 160kbps 48kHz VBR M4B