Political Meritocracy in Renaissance ItalyThe first full length study of Francesco Patrizithe most important political philosopher of the Italian Renaissance before Machiavelliwho sought to reconcile conflicting claims of liberty and equality in the service of good governance. At the heart of the Italian Renaissance was a longing to recapture the wisdom and virtue of Greece and Rome. But how could this be done? A new school of social reformers concluded that the best way to revitalise corrupt