William J. Connell holds the Joseph M. and Geraldine C. La Motta Chair in Italian Studies at Seton Hall University and is a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. He is coeditor of "Florentine Tuscany: Structures and Practices of Power "(2000), author of "La citta dei crucci: fazioni e clientele in uno stato repubblicano del '400 "(2000), and coeditor of "Renaissance Essays "(1993).