Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian political philosopher, musician, poet, and romantic comedic playwright. He is a figure of the Italian Renaissance and a central figure of its political component, most widely known for his treatises on realist political theory -The Prince (1513)- on the one hand and republicanism -Discourses on Livy (1512-1517)- on the other.