Benvenuto Cellini (1500-71) was the most celebrated goldsmith of his day as well as a distinguished sculptor. Yet his fame rests less on his work as an artist than on his Autobiography, which he began in Florence in 1558. An active participant in the wars and struggles of the period, Cellini gives us an unrivalled picture of the Italy of the Medici and Michelangelo. His own heroic opinion of himself is matched by a vigorous and extravagant style to produce one of the most sparkling autobiographies ever written.