Rolling up the river – Frank McNally on an unlikely partnership between Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli

See the Derry Girls sights or experience spring delights in Zurich

Travel Bag: Enjoy a state-of-the-art spa in the Algarve or visit Florence to celebrate Salvatore Ferragamo’s designs

After the deluge: An Irishman’s Diary about the Great Florence Flood of 1966

The power plays behind the Medici portraits

A Paris exhibition of Medici portraits is a subtle guide to the turbulence that would shape Europe for centuries