I thoroughly enjoyed Shellabarger's "Prince of Foxes", set in Italy during the Renaissance. I think it was fairly lighthearted, but maybe someone who read it more recently can correct me if my memory is off. A friend of mine reviewed it as "a register of Italian names", so you know its got to be good. Must be 30 years since I read it and it was the first book that came to mind so it did have an impact on me even if it failed to catch the fancy of my friend. My suspicion is that he failed to read past the first chapter as the rest of the book has adventures and excitement aplenty.