Abstract
This thesis aims to show that Machiavelli has forged his very personal conception of the arte dello stato by establishing a tension between the rule and the exception. That is to say, the set of norms that allows a prince or a founder of the republic to lead the things of the state by ordinary means of recourse consistent with the attitude of a prudent man respectful of morality (ethics), and the momentary suspension of this normative conduct by the use of extraordinary means necessary for the maintenance of its state or republican institutions, contrary to prudence and to that morality.This approach of the Machiavellian reflection on the arte dello stato makes it possible to account for the great homogeneity of the texts that compose his work and cover a period of almost three decades.The method used is mainly hermeneutic and is inspired by the work on Machiavelli’s language.