Question: The Visit, a satirical play, was directed by who? 
Sentence (from "The Mandrake"): Both contemporary and modern scholars read the play as an overt critique of the House of Medici; however, Machiavelli set the action in 1504 during the period of the Florentine Republic in order to express his frustrations without fear of censure from patrons already ill-disposed towards him and his writing.
Relevant evidence: No