Lev Lafayette's journal

From that link:

Whether or not the word "satire" is the best choice, the interpretation is very rare amongst those who study Machiavelli's works, for example Isaiah Berlin states that he can't find anything other than Machiavelli's work that "reads less" like a satirical piece

My (non-academic) impression at least was that most people read it pretty straightforwardly, and especially non-scholars. As you point out, the term "Machiavellian" has a lot to do with the common interpretation and almost nothing to do with the facts.