For more than three centuries ( 1434 - 1737 ) , the fabulously wealthy Medici family of Florence , Italy , was one of the most powerful and influential dynasties in Europe . Twopopesand two queens came from the Medici line . Art lovers can thank the Medici for fostering and funding great Renaissance talents like Donatello , Botticelli and Michelangelo . And in Florence , which had a sexual love / hate relationship with the Medici , you’re able to hardly walk a pulley block without running into a castle , church or museum that bears the Medici top or drips with the family ’s rich ethnic inheritance .
But how precisely did the Medici get so filthy rich , and did they always expend their outsized influence for good ? We speak withKenneth Bartlett , a Renaissance historian at the University of Toronto and author of " Florence in the Age of the Medici and Savonarola , 1464 - 1498 : A Short History with Documents , " to see the sept ’s indelible stamp on the Renaissance world .
How the Medici Family Made Their Money
The home originallycame from a village in Tuscanybut eventually migrate to Florence , its capital . " They were bankers , " enjoin Bartlett . " Beginning withGiovanni di Bicci Diamond State ' Medici(1360–1429 ) , he established several arm of the Medici Bank , the most lucrative associated with the papal judicature . He made an tremendous amount of money doing this , as did many Florentine bankers . " ( It ’s unreadable where their surname came from but " medici " is the plural of " medico " or " MD " in Italian . So , you should refer to the syndicate members plural form as " the Medici " rather than " the Medicis , " according to Bartlett and others . )
Banks in the 14th one C were not unlike banks today . The Medici Bank stretch loans , view as deposition and functioned like a Middle Ages ATM , egress the most sure and stable coinage of the era , theflorin . Under Giovanni ’s son , the Medici Bankopened branchesin Rome , Venice , Naples , Milan , Geneva , and as far away as London .
That son was Cosimo the Elder ( not to be disconcert with at least three other Cosimos in theMedici family tree ) , who grow incalculably affluent from the family business while somehow remaining a " military man of the mass " and an artistic tastemaker .
At the time , Florence was a young republic , but its political sympathies were still under the thumb of a handful of old - money oligarchs . Cosimo , a fierce withstander of republican principle , stood up to the fat cats and was shortly exile from Florence on trumped up charges . But after a popular rebellion , the oligarch were expel , and Cosimo was welcome back as a hero and " the first citizen of the republic , " says Bartlett .
Cosimo used his fame , money and political influence to the immense benefit of 15th - century Florence . In politics , he aid break down factionalism by ensuring that the great unwashed of all political streak were give the hazard to be representatives . But by far his greatest donation was to the art , computer architecture and polish of Florence , which became an other jewel of the Italian Renaissance .
" Cosimo saw art and patronage as an instrument of policy , " enounce Bartlett . " He really believed in beautifying the city , but also bringing it dignity and that Italian affair calledreputazione — " renown " or " report . " Towns like to be talk about in positively charged ways and this give people an opportunity to do just that . "
One of Cosimo ’s heavy architectural commission in Florence was thePalazzo Medici , a palatial house design by Michelozzo which serve as the Medici kinsfolk manse and HQ for its banking empire . If the stately palace was n’t impressive enough , Cosimo filled it with groundbreaking full treatment of art . He commissioned Donatello’sDavid , the first loose - standing male person nude since ancientness and a masterwork of the early Renaissance , for the palace courtyard .
Cosimo ’s hand is seeable throughout modern - day Florence . He wholly rebuild theChurch of San Marcoand commission its frescoes by Fra Angelico . He resume the ambitious renovation of the Church of San Lorenzo , which features sensational bronze work by Donatello and a program library later designed by Michelangelo . A attached Renaissance man , Cosimo develop one of the large libraries of classical texts anywhere , and afterward founded thePlatonic Academy , a centre of humanist thought .
" Cosimo did so much , partly because of his wealth and also because he wanted to be seen as not a first citizen wielding force , but as a first citizen benefiting the community , " say Bartlett .
When Cosimo the Elder pall in 1464 , he was award the deed ofPater Patriae , the " father of his people , " and buried in the Church of San Lorenzo right in front of the altar .
Another ‘Magnificent’ Medici
Not every Medici was memorable . Cosimo the Elder ’s heritor , Piero " the Gouty , " was so halting with the rich man ’s disease — gout in the ancient humans was triggered by a diet compose exclusively of fatty meat and booze — that he barely left the castle . But the next Medici would outshine them all .
" Lorenzo ' the Magnificent ' was 20 years old when he took over the Medici party machine , " say Bartlett . " Lorenzo was a outstanding hero , a brilliant human being , cultivated , extremely intelligent , having both a natural mentality and close connection with both the common people and aristocratic grade . He was a cracking patron of art and idea , and came to set those glory years between 1469 and his death in 1492 . "
Botticelli was Lorenzo ’s favorite Felis concolor . Angelo Poliziano was his poet . When Lorenzo spotted the natural endowment of a adolescent Michelangelo , he enroll him in a carving school day ( that Lorenzo also establish ) andinvited Michelangelo to live at the Palazzo Medicias an honorary fellow member of the category .
Life was n’t all art and parties for Lorenzo , though . He was severely wounded during the Pazzi conspiracy , when a rival banking sept taste to stage a fierce coup in Florence with the backing of the Vicar of Christ . Lorenzo ’s comrade , Giuliano , was killed in the audacious attack as the two gentleman were at Christian church on Easter Sunday . The attack left Lorenzo paranoid and led to a political reputation as a autocrat .
But the real trouble came with the rise of a populist mendicant namedGirolamo Savonarolawho railed against the " pagan " neoplatonism conjoin by Lorenzo and his like . Savonarola ’s preaching became more and more apocalyptic , insist that Florence need to be " cleansed " to usher in the Second Coming . Savonarola excoriated the Medici from the pulpit of San Lorenzo and ultimately function the family out of Florence after Lorenzo died .
In a twirl , the Florentines embraced Michelangelo ’s uncomparable statue of David as asymbol of their struggleagainst the " Goliath " Medici clan and prominently displayed the statue near Florence ’s principal square .
Two Popes and Two Queens Were Medici
Technically four Bishop of Rome can claim a link to the Medici line , but only two were direct descendants of the notable Medici of Florence . The first was Giovanni di Lorenzo de ' Medici , second Word of Lorenzo " the Magnificent " ( the first son , Piero " the Unfortunate , " so - called because of his wretched judgment , preside over the Medici ’s defeat by Savonarola in 1494 ) . Giovanni became Pope Leo X , a free - spending artistic creation enthusiast who earned infamy for sell indulgences to help give for the redevelopment of St. Peter ’s Basilica in Rome . These indulgence , which promised absolution of sin to their owners , helped activate the Protestant Reformation .
The 2d Medici Pope was Giulio , the illegitimate son of Lorenzo ’s murdered sidekick , who took the name Clement VII . As pope , his most significant act wasblocking Henry VIII ’s divorceand threatening him with excision , leading to England ’s separation from the Catholic Church .
The Medici women were no strangers to power , either . Catherine First State ' Medici ( daughter of Lorenzo , Duke of Urbino and great - granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent ) marry into the Gallic monarchy at just 14 old age old in 1533 . Her husband , Henry , became king of France in 1547 and after his death , three of Catherine ’s sons serve as kings . When the boy were young ( her Logos Charles inherit the throne at 10 ) , Catherine serve as regent with untold political influence . Another Medici , Marie , was also queen of France in the other 17th century and was also regent for her young son , Louis XIII . Fun fact : Catherine allegedlyintroduced gelatoto the world , via her personal chef .
Decline of the Medici Family
The Medici return to Florence in the 1530s , but this time as monarchs . Cosimo I became the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569 , and the family dominate as hereditary monarchs for the next nearly 200 years with varying popularity and political backing . The last Medici , Gian Gastone , was a firmly - partying profligate who died without an heir in 1737 , efficaciously ending the long and celebrated run of the Medici dynasty .
Luckily , Gian had a babe who was far more capable . Anna Maria Luisa de ' Medici , a consecrate frequenter of the humanities , sign up the " Family Pact of 1737 " entrusting that three one C of graphics and treasure collected by the Medici would forever remain a birthright of Florence and never pull up stakes Tuscany .
