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He was vigorous and astute, often used force against his opponents, and always wanted to celebrate his power. The fate of the family changed, thanks to Cosimo I (1519–1574), who descended from Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent but not directly. He built a palace (located in via Larga) for himself but wanted it to look like the home of a merchant. He enriched Florence with works of art and also donated to libraries and churches. Giovanni di Bicci (1360–1429) is the first member of the family who created a dense network of merchants around him and his family.
What is the Medici family best known for?
Their financial support of the arts and humanities helped to make Renaissance-era Florence a thriving cultural center. The successor to the throne―Ferdinando II―was too young to reign, so his mother and grandmother reigned for him and―just to summarize―caused a lot of trouble! Some members of the Medici family tried to keep up the family name, but it was near the end of the dynasty, and the city of Florence was in the midst of disputes and barters of the ruling houses all over Europe. Cosimo de Medici finds himself at the helm of his banking dynasty when his father, Giovanni, dies suddenly.A political family drama set in Florence in the early fifteenth century. Cosimo de Medici finds himself at the helm of his banking dynasty when his father, Giovanni, dies suddenly. The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, was a banking and political dynasty during the Renaissance period.
Why were the Medici important to the Renaissance?
The prestige of the Medici soon extended beyond the confines of Florence, and some members of the family were elected pope, such as Leo X and Clement VII. Giovanni’s two sons, Cosimo (1389–1464), who acquired the appellation of “the Elder”, and Lorenzo (1394–1440), founded the famous bloodlines of the Medici family. The Medici family became a wealthy family of bankers, and Giovanni was one of the richest Florentines in the early fifteenth century. Members of the Medici family were the protagonists of Florentine life long before their dynasty passed into history.
Rome's Disaster: Battle of Teutoburg Forest
Known to history as Cosimo the Elder, he lived a spartan life but was a devoted patron of the humanities, supporting artists such as Lorenzo Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello and Fra Angelico. During Cosimo’s time, as well as that of his sons and particularly his grandson Lorenzo de Medici, the Italian Renaissance flourished, and Florence became the cultural center of Europe. The Medici produced four popes (Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV, and Leon XI), and their genes have been passed through many of Europe’s royal families. The last Medici ruler, Gian Gastone, died without a male heir in 1737, ending the family dynasty after almost three centuries and beginning the long European reign of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family.
Great dynasties of the world: The Medici family - The Guardian
Great dynasties of the world: The Medici family.
Posted: Sat, 08 May 2010 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Anna Maria Luisa was offered a nominal regency by the Prince de Craon until the new grand duke could peregrinate to Tuscany, but declined.[50] Upon her brother's death, she received all the House of Medici's allodial possessions. Gian Gastone despised the electress for engineering his catastrophic marriage to Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg; while she abhorred her brother's liberal policies, he repealed all of his father's anti-Semitic statutes. Duchess Violante of Bavaria, Gian Gastone's sister-in-law, tried to withdraw the grand duke from the sphere of influence of the Ruspanti by organising banquets. During the 1430s the Medici, headed by Cosimo the Elder, took over the leadership of Florence. Although Cosimo rarely held important political posts, he placed power in the hands of special councils packed with Medici supporters.
The three branches of the Medici family
The Medici family can be traced to the Mugello valley just north of Florence where they were mentioned in a document from the year 1230. The Medici villa of Cafaggiolo was the family's Mugello home, located near present day Barberino di Mugello. This is of fundamental importance, because their rise to power and influence was a thorn in the side to other noble families in Florence who, up until then, had control over the city, its politics and economy. In 1512, thanks in part to the efforts of Piero’s younger brother Giovanni (a cardinal at the time and the future Pope Leo X), the Medici family was able to return to Florence. The next few years marked the high point of Medici influence in Europe, as Leo X followed in his father’s humanistic footsteps and devoted himself to artistic patronage. The extinction of the main Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown.
They first attained wealth and political power in Florence through their success in commerce and banking. Beginning in 1434 with the rise to power of Cosimo de’ Medici (or Cosimo the Elder), the family’s support of the arts and humanities transformed Florence into the cradle of the Renaissance, a cultural flowering rivaled only by that of ancient Greece. Lorenzo de’ Medici deservedly holds an honoured place in the history of Florence and Italy. Inheriting from his forebears a deep respect for arts and letters, he became a poet himself as well as a patron of artists and a skilled statesman. His three children, Piero (1472–1503), Giovanni (1475–1521)—later Leo X—and Giuliano (1479–1516), played contrasting roles in the city’s history. Assuming the mantle of family power from Lorenzo, Piero alienated the people of Florence by siding with the French.
“After seven centuries, their story remains a compelling one, full of intrigue, power, art, and faith. The historic and artistic heritage they left us still lives on, and we hope that it will inspire a new Renaissance in Italy, Europe, and throughout the world. Because of the project’s cultural importance, we wanted to bring the best talents to the series; excellent writer/executive producer Frank Spotnitz, and the incomparable actors Dustin Hoffman and Richard Madden. It was produced by Matilde and Luca Bernabei’s Lux Vide, and Frank Spotnitz’s Big Light Productions. Richard Madden played enterprising son Cosimo de’ Medici, while Dustin Hoffman played a pivotal role as family patriarch Giovanni de’ Medici.
The 15th century: 3 Generations to Rule over Florence
After Lorenzo’s premature death at the age of 43, his eldest son Piero succeeded him, but he soon infuriated the public by accepting an unfavorable peace treaty with France. After only two years in power, he was forced out of the city in 1494, and died in exile. The Medici story began around the 12th century when family members from the Tuscan village of Cafaggiolo emigrated to Florence. Through banking and commerce, the Medicis rose to become one of the most important families in Florence. They were also protagonists of the Counter-Reformation, from the beginning of the Reformation through the Council of Trent and the French Wars of Religion. Theories about the origins of this blazon have multiplied over time, and some are quite funny.
The Medici ruled the Grand Duchy from its inception until 1737, with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici. The grand duchy witnessed degrees of economic growth under the early grand dukes, but was bankrupt by the time of Cosimo III de' Medici (r. 1670–1723). Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici (1475–1521, later Pope Leo X) arranged for his exiled relatives to return to Florence in 1512, and the family set about regaining power. Another rebellion against the Medici in 1527 led to a second period of exile from Florence, but in the 1530s the leadingcitizens of Florence, weary of decades of civil strife, coups, and exile, accepted Medici rule in return for stability. Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), descendant of a secondary branch of the family, rose to power in 1537.
Upon the defeat of the French armies in Italy by the Spanish, the Medicis returned to rule the city in 1512. The brothers Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici were attacked during High Mass at Florence Cathderal. In 1478, the Pazzi and Salviati families attempted a plot to displace the Medicis with the approval of Pope Sixtus IV, who was an enemy of the Florentine family. They also produced two French queens – Catherine de’ Medici (1547–1589) and Marie de’ Medici (1600–1630).
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