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Some say that the six balls were medicinal pills and alluded to the meaning of the family name; others said that they were the symbol of bitter oranges to indicate trade with the East. Later, in Rome, the Medici Popes continued in the family tradition of patronizing artists in Rome. At the time of Lorenzo, the Medici overcame the opposition of the monk Savonarola and the famous Pazzi conspiracy (1478) during which Lorenzo was wounded, and his brother Giuliano lost his life. When Cosimo died in 1464, the Florentines gave him honors fit for a king, and he was thereafter called pater patriae.
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Giovanni, second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, became Pope Leo X. In commemoration of the deaths of Giuliano and Lorenzo, the two who had died relatively young, the family commissioned Michelangelo to complete the famous Medici Tombs in Florence. The few years of this period are often considered to be the apogee of the Medici age. By the 1520s, nonetheless, the descendants of Cosimo the Elder had become few in number. To ensure that a Medici of the Cosimo line would continue to rule Florence, Pope Clement VII, nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent, installed Alessandro (1511–37), reputedly his own illegitimate son, as hereditary duke of Florence.
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He served on the Florentine board of war, called the Dieci (The Ten), and held other posts. The latter died before his father, who in death received the title “Father of His Country.” Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici maintained and strengthened the political fortunes of the family. He also fathered two sons, one of whom, Giuliano (1453–78) was assassinated. The second son, Lorenzo (1449–92), became in his own time Il Magnifico (“The Magnificent”).
Rise to power
In 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled.[15] The next year, however, a pro-Medici Signoria (civic government) led by Tommaso Soderini, Oddo Altoviti and Lucca Pitti was elected and Cosimo returned. The Medici became the city's leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Cosimo and Lorenzo rarely held official posts but were the unquestioned leaders. In the late 14th century, Giovanni de' Medici (also called Giovanni di Bicci) started the Medici bank in Florence. It was through this influential role that he was asked to serve in Florence's governing Signoria. It is important to note that as a trade town, the guilds of commerce and trade ran Florence through this Signoria, essentially a council made up of guild members drawn randomly from a select pool of eligible members.
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They used their large amounts of money to keep and expand that power and influence over the course of the centuries not just in Florence, but across Italy and Europe. They were patrons of the arts and humanities and their support in turn ensured Florence was at the center of Europe during the Renaissance, drawing many people to the city. Cosimo de’ Medici, the older brother, established the family’s political base.
In addition to commissioning art and architecture, the Medici were prolific collectors, and today their acquisitions form the core of the Uffizi museum in Florence. In architecture, the Medici are responsible for some notable features of Florence, including the Uffizi Gallery, the Boboli Gardens, the Belvedere, the Medici Chapel, and the Palazzo Medici. The grand project of Cosimo was to unify all of Tuscany, and to that end he undertook wars with Pisa, Lucca, and Siena.
The earliest records we have of the Medici family tell us that they came from the Mugello valley and arrived in Florence around 1200. Cosimo the Elder was a dedicated patron to painters and sculptors, commissioning art and buildings by Brunelleschi, Fra Angelico, Donatello and Ghiberti. After the death of Cosimo II in 1720, the region suffered under ineffectual Medici rule. These later Medicis became more authoritarian in their rule of the region, which led to its decline as a cultural hub.
Medici family, Italian bourgeois family that ruled Florence and later Tuscany from c. The effective founder of the family was Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici (1360–1429), a merchant who amassed great wealth in trade and was the virtual ruler of Florence from 1421 to 1429. His grandson, Lorenzo de’ Medici, or Lorenzo the Magnificent, greatly expanded the family’s power. Another son, Giovanni, became Pope Leo X. Lorenzo’s great-granddaughter was Catherine de Médicis. Another of Cosimo’s grandsons, Giulio de’ Medici (1478–1534) became pope as Clement VII. His probable illegitimate son, Alessandro de’ Medici, a tyrant, was the last of the direct male line of the elder branch.
Three Centuries of Patronage: The Medici Musical Legacy - Indiana Public Media
Three Centuries of Patronage: The Medici Musical Legacy.
Posted: Sat, 09 Jun 2018 07:00:00 GMT [source]
They were responsible for the majority of Florentine art during their reign. Along with the success of the Medici was also a growing opposition from other Florentine families and factions. Some families who supported the Medici were Tornabuoni, Salviati, Cavalcanti, Bardi.
Today, we find all of these family names represented by the names of streets in Florence. With a ready source of capital, the Medici were able to turn to such new lines of commerce as trading spices, jewelry, silk, and fruit. In addition, their ever-increasing financial power opened up new opportunities in civic government.
He managed them all, and his victories are celebrated in the frescoes of the Hall of the Five Hundred, including the magnificent Battle of Marciano. Despite his quite humble origin, though, Cosimo managed to reign over Florence and married a princess. After these events, a period of misfortune followed for the Medici, as they became more involved in European affairs and were forced into exile several times. Growing internal opposition forced the Medici to leave Florence after the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent. The new Republic, however, lasted only a few decades, and the Medici family came back, thanks to help from the king of France. The founder of the family would be Medico di Potrone, who lived around the year 1000 and was a doctor by profession.
During Cosimo’s reign, the Medicis gained fame and prestige first in Florence and then across Italy and Europe. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Get HISTORY’s most fascinating stories delivered to your inbox three times a week.
Francesco I liked chemistry and science rather than politics, but he knew he could not show his weakness and was sometimes ruthless. Lorenzo's heir and eldest son, Piero, called "the Unfortunate", squandered the family's remaining money and brought down the Medici dynasty in Florence in 1494. Luckily, the second son, Giovanni, had become Pope Leo X and retook Florence less than 20 years later. In 1537, when the first Duke of Florence, Alessandro de' Medici (their cousin), was assassinated, the "senior" branch of the family ended. Power was passed to the "junior" branch, to those descended from Lorenzo the Elder (Cosimo "Il Vecchio"'s brother) and thus started the reign of "Cosimo the First", known as Cosimo the Great and Grand Duke of Tuscany.
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