The Medici family
The Medici family played a role in the history of Florence from the 13th century. It is believed by some people that the ancestors of the family may have been doctors or apothecaries. In addition to the family name (medico: doctor) the six globes on the family coat-of-arms also strongly indicate this as they can reliably be interpreted as medicinal pills.
The first notable member of the Medici family was the banker Giovanni di Averardo di Bicci (1360-1429), who in addition to a thriving banking house also bequeathed high social rank and prestige to his family. It was he who established the Medici as patrons of the arts, which later turned into a tradition. By the time Giovanni died in 1429 his eldest son Cosimo (1389.1464) had already been running the banking house for years. Cosimo who was later nick named "Il Vecchio" ("Cosimo the Elder") managed to achieve real power in the city. Following his imprisonment and one year of exile in Venice he returned to Florence in glory, and ruled there for three decades. With his significant activities as a patron of the arts he consciously increased the authority and prestige of the Medici family. In founding the Platon Academy he soon attracted a circle of the most renowned humanist thinkers of the period. Cosimo's son and successor, Piero de Medici (1416-1469), followed in his father's footsteps by passionately collecting books, precious stones, valuable coins and every kind of selective rarity. The sickly Piero, whom the Florentines simply referred to as "Il Gottoso" ("the Gouty") died after governing for only five years. After Piero's death he was succeeded to the top of the family hierarchy by the scarcely twenty-year old Lorenzo "Il Magnifico" ("the Magnificent") (1449-1492), one of his five children. Lorenzo's rule represented the most glorious period in the history of the Medici. He continued the family tradition of supporting the philosophy-philology workshops and the arts, and even enthusiastically pursued literary endeavors himself. He survived an assassination attempt by the Pazzi family, which took place in the Cathedral of Florence, but his younger brother Giuliano fell victim to the conspiracy. The last years of Lorenzo's life were overshadowed by the increasingly bitter conflict between him and a Dominican monk, Savonarola, who preached asceticism. The conflict between Lorenzo's homage to the pleasures of the material world and the world of the fanatical preacher was implacable. After Lorenzo's death his son Pietro (1472-1503) took over the reins of power. However, Pietro demonstrated no aptitude for managing either public affairs or the family's dealings and it was not without reason that the epithet of "Lo Sfortunato" ("the Unfortunate") which the chronicles ascribed him with stuck. Pietro could not reverse Savonarola's growing popularity and in 1494 after two years of governing the city he was exiled from Florence with his whole family. For a period the golden age of the House of Medici was to wane. In the 16th century the Medici not only produced three popes (Leo X, Clement VII and Pius IV), but also regained their leading role in Florence. The reign of the first Medici Grand Duke, Cosimo I (1519.1574), unambiguously demonstrated all the hallmarks of absolutist power, yet he did succeed in reviving a Tuscany that had been on the threshold of destitution. Like his forbearers Cosimo I regarded patronizing the arts as a political issue in so far as it enhanced the right kind of authority and repute for the family. However, his descendants were not able to contribute to maintaining the family's reputation. With the demise of the last heir of the male line, Gian Castone (1671-1737) the archdukdom passed over to the ruling House of Lorraine. Anna Maria Ludovica de' Medici was the last member of the family and with her death the bloodline was cut making the Medici family extinct.
Giovanni di Averardo de' Medici (1360-1429) It was Giovanni de Averardo de' Medici, known as Bicci, who established the Medici fortune at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, when the prosperity of the family continuously increased and their enterprises, including banking, industrial and mercantile activities, expanded. Sons: Cosimo il Vecchio (1384-1464) and Lorenzo il Vecchio (1395-1440).
Portrait of Cosimo il Vecchio
Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
Cosimo il Vecchio (Cosimo the Elder)
was the older son of Giovanni di Averardo
(1389-1464)
At this time the Medici banks already had branches in Venice, Rome, Brugge, London, Lyon and Avignon. After the Council of Constance 1414-18 Cosimo was placed in charge of handling the financial affairs of the papacy and in 1462 the pope entrusted him with administering the monopoly of the alum-quarries at Tolfa, which made him one of the richest men of the period. Cosimo did not take an interest in participating in Florence's political life but rather lived a life of privacy, managing his banking house and devoting his time to studying the ideas of Humanism. His wealth aroused the antipathy of the other influential families in Florence, especially that of the Albizzis, and in 1432 he was exiled from the city for two years. However, he was allowed to return two years later and became the leader of political life in the city until his death. He used his power and wealth for the patronage of culture and the arts and not only gave commissions to artists but considered them as his friends as well. He collected rare old manuscripts that formed the basis for the subsequently opened Bibliotheca Laurenziana, named after Cosimo's grandson. Sons: Piero il Gottoso (1416-1469), Giovanni, who died at a young age (1421-1463), and Cosimo's illegitimate son, Carlo (1428 or 1430-1492).
Piero il Gottoso ("the Gouty") was Cosimo il Vecchio's older legitimate son (1416-1469) Of Cosimo il Vecchio's two legitimate sons it was Piero who inherited his father's leading role in Florence. Most Florentines were willing to grant him the privileges and public offices that had been enjoyed by his father. However, after 1464 the anti-Medici party's power became stronger and they organised a conspiracy against the family in 1466, which failed due to the firm actions taken by Piero and one of his sons, Lorenzo (later to become il Magnifico) as did the attack launched against them by Venice. Piero was also an expert in the arts and a collector of refined taste. Sons: Lorenzo (1449-1492) and Giuliano (1453-1478)
Portrait of Cardinal Carlo de' Medici Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
Carlo was Cosimo il Vecchio's illegitimate son (1428 or 1430-1492) Cosimo il Vecchio's third, illegitimate, son by a Circassian slave, who became a prelate. He mainly collected codices and antiquities which further enriched his father's collection.
Portrait of Lorenzo il Magnifico (1449-1492) Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
Lorenzo il Magnifico ("the Magnificent"), Piero il Gottoso's older son (1449-1492) Florence's leading position was consolidated under Lorenzo. In this period the city became the peninsula's capital of art and culture and it created a balance in Italy's chaotic political scene. Lorenzo's resolution in political affairs earned authority for the family in Italy as well as internationally but Pope Sixtus IV harboured resentment towards the Medici for the same reason. The pope's nephew, Girolamo Riario organised a conspiracy with various members of the Pazzi family in 1478 to drive out the Medici from Florence, during which Lorenzo's younger brother, Giuliano, was assassinated but Lorenzo managed to escape. In retribution the supporters of the Medici family captured and hanged the conspirators. During his conflict with the pope Lorenzo asked and received help from the king of Naples, Ferdinand I. After Lorenzo successfully negotiated a peace with Naples the pope was left without a choice and had to accept the ensuing status quo. Lorenzo cultivated friendly relations with Pope Innocent VIII, the successor of Pope Sixtus IV, who incardinated his son Giovanni. Lorenzo had little success in running the bank and during his leadership many branches of the Medici bank went bankrupt, while at the same time Florence lost its leading position in the banking business due to the general decline that characterised banking in the city. Lorenzo was a committed patron of the arts. He was a poet, literary scholar and writer. He is noted for establishing the University of Florence and opening a school for sculpture in the Medici gardens. He had the villa in Poggio a Caiano built, which was one of the many Medici villas built on the hills near Florence. On his deathbed he called for Girolamo Savonarola to give him the extreme unction, a Dominican priest who advocated austere asceticism and had lashed out against the luxury of the Medici. Sons: Pietro lo Sfortunato (1471-1503) and Giovanni, who later became Pope Leo X (1475- 1521).
Giuliano di Piero, Piero il Gottoso's younger son (1453-1478) Lorenzo il Magnifico's younger brother, who was assassinated in 1478 in the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore during the conspiracy orchestrated by the Pazzis and the nephew of Pope Sixtus IV. His assailants were captured and hanged by the supporters of the Medici. Son: Cardinal Giuliano, later to become Pope Clement VII.
Portrait of Girolamo Savonarola in the guise of Saint Peter the Martyr Firenze, Museo di S. Marco
Piero lo Sfortunato or il Fatuo ("the Unfortunate"), Lorenzo il Magnifico's eldest son (1471-1503) After his father's death Piero took over the leadership of Florence but he aroused the fury of the Florentinians when he did nothing to keep the French troops out of Florence and gave in to the French king's claims. Consequently, he and his family were exiled from the city for an undetermined period of time. During their exile a Dominican priest, Girolamo Savonarola, attempted the governance of Florence. With his advocacy of adhering to moral principles and an austere asceticism he managed to elicit the support of several artists, among whom were Botticelli and the young Michelangelo; however, the papal curia tried and sentenced him to death in 1489. Son: Lorenzo II, Duke of Urbino (1492-1519)
Portrait of Pope Leo X. (1475-1521) Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
Giovanni, Lorenzo il Magnifico's younger son (1475-1521) The family cultivated good connections with Pope Innocent VII, who made the 14 year-old Giovanni a cardinal in 1489. Giovanni exerted a major influence upon Innocent VIII and strove to have the Medici restored to power in Florence. To further this end the Pope concluded an alliance with the Spanish against the Republic of Florence. The Florentines were forced into a capitulation in 1512 and compelled to assent to the return of the Medics to the city. In 1513 Giovanni was elected to the papacy as Leo X, thus the stability of the dynasty was guaranteed by the papal throne. During his time the Renaissance papacy reached the zenith of its power. The year 1517 saw the advent of the Reformation led by Martin Luther against the secularization, carousing and luxurious life style of the papacy, a movement that Leo X perceived as a mere aberration that would sooner or later fade away. In the meantime he strove to maintain the integrity of the Papal State and to oust foreign influence from Italian territory. Genoa and Milan came under French control and at the same time the Church in France began to seek self-determination. In conformity with his predecessors Leo X took an active interest in culture and the arts, and had a passion for music, the theatre and poetry. He spent lavishly on banquets, receptions, and patronage, the main venue for which was Rome, coupled with this was unbelievable extravagance of legendary proportions. In addition to transforming a once virtually uninhabited Rome into the capital of culture and the sciences he gave commissions for the Vatican Library to be renewed. He devoted great attention to Rome's treasures of antiquity too. He commissioned Raphael, who played an influential role at the Papal Court, to make a survey of the city's ancient monuments. Leo X also employed Michelangelo, inviting him to Florence to execute the facade of San Lorenzo, the Church of the Medici.
Portrait of Pope Clement VII. (1478-1534) Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
Giulio, grandson of Piero il Gottoso, son of Giuliano di Piero (1478-1534) The son of Giuliano di Piero (1453-1478), youngest of Piero il Gottoso's sons, who was murdered while still young in the Pazzi conspiracy, was the nephew of Lorenzo il Magnifico. After his father's death he was brought up at the court of Lorenzo il Magnifico, and the family adopted him and supported the orphaned child even though his father had never concluded a marriage with the boy's mother. In 1513 Leo X appointed him to the position of cardinal and bishop, and then in 1523 Giulio was elected pope as Clement VII. At the time when he ascended the papal throne war was raging in Europe. The Pope entrusted one of his most influential advisors, Cardinal Nicolas Schönberg, to conclude a peace between the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and Henry VIII of England, who were at war with one another over the throne of Burgundy. Since the cardinal's efforts met with failure the Pope finally took the side of Charles V, which represented an even greater danger to him. In the meanwhile Francis I, the king of France, occupied Milan and Clement signed a secret alliance with him, which stipulated the French cession of Parma and Piacenza to the Papal State and in addition secured a guarantee that the Medici be restored to power in Florence. In exchange for all of this the head of the Church granted the French armies free passage on their way to Naples. However, in 1525 the French army was defeated by Charles V at the Battle of Pavia, Francis I was taken captive and the secret treaty came to light. The conflict was ostensibly brought to an end by the Treaty of Madrid which the emperor dictated, but in 1527 the armies of Charles V garrisoned in Northern Italy, whose pay and provisions were beginning to be blocked by the end of the war, occupied and sacked Rome (Sacco di Roma). The rebellious soldiers forced their commander, Charles III, the Duke of Bourbon, to lead them against Rome and when the duke's troops arrived Clement was forced to face the fact that the eternal city was really under attack. The leaders of the armies now lost control and the soldiers began to pillage the city. One of the Pope's relatives, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, who was the nephew of Lorenzo il Vecchio, tried in vain to prevent the pillaging and the rebels were only appeased when the Pope, who had fled to the Castel Sant'Angelo, gave himself up. After half a year of captivity he managed to escape but he was forced to realise that he would only be able to win back power for himself and his family with the help of the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1529 Clement signed a peace treaty with a representative of Charles V, under the terms of which the Papal State regained certain territories and the emperor's troops reoccupied Florence for the Medici and more specifically for Alessandro, Clement's illegitimate son. One year after the signing of the peace treaty Clement crowned Charles V emperor in Bologna. Clement tried to cultivate relations with the French court by betrothing his niece, Catherine de' Medici, to Henry, Duke of Orleans (later to become Henry VII), who was the second son of the king of France, Francis I., in 1533. Clement VII was the last of the Renaissance popes and he expressed this perfectly by his patronage of the arts. He had a passion for music and spent huge sums supporting Michelangelo, Raphael and Cellini. Michelangelo also executed several sepulchral monuments on Clement's commission, and the fresco of the Last Judgement that Michelangelo painted in the Sistine Chapel was also ordered by Clement. Clement's illegitimate son Alessandro (1511 or 1512-1537)
Portrait of Duke Alessandro (1510-1537) Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
Alessandro, illegitimate son of Giulio (Clement VII) (1511 or 1512-1537) His mother was presumably an Arab slave or a peasant woman from Roman Campagna. He was brought up in the Medici palace in Florence from where the family had fled in 1527 on hearing that Rome had been sacked. Following the Treaty of Barcelona he returned to Florence in 1530 at the head of an army of Spanish mercenaries where the governing body declared him an hereditary duke after the dissolution of the Signoria. However, his power faltered after the death of Clement VII. At the age of 26 he was killed by an assassin who was presumably hired by his cousin, Lorenzino (the son of the great-grandson of Lorenzo il Vecchio).
Lorenzo, grandson of Lorenzo il Magnifico, son of Pietro lo Sfortunato (1492-1517) The Medici pope, Leo X, regarded the consolidation and support of his relatives' power as paramount and thus in 1516 he removed the Duke of Urbino on a pretext and appointed Lorenzo in his place. It was typical of his attempts to cultivate relations with France when in 1518 Lorenzo stood as godfather to the child of the king of France, Francis I, and then when he took a wife of true Bourbon blood. However, their marriage did not last long as in 1517 Lorenzo was seriously wounded in the struggle that ensued with the dethroned Duke of Urbino. In 1519 his wife gave birth to another girl, Catherine de' Medici, but died in the process. Lorenzo only survived his wife by a few days.
Portrait of Caterina de' Medici (1519-1589) Firenze, Galleria Palatina
Catharine de' Medici, the niece of Giulio (Clement VII) (1519-1589) Her father was Lorenzo II (1492-1519), the Duke of Urbino, grandson of Lorenzo il Magnifico and son of Pietro lo Stortunato. Her mother was Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, a Bourbon princess who died giving birth to Catherine. As a young girl she was brought up with Alessandro, the illegitimate son of Clement VII. In 1527 after the sack of Rome when the Medici were exiled from Florence Catherine was kept in the city as a hostage and from then on brought up by nuns. After the return of the Medici in 1533 Pope Clement VII betrothed the 14 year-old Catherine to Henry, Duke d' Orleans, the second son of Francis I, the king of France. Henry became the heir to the throne after his brother's death and then when his father died in 1547 he became the king of France as Henry II, while Catherine became queen. In 1559 Henry II died and from that point on Catherine wielded considerable influence over the affairs of the Kingdom of France. Francis' three sons followed one another to the French throne as Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. Catherine significantly enriched her adopted country in regard to culture, fashion and the arts. Her niece, Christine of Lorraine married the Grand Duke, Ferdinando de' Medici in 1589 thus some of the art treasures that Catherine had collected also found their way to Florence.
Portrait of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, (1498-1526) great-great grandchild of Lorenzo il Vecchio His great-great grandfather was Lorenzo il Vecchio, while Cosimo il Vecchio was his younger brother. As a captain in charge of mercenaries Giovanni had tried in vain to help Clement VII prevent the armies of Charles V, the Habsburg emperor, from sacking Rome in 1527. His son was Grand Duke Cosimo I (1519-1574).
Portrait of Grand Duke Cosimo I.(1519-1574) Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
Cosimo I, the son of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere (1519-1574) Cosimo, being the son of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, a captain of mercenaries, was the first Medici to be given the title of Grand Duke as Cosimo I, who then went on to finish Florence's transformation into a regional power. With his entrance onto the stage the Republican institutions of Florence disappeared forever and from that point on the family ruled within the framework of a hereditary monarchy. When Lorenzo had his cousin Alessandro killed in 1537 the Florentine supporters of the Medici family invited Cosimo to rule the city. In 1530 he married Eleonora di Toledo the daughter of the sham king of Naples and viceroy of the emperor, Charles V. Cosimo took his revenge on his domestic enemy and in 1555 he went on to occupy Siena too. He reached his zenith in 1570 when Pope Pius V gave him the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany, which was recognised by the most important states in Europe. He moved from the Medici Palace on the via Larga to the Palazzo Vecchio making that his official residence, but since this building soon proved to be too cramped for the noble family he purchased and completed the building work on the palace that the Pitti family had had to give up. He commissioned Giorgio Vasari to begin build the Palazzo degli Uffizi as his administrative centre, and in addition Cosimo founded the Academy of Fine arts. In 1565 his son and heir, Francesco I, married Johanna of Austria, and the marriage created even closer ties with the House of Habsburg. His second son was Ferdinando I (1549-1609).
Portrait of Francesco I. (1541-1587) Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
I. Francesco, first son of Cosimo I (1541-1587) He took over the rule of the city after his father, Cosimo I died in 1574. Following the demise of his father he established the collection, which was the core of what later, became the Uffizi museum and in addition he carried on supporting the work on the Cathedral of Florence. He was passionately interested in art and the sciences but he gained his true fame because of his complicated love affairs. He fell in love with a married woman who had fled from Venice whom he took as his wife when Johanna of Austria, who was a Habsburg, died, despite the protests of the whole Medici family. In October 1587 Francesco and his new wife were poisoned and suspicion fell on his cardinal brother Ferdinando I, since it was he who inherited the throne. In 1600 his daughter, Maria de' Medici married the king of France, Henry IV.
Portrait of Grand Duke Ferdinando I.(1549-1609) Pisa, Museo Nazionale si S. Matteo
I. Ferdinando, second son of Cosimo I (1549-1609) He was accused of murdering his elder brother, Francesco I, and his brother's second wife, since after the death of his sibling he inherited the throne. In 1587 he dispensed with his cardinal vestments so that he could become grand duke. He was to become one of the wisest and far-sighted ruling princes of his era. In 1589 he married Christine of Lorraine, who originated from the French royal family and was the niece of Catherine de' Medici. He inherited the political vocation of his father, Cosimo I, and the sophisticated artistic taste of his brother Francesco I, the development of which had been largely determined by the period that he had spent in Rome as a cardinal where he had amassed a collection of ancient and contemporary art in his residence, the Villa Medici.
Maria de' Medici, daughter of Francesco I, (1575-1642) In 1600 the daughter of Francesco I married Henry IV, the king of France. After the king was murdered in 1610 Maria ruled as regent because her child, who was later to become Louis XIII, was too young to rule in his own right.