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The House of Medici (English: / ˈ m ɛ d ɪ tʃ i / MED-itch-ee, UK also / m ə ˈ d iː tʃ i / mə-DEE-chee, Italian: [ˈmɛːditʃi]) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici, during the first half of the 15th century.
Nov 9, 2009 · Learn about the Medici family, a powerful Florentine dynasty that ruled Italy and influenced the Renaissance. Discover their rise, fall, achievements and legacy in politics, culture and religion.
- 9 min
Medici family, Italian bourgeois family that ruled Florence and, later, Tuscany during most of the period from 1434 to 1737, except for two brief intervals. It provided the Roman Catholic Church with four popes (Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV, and Leon XI) and married into the royal families of Europe.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- The founding of the Medici dynasty. The Medici family originated in the agricultural Mugello region of Tuscany. The name Medici means “doctors”. The dynasty began when Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici (1360–1429) emigrated to Florence to found the Medici Bank in 1397, which would become Europe’s largest and most respected bank.
- The three branches of the Medici family. There were three branches of Medicis that successfully gained power – the line of Chiarissimo II, the line of Cosimo (known as Cosimo the Elder) and the descendants of his brother, who went on to rule as grand dukes.
- Cosimo the Elder and his descendants. During Cosimo’s reign, the Medicis gained fame and prestige first in Florence and then across Italy and Europe. Florence prospered.
- The Pazzi conspiracy. 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.
Jun 30, 2022 · Learn about the Medici family, the powerful and influential bankers and art patrons of the Renaissance. Discover how they shaped Florence's culture, politics, and economy, and supported artists like Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Donatello.
- ( Head of Content, Editor, Art Writer )
Medici family, Italian bourgeois family that ruled Florence and later Tuscany from c. 1430 to 1737. The family, noted for its often tyrannical rulers and its beneficent patrons of the arts, also provided the church with four popes ( Leo X , Clement VII , Pius IV, and Leo XI) and married into the royal families of Europe, notably in France ...
Nov 14, 2016 · The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, was the Italian family that ruled Florence, and later Tuscany, during most of the period from 1434 to 1737, except for two brief intervals (from 1494 to 1512, and from 1527 to 1530). They first attained wealth and political power in Florence through their success in commerce and banking.
