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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.
Nov 9, 2009 · The Medici family was a powerful dynasty that ruled Florence, Italy, and soon spread their artistic and economic influence throughout Renaissance Europe.
- 9 min
- Cosimo. The original “dark money” man. In the early 1400s, he strategically deployed the banking fortune he inherited to essentially buy politicians, popes, positions, and even marriages, becoming the de-facto ruler of Florence despite never holding office himself.
- Lorenzo. Cosimo’s grandson picked up the mantle of artistic patronage and ran with it even further. He created a sculpture garden and filled it with ancient statuary, which artists and poets came to study.
- Piero. The eldest son of Lorenzo, Piero had his work cut out for him. The fragile regional peace cobbled together by his father, largely through the force of his personality, crumbled soon after Lorenzo’s death in 1492.
- Giovanni (aka Pope Leo X) The younger brother of Piero, Giovanni was perhaps given the easier row to hoe. When he was 13, his father prevailed upon the pope (a distant relative) to make the boy a cardinal.
Members of the family rose to some prominence in the early 14th century in the wool trade, especially with France and Spain. Despite the presence of some Medici in the city's government institutions, they were still far less notable than other outstanding families such as the Albizzi or the Strozzi.
Aug 19, 2021 · Historian Catherine Fletcher introduces the Medici, from their triumphs to their most famous family members… The Medici were the first family of the city state of Florence, rising from humble beginnings as merchants and bankers to become Grand Dukes of Tuscany.
Apr 4, 2024 · The Medici family, prominent during the Italian Renaissance, wielded immense power in Florence and beyond. Rising from humble beginnings as bankers, they ascended to become one of Europe's most influential dynasties. Their patronage of the arts catalyzed the Renaissance, nurturing talents like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
