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Medici family Definition, Members, History, Tree, & Facts

house of medici

Historical chronicles recount that they went to live at the Old Market (in the area close to Piazza della Repubblica) and easily mingled with the underworld there. The earliest origins of this family are difficult to track because the Medici later tried to ennoble their lineage by inventing legends and stories. We will send you the latest TV programmes, podcast episodes and articles, as well as exclusive offers from our shop and carefully selected partners. Control over the Tuscany was passed to Francis of Lorraine, whose marriage to Maria Theresa of Austria sparked the beginning of the reign of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family. The failure of the plot served to strengthen the position of Lorenzo and his family’s rule over Florence.

Same-Sex Marriages in Renaissance Rome

With Vieri this branch of the Medici was to disappear definitively from history. When the last Medici grand duke, Gian Gastone, died without a male heir in 1737, the family dynasty died with him. There were many sons of Grand Duke Cosimo, but three of them, along with their mother Eleanor, died of malarial fever during a family trip in Maremma, where Cosimo had ordered the reclamation of the marshes. Grief stricken, Cosimo decided to retire from politics and left his son Francesco I in command. During this period, the Pitti Palace had become their residence, and the city was enriched by buildings and streets worthy of the best European capitals. Cosimo died in 1574, and with his disappearance begins the decline of the dynasty.

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History of the Medici popes as seen from their palace in Rome.

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The series has been sold to many European channels, while sales in the USA have been delegated to WME. However, there is presently no word on when it will be aired in other countries. Pope Clement VII commissioned Michelangelo to paint the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. Eleanor of Toledo, princess of Spain and wife of Cosimo I the Great, purchased the Pitti Palace from Buonaccorso Pitti in 1550. Cosimo in turn patronized Vasari, who erected the Uffizi Gallery in 1560 and founded the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in 1563.

Palazzo Pitti

Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, the first patron of the arts in the family, helped Masaccio and commissioned Brunelleschi for the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence in 1419. Cosimo married Eleonora of Toledo―who came from one of the most noble Spanish families―and together they decided to live in the Palazzo Vecchio, which was also a symbol of power in the city when Florence was a republic. Giovanni's son, Cosimo, was carefully taught by his father to expand and maintain their influence and wealth of their bank.

The so-called younger branch of the family began with Giovanni’s younger son Lorenzo de’ Medici. His son Giovanni married Caterina Sforza of the powerful Sforza family, and their son Giovanni de’ Medici became a noted general. His son Cosimo I became duke of Florence, and Cosimo’s son Francesco de’ Medici (1541–87) was the father of Marie de Médicis.

house of medici

In reward, Charlemagne is said to have rewarded Averardo with the shield mauled by the giant, with the dents in the shape of balls, and the giant's lands in Mugello. Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Florence Inferno is a blog about the Florentine mysteries, symbols, and places that are mentioned in Dan Brown’s latest novel Inferno, and much more about the city. We also offer a guided Inferno walking tour, which follows the footsteps of Robert and Sienna, as well as an an eBook with an audio version.

He proved to be one of the strongest and most independent rulers in Florence's history. He acquired new territories—including the city of Siena—and the title of grand duke of Tuscany, which his descendants held until 1737. The reign of Cosimo I placed the Medici on a level with many of the other ruling families of Europe.

HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan, Matt Mullen and Christian Zapata. When Cosimo I moved the Florentine administrative offices into a building known as the Uffizi, he also established a small museum. The building is now the site of Florence's famed Uffizi Gallery, home to many great Renaissance-era treasures amassed by the Medicis since the time of Cosimo the Elder. One unproven story traces their ancestry to a knight of Charlemagne's, Averardo, who defeated a giant, Mugello.

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Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo, not only continued the task but greatly enhanced it. Cosimo is now known as the Pater Patriae, or "father of the Country" and as "Il Vecchio" or "Cosimo the Elder" while Lorenzo is known as "the Magnificent". The differences between these three collateral lines are essentially due to circumstances, for there was in all the Medici an extraordinary persistence of hereditary traits.

Finally in science, the Medici are remembered for the patronage of Galileo, who tutored multiple generations of the Medici children – for whom he named the four largest moons of Jupiter. Giovanni di Bicci, the first Medici arts patron, encouraged Masaccio and commissioned Brunelleschi for the reconstruction of the Basilica di San Lorenzo in 1419. Under Cosimo’s rule and that of his son and grandson, Renaissance culture and art flourished in Florence. In general, the later Medici line renounced the older generation’s republican sympathies and established more authoritarian rule, a change that produced stability in Florence and Tuscany, but led to the region’s decline as a cultural hub. Their influence had declined by the late 14th century, however, when Salvestro de Medici (then serving as gonfaliere, or standard bearer, of Florence) was banished from the city in 1382 due to his oppressive policies and was forced to live in exile.

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The story focuses on the family’s ascent from simple merchants to power brokers who sparked an economic and cultural revolution. Lorenzo also served as patron to Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) for seven years. Lorenzo was indeed an artist in his own right, and was an author of poetry and song. His support of the arts and letters is considered a high point in Medici patronage.

In the first place, not being soldiers, they were constantly confronting their adversaries with bribes of gold rather than with battalions of armed men. In addition, the early Medici resolutely courted favour with the middle and poorer classes in the city, and this determination to be popolani (“plebeian”) endured a long time after them. Finally, all were consumed by a passion for arts and letters and for building.

We cannot count later versions of the Medici coat of arms as well as the different branches of the family. One successful version is decorated with a blue ball from the lilies of France, thanks to the concession of the king of France. We know that many Florentine families had balls of different colors and numbers in their coats of arms. Maybe they were derived simply from the studs on the shield that were colored for becoming decorative. The biggest accomplishments of the Medici lay in the sponsorship of art and architecture.

The Medici family dominated the Italian city of Florence throughout the Renaissance and beyond, from 1434 to 1737. The Medici headed Europe's largest bank, became Florence's richest family, and controlled Florentine politics. Three Medici men became popes, and many Medici children married into the Catholic royal houses of Europe.

The Medici family originated in the agricultural Mugello region of Tuscany. Cosimo il Vecchio took over as Gran Maestro in 1434, still an unofficial position of power in Florence. The Medici were not elected, but relied on their financial power and control of the selection process for office of the now Republic to establish their dominance. It actually took the Medici until 1531 to acquire the formal title of Grand Duke of Tuscany and to abolish all vestiges of a republic of Florence.

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