Medici Family, Was Known as the ____________ of the Renaissance

Italian cyberbanking family and political dynasty

Medici
Noble House
Coat of arms of the House of Medici Blazon: Or, five balls in orle gules, in chief a larger one of the arms of France (viz. Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or) was granted by Louis XI in 1465.[ane]
Country	Republic of Florence Grand Duchy of Tuscany Papal States Duchy of Urbino
Etymology	Past Doctor, Castellan of Potrone, considered the commencement antecedent of the house
Place of origin	Mugello, Tuscia (nowadays-day Tuscany)
Founded	1230; 792 years agone  (1230)
Founder	Giambuono de' Medici[two]
Concluding ruler	Gian Gastone de' Medici
Final caput	Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici
Titles	Pope (non-hereditary) Grand Duke of Tuscany Duke of Florence Lord of Florence (informal) Duke of Urbino Duke of Nemours Prince of Ottajano Queen of France
Members	Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici Cosimo de' Medici Lorenzo de' Medici Pope Leo Ten Pope Clement VII Pope Leo 11 Catherine de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici Marie de' Medici
Continued families	House of Orsini Business firm of Habsburg House of Lorraine House of Savoy Firm of Bourbon House of Valois House of La Tour d'Auveregne Business firm of Wittelsbach
Distinctions	Order of Saint Stephen
Traditions	Roman Catholicism
Motto	Festina lente [iii] ("Hurry slowly")
Heirlooms	Listing Medici Bank (1397–1494) Chiliad Ducal Crown of Tuscany Medici Vase Medici porcelain
Estate(south)	Palazzo Vecchio Palazzo Pitti Palazzo Medici Riccardi Several villas in Tuscany
Dissolution	1743 (1743) (Original line)
Cadet branches	14 cadet branches; still alive simply 2: List De' Medici of Ottajano De' Medici Tornaquinci of Castellina

The House of Medici ( MED-i-chee,^[4] Italian: [ˈmɛːditʃi]) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that get-go began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Commonwealth of Florence during the get-go half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of Tuscany, and prospered gradually until information technology was able to fund the Medici Bank. This depository financial institution was the largest in Europe during the 15th century, and it facilitated the Medicis' rising to political power in Florence, although they officially remained citizens rather than monarchs until the 16th century.

The Medici produced 4 popes of the Catholic Church—Pope Leo X (1513–1521), Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), Pope Pius IV (1559–1565)^[5] and Pope Leo Xi (1605)—and ii queens of France—Catherine de' Medici (1547–1559) and Marie de' Medici (1600–1610).^[6] In 1532, the family caused the hereditary title Duke of Florence. In 1569, the duchy was elevated to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany after territorial expansion. The Medici ruled the M Duchy from its inception until 1737, with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici. The grand duchy witnessed degrees of economic growth under the early on g dukes, but was bankrupt past the time of Cosimo 3 de' Medici (r. 1670–1723).

The Medicis' wealth and influence was initially derived from the textile trade guided by the wool club of Florence, the Arte della Lana. Like other families ruling in Italian signorie , the Medici dominated their metropolis's regime, were able to bring Florence under their family'southward power, and created an environment in which art and humanism flourished. They and other families of Italy inspired the Italian Renaissance, such equally the Visconti and Sforza in Milan, the Este in Ferrara, the Borgia in Rome, and the Gonzaga in Mantua.

The Medici Banking company, from when information technology was created in 1397 to its fall in 1494, was one of the most prosperous and respected institutions in Europe, and the Medici family unit was considered the wealthiest in Europe for a time. From this base, they acquired political power initially in Florence and later in wider Italy and Europe. They were amongst the earliest businesses to use the general ledger system of accounting through the development of the double-entry bookkeeping system for tracking credits and debits.

The Medici family unit accept claimed to have funded the invention of the piano and opera,^{[ citation needed ]} financed the structure of Saint Peter'due south Basilica and Santa Maria del Fiore, and were patrons of Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Machiavelli, Galileo and Francesco Redi amidst many others in the arts and sciences. They were too protagonists of the counter-reformation, from the beginning of the reformation through the Council of Trent and the French wars of organized religion.

History [edit]

The Medici family came from the agricultural Mugello region^[7] north of Florence, and they are start mentioned in a document of 1230.^[viii] The origin of the name is uncertain. Medici is the plural of medico, significant "medical physician".^[9] The dynasty began with the founding of the Medici Banking company in Florence in 1397.

Rise to ability [edit]

For most of the 13th century, the leading banking centre in Italian republic was Siena. But in 1298, i of the leading banking families of Europe, the Bonsignoris, went bankrupt, and the metropolis of Siena lost its status as the banking centre of Italy to Florence.^[10] Until the tardily 14th century, the leading family of Florence was the House of Albizzi. In 1293, the Ordinances of Justice were enacted; finer, they became the constitution of the Republic of Florence throughout the Italian Renaissance.^[xi] The city'due south numerous luxurious palazzi were becoming surrounded by townhouses built past the prospering merchant course.^[12]

The main challengers to the Albizzi family unit were the Medici, first under Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, afterward under his son Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici and great-grandson, Lorenzo de' Medici. The Medici controlled the Medici Bank—so Europe's largest banking concern—and an array of other enterprises in Florence and elsewhere. In 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled.^[thirteen] The next twelvemonth, yet, a pro-Medici Signoria (civic government) led past Tommaso Soderini, Oddo Altoviti and Lucca Pitti was elected and Cosimo returned. The Medici became the city'south leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Florence remained a republic until 1537, traditionally marking the end of the High Renaissance in Florence, simply the instruments of republican government were firmly under the control of the Medici and their allies, save during intervals after 1494 and 1527. Cosimo and Lorenzo rarely held official posts but were the unquestioned leaders.

The Medici family was connected to most other elite families of the time through marriages of convenience, partnerships, or employment, so the family unit had a key position in the social network: several families had systematic access to the rest of the elite families only through the Medici, possibly similar to cyberbanking relationships. Some examples of these families include the Bardi, Altoviti, Ridolfi, Cavalcanti and the Tornabuoni. This has been suggested as a reason for the rise of the Medici family.^[fourteen]

Members of the family rose to some prominence in the early on 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 nonetheless far less notable than other outstanding families such every bit the Albizzi or the Strozzi. I Salvestro de' Medici was speaker of the woolmakers' guild during the Ciompi revolt of 1378–82, and one Antonio de' Medici was exiled from Florence in 1396.^[xv] Involvement in another plot in 1400 acquired all branches of the family to be banned from Florentine politics for twenty years, with the exception of two.

15th century [edit]

Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (c. 1360–1429), son of Averardo de' Medici (1320–1363), increased the wealth of the family unit through his cosmos of the Medici Bank, and became one of the richest men in the metropolis of Florence. Although he never held any political office, he gained strong pop support for the family through his support for the introduction of a proportional organization of taxation. Giovanni's son Cosimo the Elder, Pater Patriae (father of the country), took over in 1434 every bit gran maestro (the unofficial head of the Florentine Democracy).^[16]

Cosimo Pater patriae, Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Three successive generations of the Medici—Cosimo, Piero, and Lorenzo—ruled over Florence through the greater function of the 15th century. They clearly dominated Florentine representative authorities without abolishing it birthday.^[17] These three members of the Medici family had great skills in the management of and then "restive and contained a urban center" as Florence. When Lorenzo died in 1492, however, his son Piero proved quite incapable of responding successfully to challenges caused by the French invasion of Italy in 1492, and within ii years, he and his supporters were forced into exile and replaced with a republican government.^[17]

Piero de' Medici (1416–1469), Cosimo's son, was only in power for five years (1464–1469). He was called "Piero the Gouty" because of the gout that pained his pes and led to his decease. Unlike his father, Piero had little involvement in the arts. Due to his illness, he mostly stayed at home bedridden, and therefore did little to further the Medici control of Florence while in ability. As such, Medici dominion stagnated until the next generation, when Piero'southward son Lorenzo took over.^[18]

Lorenzo de' Medici (1449–1492), called "the Magnificent", was more capable of leading and ruling a city, only he neglected the family banking business, which led to its ultimate ruin. To ensure the continuance of his family unit's success, Lorenzo planned his children's time to come careers for them. He groomed the headstrong Piero 2 to follow as his successor in civil leadership; Giovanni^[xix] (future Pope Leo X) was placed in the church at an early age; and his daughter Maddalena was provided with a sumptuous dowry to brand a politically advantageous union to a son of Pope Innocent VIII that cemented the alliance between the Medici and the Roman branches of the Cybo and Altoviti families.^[20]

The Pazzi conspiracy of 1478 was an attempt to depose the Medici family by killing Lorenzo with his younger blood brother Giuliano during Easter services; the bump-off attempt ended with the death of Giuliano and an injured Lorenzo. The conspiracy involved the Pazzi and Salviati families, both rival banking families seeking to end the influence of the Medici, likewise equally the priest presiding over the church services, the Archbishop of Pisa, and even Pope Sixtus 4 to a degree. The conspirators approached Sixtus IV in the hopes of gaining his approval, equally he and the Medici had a long rivalry themselves, only the pope gave no official sanction to the plan. Despite his refusal of official approval, the pope still allowed the plot to proceed without interfering, and, subsequently the failed assassination of Lorenzo, likewise gave impunity for crimes washed in the service of the church. Afterward this, Lorenzo adopted his brother's illegitimate son Giulio de' Medici (1478–1535), the hereafter Pope Clement Vii. Lorenzo'south son Piero II took over every bit the head of Florence after Lorenzo's death. The Medici were expelled from Florence from 1494 to 1512 after Piero acceded to all of the demands of invader Charles Viii of French republic.^[21]

The Medici additionally benefited from the discovery of vast deposits of alum in Tolfa in 1461. Alum is essential as a mordant in the dyeing of certain cloths and was used extensively in Florence, where the main industry was textile manufacturing. Earlier the Medici, the Turks were the only exporters of alum, so Europe was forced to buy from them until the discovery in Tolfa. Pius II granted the Medici family unit a monopoly on the mining there, making them the primary producers of alum in Europe.^[22]

In the dangerous circumstances in which our city is placed, the time for deliberation is by. Activity must be taken... I have decided, with your approval, to sheet for Naples immediately, assertive that equally I am the person against whom the activities of our enemies are importantly directed, I may, perhaps, past delivering myself into their hands, exist the means of restoring peace to our beau-citizens. As I accept had more honour and responsibility among you than any private citizen has had in our day, I am more spring than any other person to serve our country, even at the take chances of my life. With this intention I now become. Perhaps God wills that this war, which began in the blood of my brother and of myself, should exist ended by any means. My want is that by my life or my expiry, my misfortune or my prosperity, I may contribute to the welfare of our city... I go full of hope, praying to God to give me grace to perform what every denizen should at all times be ready to perform for his land.

— Lorenzo de' Medici, 1479.^[23]

16th century [edit]

The exile of the Medici lasted until 1512, after which the "senior" branch of the family—those descended from Cosimo the Elder—were able to rule until the assassination of Alessandro de' Medici, offset Duke of Florence, in 1537. This century-long rule was interrupted but on two occasions (between 1494–1512 and 1527–1530), when anti-Medici factions took control of Florence. Following the bump-off of Duke Alessandro, power passed to the "junior" Medici branch—those descended from Lorenzo the Elder, the youngest son of Giovanni di Bicci, starting with his great-great-grandson Cosimo I "the Great."

Cosimo the Elder and his father started the Medici foundations in banking and manufacturing—including a form of franchises. The family'south influence grew with its patronage of wealth, art, and culture. Ultimately, it reached its zenith in the papacy and continued to flourish for centuries afterwards as Dukes of Florence and Tuscany. At to the lowest degree half, probably more, of Florence's people were employed past the Medici and their foundational branches in business.

Medici popes [edit]

The Medici Wedding ceremony Tapestry of 1589

The Medici became leaders of Christendom through their ii famous 16th century popes, Leo X and Clement VII. Both also served as de facto political rulers of Rome, Florence, and big swaths of Italian republic known every bit the Papal States. They were generous patrons of the arts who commissioned masterpieces such as Raphael's Transfiguration and Michelangelo'south The Last Judgment; however, their reigns coincided with troubles for the Vatican, including Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation and the infamous sack of Rome in 1527.

Leo X'southward fun-loving pontificate bankrupted Vatican coffers and accrued massive debts. From Leo's election as pope in 1513 to his death in 1521, Florence was overseen, in turn, by Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Giulio de' Medici, the latter of whom became Pope Clement VII.

Clement VII'southward tumultuous pontificate was dominated past a rapid succession of political crises—many long in the making—that resulted in the sack of Rome by the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1527 and rise of the Salviati, Altoviti and Strozzi as the leading bankers of the Roman Curie. From the time of Cloudless's election as pope in 1523 until the sack of Rome, Florence was governed by the young Ippolito de' Medici (hereafter primal and vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church), Alessandro de' Medici (future duke of Florence), and their guardians. In 1530, later on allying himself with Charles V, Pope Clement 7 succeeded in securing the engagement of Charles V's daughter Margeret of Republic of austria to his illegitimate nephew (reputedly his son) Alessandro de' Medici. Clement also convinced Charles V to name Alessandro equally Duke of Florence. Thus began the reign of Medici monarchs in Florence, which lasted two centuries.

After securing Alessandro de' Medici'due south dukedom, Pope Clement VII married off his first cousin, twice removed, Catherine de' Medici, to the son of Emperor Charles V'south curvation-enemy, King Francis I of France—the future King Henry Two. This led to the transfer of Medici blood, through Catherine'south daughters, to the royal family of Spain through Elisabeth of Valois, and the House of Lorraine through Claude of Valois.

In 1534, following a lengthy affliction, Pope Clement VII died—and with him the stability of the Medici'due south "senior" co-operative. In 1535, Ippolito Cardinal de' Medici died under mysterious circumstances. In 1536, Alessandro de' Medici married Charles V's girl, Margaret of Austria; however, the following yr he was assassinated by a resentful cousin, Lorenzino de' Medici. The deaths of Alessandro and Ippolito enabled the Medici's "inferior" branch to lead Florence.

Medici Dukes [edit]

Another outstanding figure of the 16th-century Medici family was Cosimo I, who rose from relatively small-scale beginnings in the Mugello to achieve supremacy over the whole of Tuscany. Against the opposition of Catherine de' Medici, Paul Three and their allies, he prevailed in various battles to conquer Florence's hated rival Siena and found the Thou Duchy of Tuscany. Cosimo purchased a portion of the island of Elba from the Democracy of Genoa and based the Tuscan navy at that place. He died in 1574, succeeded past his eldest surviving son Francesco, whose death without male heirs led to the succession of his younger brother, Ferdinando, in 1587. Francesco married Johanna of Republic of austria, and with his consort produced Eleonora de' Medici, Duchess of Mantua, and Marie de' Medici, Queen of France and Navarre. Through Marie, all succeeding French monarchs (bar the Napoleons) were descended from Francesco.

Ferdinando eagerly assumed the government of Tuscany. He allowable the draining of the Tuscan marshlands, congenital a road network in southern Tuscany and cultivated trade in Livorno.^[24] To augment the Tuscan silk industry, he oversaw the planting of mulberry trees along the major roads (silk worms feed on mulberry leaves).^[25] In strange affairs, he shifted Tuscany away from Habsburg^[26] hegemony by marrying the outset not-Habsburg union candidate since Alessandro, Christina of Lorraine, a granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici. The Spanish reaction was to construct a citadel on their portion of the island of Elba.^[24] To strengthen the new Franco-Tuscan alliance, he married his niece, Marie, to Henry IV of France. Henry explicitly stated that he would defend Tuscany from Spanish aggression, simply later reneged, afterward which Ferdinando was forced to ally his heir, Cosimo, to Maria Maddalena of Austria to assuage Spain (where Maria Maddalena'south sis Margaret was the incumbent Queen consort). Ferdinando also sponsored a Tuscan trek to the New World with the intention of establishing a Tuscan colony, an enterprise that brought no event for permanent colonial acquisitions.

Despite all of these incentives for economic growth and prosperity, the population of Florence at the dawn of the 17th century was a mere 75,000, far smaller than the other capitals of Italy: Rome, Milan, Venice, Palermo and Naples.^[27] Francesco and Ferdinando, due to lax stardom between Medici and Tuscan state belongings, are idea to have been wealthier than their ancestor, Cosimo de' Medici, the founder of the dynasty.^[28] The Thousand Duke solitary had the prerogative to exploit the country's mineral and common salt resources, and the fortunes of the Medici were directly tied to the Tuscan economy.^[28]

17th century [edit]

Ferdinando, although no longer a central, exercised much influence at successive conclaves. In 1605, Ferdinando succeeded in getting his candidate, Alessandro de' Medici, elected Pope Leo Xi. He died the same month, but his successor, Pope Paul V, was likewise pro-Medici.^[29] Ferdinando's pro-papal foreign policy, however, had drawbacks. Tuscany was overrun with religious orders, not all of whom were obliged to pay taxes. Ferdinando died in 1609, leaving an affluent realm; his inaction in international affairs, however, would have long-reaching consequences down the line.

In France, Marie de' Medici was acting as regent for her son, Louis XIII. Louis repudiated her pro-Habsburg policy in 1617. She lived the rest of her life deprived of whatever political influence.

Ferdinando'southward successor, Cosimo Two, reigned for less than 12 years. He married Maria Maddalena of Austria, with whom he had his eight children, including Margherita de' Medici, Ferdinando Ii de' Medici, and an Anna de' Medici. He is near remembered as the patron of astronomer Galileo Galilei, whose 1610 treatise, Sidereus Nuncius, was dedicated to him.^[xxx] Cosimo died of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1621.^[31]

Cosimo'southward elderberry son, Ferdinando, was non yet of legal maturity to succeed him, thus Maria Maddalena and his grandmother, Christina of Lorraine, acted as regents. Their collective regency is known every bit the Turtici. Maria Maddelana'south temperament was analogous to Christina's, and together they aligned Tuscany with the papacy, re-doubled the Tuscan clergy, and allowed the heresy trial of Galileo Galilei to occur.^[32] Upon the decease of the concluding Duke of Urbino (Francesco Maria Two), instead of claiming the duchy for Ferdinando, who was married to the Duke of Urbino's granddaughter and heiress, Vittoria della Rovere, they permitted it to exist annexed past Pope Urban VIII. In 1626, they banned any Tuscan subject field from being educated outside the K Duchy, a police afterward overturned, but resurrected by Maria Maddalena'southward grandson, Cosimo III.^[33] Harold Acton, an Anglo-Italian historian, ascribed the refuse of Tuscany to the Turtici regency.^[33]

Chiliad Duke Ferdinado was obsessed with new engineering science, and had a diverseness of hygrometers, barometers, thermometers, and telescopes installed in the Palazzo Pitti.^[34] In 1657, Leopoldo de' Medici, the Grand Knuckles'south youngest blood brother, established the Accademia del Cimento, organized to attract scientists to Florence from all over Tuscany for mutual study.^[35]

Tuscany participated in the Wars of Castro (the terminal time Medicean Tuscany proper was involved in a conflict) and inflicted a defeat on the forces of Pope Urban Viii in 1643.^[36] The war endeavor was costly and the treasury so empty because of it that when the Castro mercenaries were paid for, the country could no longer afford to pay interest on government bonds, with the result that the interest rate was lowered by 0.75%.^[37] At that time, the economy was so decrepit that barter trade became prevalent in rural marketplace places.^[36]

Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 afflicted by apoplexy and dropsy. He was interred in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici'south necropolis.^[38] At the time of his expiry, the population of the grand duchy was 730,594; the streets were lined with grass and the buildings on the verge of plummet in Pisa.^[39]

Ferdinando's wedlock to Vittoria della Rovere produced two children: Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Francesco Maria de' Medici, Knuckles of Rovere and Montefeltro. Upon Vittoria'southward decease in 1694, her allodial possessions, the Duchies of Rovere and Montefeltro, passed to her younger son.

18th century: the fall of the dynasty [edit]

Cosimo III, the Medicean chiliad duke, in Grand Ducal regalia

Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the last of the Grand Ducal line, in Minerva, Merkur und Plutus huldigen der Kurfürstin Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (English: Minerva, Mercury and Pluto pay homage to the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici) later Antonio Bellucci, 1706

Cosimo III married Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, a granddaughter of Henry Four of France and Marie de' Medici. An exceedingly discontented pairing, this matrimony produced three children, notably Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Electress Palatine, and the last Medicean Thou Duke of Tuscany, Gian Gastone de' Medici.

Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, Anna Maria Luisa's spouse, successfully requisitioned the nobility Royal Highness for the Yard Duke and his family unit in 1691, despite the fact that they had no claim to any kingdom.^[twoscore] Cosimo frequently paid the Holy Roman Emperor, his nominal feudal overlord, exorbitant ante,^[41] and he sent munitions to the emperor during the Battle of Vienna.

The Medici lacked male heirs, and past 1705, the yard ducal treasury was most bankrupt. In comparing to the 17th century, the population of Florence declined by 50%, and the population of the grand duchy as a whole declined by an estimated 40%.^[42] Cosimo badly tried to reach a settlement with the European powers, merely Tuscany's legal status was very complicated: the surface area of the grand duchy formerly comprising the Republic of Siena was technically a Spanish fief, while the territory of the old Democracy of Florence was thought to be under imperial suzerainty. Upon the death of his starting time son, Cosimo contemplated restoring the Florentine commonwealth, either upon Anna Maria Luisa'south death, or on his ain, if he predeceased her. The restoration of the republic would entail resigning Siena to the Holy Roman Empire, simply, regardless, information technology was vehemently endorsed by his government. Europe largely ignored Cosimo'southward plan. Only Slap-up Britain and the Dutch Republic gave any credence to information technology, and the programme ultimately died with Cosimo Iii in 1723.^[43]

On four April 1718, Great britain, France and the Dutch Commonwealth (likewise afterward, Austria) selected Don Carlos of Espana, the elderberry child of Elisabeth Farnese and Philip Five of Spain, equally the Tuscan heir. Past 1722, the electress was non even acknowledged every bit heiress, and Cosimo was reduced to spectator at the conferences for Tuscany'due south future.^[44] On 25 Oct 1723, half dozen days earlier his death, One thousand Duke Cosimo disseminated a final proclamation commanding that Tuscany stay contained: Anna Maria Luisa would succeed uninhibited to Tuscany later Gian Gastone, and the grand duke reserved the right to choose his successor. However, these portions of his declaration were completely ignored, and he died a few days afterwards.

Gian Gastone despised the electress for engineering his catastrophic spousal relationship to Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg; while she abhorred her blood brother's liberal policies, he repealed all of his male parent's anti-Semitic statutes. Gian Gastone revelled in upsetting her.^[45] On 25 October 1731, a Spanish detachment occupied Florence on behalf of Don Carlos, who disembarked in Tuscany in December of the aforementioned year. The Ruspanti, Gian Gastone'due south decrepit entourage, loathed the electress, and she them. Duchess Violante of Bavaria, Gian Gastone'southward sister-in-law, tried to withdraw the grand duke from the sphere of influence of the Ruspanti by organising banquets. His acquit at the banquets was less than royal; he often vomited repeatedly into his napkin, belched, and regaled those nowadays with socially inappropriate jokes.^[46] Following a sprained ankle in 1731, he remained bars to his bed for the rest of his life. The bed, ofttimes smelling of faeces, was occasionally cleaned by Violante.

In 1736, following the War of the Smooth Succession, Don Carlos was disbarred from Tuscany, and Francis III of Lorraine was made heir in his stead.^[47] In January 1737, the Spanish troops withdrew from Tuscany, and were replaced by Austrians.

Gian Gastone died on nine July 1737, surrounded past prelates and his sis. Anna Maria Luisa was offered a nominal regency by the Prince de Craon until the new yard knuckles could peregrinate to Tuscany, just declined.^[48] Upon her brother's death, she received all the Business firm of Medici's allodial possessions.

Anna Maria Luisa signed the Patto di Famiglia ("family unit pact") on 31 October 1737. In collaboration with the Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke Francis of Lorraine, she willed all the personal property of the Medici to the Tuscan state, provided that nothing was always removed from Florence.^[49]

The "Lorrainers", as the occupying forces were called, were popularly loathed, simply the regent, the Prince de Craon, allowed the electress to live unperturbed in the Palazzo Pitti. She occupied herself with financing and overseeing the structure of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, started in 1604 by Ferdinando I, at a price to the country of 1,000 crowns per calendar week.^[50]

The electress donated much of her fortune to charity: £iv,000 a month.^[51] On 19 February 1743, she died, and the grand ducal line of the House of Medici died with her. The Florentines grieved her,^[52] and she was interred in the crypt that she helped to complete, San Lorenzo.

The extinction of the main Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine and hubby of Maria Theresa of Republic of austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. The line of the Princes of Ottajano, an extant branch of the House of Medici who were eligible to inherit the yard duchy of Tuscany when the concluding male of the senior branch died in 1737, could take carried on as Medici sovereigns but for the intervention of Europe's major powers, which allocated the sovereignty of Florence elsewhere.

Every bit a consequence, the 1000 duchy expired and the territory became a secundogeniture of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. The beginning yard duke of the new dynasty, Francis I, was a nifty-bang-up-great-grandson of Francesco I de' Medici, thus he connected the Medicean Dynasty on the throne of Tuscany through the female line. The Habsburgs were deposed in favor of the House of Bourbon-Parma in 1801 (themselves deposed in 1807), simply were later restored at the Congress of Vienna. Tuscany became a province of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861. However, several extant branches of the Business firm of Medici survive, including the Princes of Ottajano, the Medici Tornaquinci,^[53] and the Verona Medici Counts of Caprara and Gavardo.^[54] (see Medici family tree)

Legacy [edit]

The greatest accomplishments of the Medici were in the sponsorship of art and architecture, mainly early and Loftier Renaissance art and architecture. The Medici were responsible for a high proportion of the major Florentine works of art created during their menses of rule. Their support was disquisitional, since artists generally but began work on their projects after they had received commissions. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, the offset patron of the arts in the family, aided Masaccio and commissioned Filippo Brunelleschi for the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, in 1419. Cosimo the Elder's notable artistic associates were Donatello and Fra Angelico. In later years, the most significant protégé of the Medici family was Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), who produced work for a number of family members, start with Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was said to be extremely fond of the young Michelangelo and invited him to study the family drove of antique sculpture.^[55] Lorenzo likewise served as patron to Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) for seven years. Indeed, Lorenzo was an artist in his own correct and an author of poetry and song; his back up of the arts and letters is seen as a high point in Medici patronage.

Medici family members placed allegorically in the entourage of a male monarch from the Three Wise Men in the Tuscan countryside in a Benozzo Gozzoli fresco, c. 1459.

After Lorenzo'southward expiry, the puritanical Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola rose to prominence, warning Florentines confronting excessive luxury. Under Savonarola's fanatical leadership, many peachy works were "voluntarily" destroyed in the Bonfire of the Vanities (February 7, 1497). The following year, on 23 May 1498, Savonarola and ii immature supporters were burned at the pale in the Piazza della Signoria, the same location as his blaze. In improver to commissions for 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 were responsible for some notable features of Florence, including the Uffizi Gallery, the Boboli Gardens, the Belvedere, the Medici Chapel and the Palazzo Medici.^[56]

Later, in Rome, the Medici popes continued in the family tradition of patronizing artists in Rome. Pope Leo 10 would importantly committee works from Raphael, whereas Pope Clement VII commissioned Michelangelo to pigment the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel just earlier the pontiff's decease in 1534.^[57] Eleanor of Toledo, a princess of Spain and wife of Cosimo I the Great, purchased the Pitti Palace from Buonaccorso Pitti in 1550. Cosimo in plough patronized Vasari, who erected the Uffizi Gallery in 1560 and founded the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno – ("Academy of the Arts of Drawing") in 1563.^[58] Marie de' Medici, widow of Henry IV of France and mother of Louis Thirteen, is the subject of a commissioned wheel of paintings known equally the Marie de' Medici bike, painted for the Grand duchy of luxembourg Palace by court painter Peter Paul Rubens in 1622–23.

Although none of the Medici themselves were scientists, the family unit is well known to have been the patrons of the famous Galileo Galilei, who tutored multiple generations of Medici children and was an important figurehead for his patron'due south quest for power. Galileo'due south patronage was somewhen abandoned by Ferdinando Ii, when the Inquisition accused Galileo of heresy. However, the Medici family unit did afford the scientist a prophylactic oasis for many years. Galileo named the 4 largest moons of Jupiter subsequently four Medici children he tutored, although the names Galileo used are not the names currently used.

Main genealogical table [edit]

The table beneath shows the origins of the Medici:

Medici Family unit Tree: Origins

This excerpt shows the branch that gave ascent to the celebrated co-operative of the Medici descending from Giovanni "di Bicci", who founded the Medici fortunes:

This is the co-operative of Cosimo'due south blood brother, Lorenzo, called the "Popolano" Branch, which gave rise to the Grand-Dukes of Tuscany:

Titles [edit]

List of heads of the Medici [edit]

Signore in the Commonwealth of Florence [edit]

Portrait	Name	From	Until	Relationship with predecessor
	Cosimo de' Medici (Pater Patriae)	1434	i August 1464	Son of Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici who was not as prominently involved in Florentine politics, rather more than involved in the financial area.
	Piero I de' Medici (Piero the Gouty)	one August 1464	2 December 1469	Eldest son of Cosimo de' Medici.
	Lorenzo I de' Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent)	ii Dec 1469	nine April 1492	Eldest son of Piero I de' Medici.
	Piero Ii de' Medici (Piero the Unfortunate)	9 April 1492	eight November 1494	Eldest son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Overthrown when Charles Eight of France invaded as a full republic was restored, first under the theocracy of Girolamo Savonarola and so statesman Piero Soderini.
	Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici	31 August 1512	9 March 1513	Blood brother of Piero the Unfortunate, second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Elected to the Papacy, becoming Pope Leo X.
	Giuliano de' Medici, Knuckles of Nemours	9 March 1513	17 March 1516	Brother of Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, third son of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
	Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino	17 March 1516	4 May 1519	Nephew of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, son of Piero the Unfortunate. Father of Catherine de' Medici, Queen consort of France.
	Cardinal Giulio de' Medici	iv May 1519	19 November 1523	Cousin of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, son of Giuliano de' Medici who was the blood brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Elected to the Papacy, becoming Pope Cloudless VII.
	Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici	19 November 1523	24 Oct 1529	Cousin of Primal Giulio de' Medici, illegitimate son of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours.

Dukes of Florence [edit]

Portrait	Name	From	Until	Human relationship with predecessor
	Alessandro il Moro	24 October 1529	6 Jan 1537	Cousin of Primal Ippolito de' Medici, illegitimate son of Lorenzo 2 de' Medici, Duke of Urbino or Pope Clement Seven. Acting signore during imperial Siege of Florence, made Duke in 1531.
	Cosimo I	six January 1537	21 Apr 1574	Distant cousin of Alessandro de' Medici, Son of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere. dei Popolani line descended from Lorenzo the Elder, Brother of Cosimo de' Medici; also great-grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent through his mother, Maria Salviati, and his grandmother, Lucrezia de' Medici. 1569, he was made M Duke of Tuscany.

Grand Dukes of Tuscany [edit]

Portrait	Name	From	Until	Relationship with predecessor
	Cosimo I	6 January 1569	21 April 1574
	Francesco I	21 April 1574	17 October 1587	Eldest son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Knuckles of Tuscany.
	Ferdinando I	17 October 1587	17 February 1609	Brother of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, son of Cosimo I de' Medici, K Duke of Tuscany.
	Cosimo Two	17 February 1609	28 February 1621	Eldest son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, K Duke of Tuscany.
	Ferdinando 2	28 February 1621	23 May 1670	Eldest son of Cosimo Two de' Medici, G Knuckles of Tuscany.
	Cosimo Three	23 May 1670	31 October 1723	Eldest son of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Knuckles of Tuscany.
	Gian Gastone	31 October 1723	9 July 1737	2nd son of Cosimo III de' Medici, Yard Duke of Tuscany.

Coats of artillery [edit]

The origin of the Medici glaze of arms is not recorded. Ane unproven story traces their ancestry to a knight of Charlemagne's, Averardo, who defeated a giant, Mugello. In advantage, Charlemagne is said to accept rewarded Averardo with the shield mauled past the giant, with the dents in the shape of balls, and the giant'due south lands in Mugello.

Here seen sliced in half, an art historian suggests that whole blood oranges could be the imagery in the Medici coats of arms

Another unproven theory suggests that represented coins copied from the coat of arms of the Gild of Moneychangers (Arte del Cambio) to which the Medici belonged. That shield was red strewn with Byzantine coins (bezants).^{[70] [71]} The number of balls also varied with fourth dimension, as shown beneath. It has besides been argued that these coins referenced the three coins or golden balls associated with St. Nicholas, particularly as the saint was invoked by Italian bankers as they took oaths.^[72]

As an Italian vocabulary discussion, "medici" means "medical doctors" and identifications with the family members as physicians may be plant among their names as early equally the eleventh century. Fanciful stories depict the images as pills or cupping glasses, a late-medieval medical instrument used to draw blood. Pills did non exist until much latter and bloodletting was not in faddy at the time of the commencement Medici glaze of arms. Fine art historian Rocky Ruggiero suggests plausibly yet, that the images may stand for whole ripe claret oranges that typically are grown in Italy. Although knowledge of vitamins did not exist at the fourth dimension, the do good of oranges for certain diseases was recognized and their association with recommendations past medical doctors suggests to Dr. Ruggiero that this probable is the imagery intended in the coats of artillery for the Medici family.^[73]

• 

  Old coat of arms of the Medici used by Giovanni di Bicci and Cosimo the Elder

• 

  The intermediate coat of arms of the Medici, Or, half-dozen balls in orle gules

• 

  The "augmented coat of arms of the Medici, Or, 5 balls in orle gules, in chief a larger one of the arms of France (viz. Azure, 3 fleurs-de-lis or) was granted by Louis XI in 1465.^[1]

• 

  Nifty coat of artillery of Medici of Ottajano

• 

  Augmented Arms of Medici

• 

  Coat of Arms of the M-Knuckles of Tuscany

• 

  Glaze of arms of Medici popes

• 

  Coat of arms of the Medici Cardinals

• 

  Glaze of Arms of Catherine of Medici, as Queen of France

• 

  Coat of Arms of Maria of Medici, as Queen of France

• 

  Achievement of the House of de' Medici

• 

  Coat of Arms of the Grand-Duchy of Tuscany

Meet too [edit]

• Medici family tree
• List of popes from the Medici family
• Strozzi family (surviving), Pazzi family (extinct) rivals of the Medici
• Castellini Baldissera family unit (relatives of the Medici)

Notes [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b} John Woodward, A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry, 1894, p. 162
2. ^ Litta, Pompeo (1827). Famiglie celebri italiane. Medici di Firenze.
3. ^ Luisa Greco (22 May 2015). "Cosimo de Medici eastward 50'affection per le tartarughe con la vela". Toctoc.
4. ^ "Medici". CollinsDictionary.com. HarperCollins. Retrieved 12 Feb 2020.
5. ^ The family unit of Pius 4, the Medici of Milan, considered itself a branch of the House of Medici and was recognized as such by the Florentine Pope Clement Vii and past Cosimo I 'de Medici in the early on 16th century. Historians accept found no proof of an actual connection betwixt the Medici of Milan and the Medici of Florence, just this belief was widespread during the life of Pius IV and the Medici of Florence allowed the Medici of Milan to use their coat of arms.
6. ^ "Medici Family – – Encyclopædia Britannica". Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved 27 September 2009.
7. ^ Malaguzzi, Silvia (2004). Botticelli. Ediz. Inglese. Giunti Editore. ISBN9788809036772 – via Google Books.
8. ^ The Medieval World – Europe 1100–1350 by Friedrich Heer, 1998 Deutschland
9. ^ The name in Italian is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable /ˈmɛ .di.tʃi/ and not on the second vowel.How to say: Medici, BBC News Magazine Monitor—MED-uh-chee in American English.
10. ^ Strathern, p 18
11. ^ Kenneth Bartlett, The Italian Renaissance, Affiliate vii, p. 37, Book II, 2005.
12. ^ "History of Florence". Aboutflorence.com. Retrieved 2015-01-26 .
13. ^ Crum, Roger J. Severing the Neck of Pride: Donatello'southward "Judith and Holofernes" and the Recollection of Albizzi Shame in Medicean Florence . Artibus et Historiae, Book 22, Edit 44, 2001. pp. 23–29.
14. ^ Padgett, John F.; Ansell, Christopher Thousand. (May 1993). "Robust Action and the Rise of the Medici, 1400–1434" (PDF). The American Journal of Sociology. 98 (six): 1259–1319. doi:10.1086/230190. JSTOR 2781822. S2CID 56166159. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-03-03. . This has led to much more assay.
15. ^ Machiavelli, Niccolò (1906). The Florentine history written past Niccolò Machiavelli, Volume i. p. 221. .
16. ^ Bradley, Richard (executive producer) (2003). The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (Function I) (DVD). PBS Home Video.
17. ^ ^{a b} The Prince Niccolò Machiavelli. A Norton Critical Edition. Translated and edited past Rober M. Adams. New York. Westward.West. Norton and Company, 1977. p. viii (Historical Introduction).
18. ^ Ulwencreutz, Lars (2013). Ulwencreutz's The Royal Families in Europe V. ISBN9781304581358 . Retrieved 20 September 2018.
19. ^ 15th century Italy.
20. ^ Hibbard, pp. 177, 202, 162.
21. ^ Hibbert, Christopher (1974). The House of Medici: Its rise and autumn. New York: William Morrow and Company. ISBN0-688-00339-vii. OCLC 5613740.
22. ^ Halvorson, Michael (2014). The Renaissance: All That Matters. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN9781444192964.
23. ^ Hibbert, The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall, 153.
24. ^ ^{a b} Unhurt, p. 150.
25. ^ Hale, p. 151.
26. ^ Austria and Espana were ruled by the House of Habsburg; the 2 are interchangeable terms for the Habsburg domains in the time period in question.
27. ^ Unhurt, p. 158.
28. ^ ^{a b} Hale, p. 160.
29. ^ Hale, p. 165.
30. ^ Strathen, p. 368.
31. ^ Unhurt, p. 187.
32. ^ Acton, p. 111.
33. ^ ^{a b} Acton, p. 192.
34. ^ Acton, p. 27.
35. ^ Acton, p. 38.
36. ^ ^{a b} Hale, p. 180.
37. ^ Hale, p. 181.
38. ^ Acton, p. 108.
39. ^ Acton, p. 112.
40. ^ Acton, p. 182.
41. ^ Acton, p. 243.
42. ^ Strathern, p. 392.
43. ^ Unhurt, p. 191.
44. ^ Acton, p. 175.
45. ^ Acton, p. 280.
46. ^ Acton, p. 188.
47. ^ Acton, p. 301.
48. ^ Acton, p. 304.
49. ^ "Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici – Electress Palatine". Retrieved three September 2009.
50. ^ Acton, p. 209.
51. ^ Acton, p. 310.
52. ^ Acton, p. 309.
53. ^ Florence Journal; Where the Bodies Are Cached, Modern-Day Medici Feud, Alan Feuer, New York Times, May 4, 2004
54. ^ Hibbert, p. 60.
55. ^ Howard Hibbard, Michelangelo (New York: Harper and Row, 1974), p. 21.
56. ^ Peter Barenboim, Sergey Shiyan, Michelangelo: Mysteries of Medici Chapel, SLOVO, Moscow, 2006. ISBN 5-85050-825-2
57. ^ Hibbard, p. 240.
58. ^ Official site of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence, Brief History (information technology. leng.)"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2009-06-01 . {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
59. ^ Two more sons: Arrigo (?-?), Giovanni (?-?)
60. ^ Three more sons: Talento (?-?), he had a son, Mario died in 1369, Mario had few unremarkable later generations; Jacopo (?-1340) who had a son, Averardo (fl. 1363); Francesco (?-?), who had a son, Malatesta died in 1367.
61. ^ Iv sons: Guccio (from which descended a line extinct in 1670 with Ottaviano), Filippo (?-?), Betto (fl. 1348), Ardinghello (fl. 1345).
62. ^ One more son: Giovanni (fl. 1383). Giovanni had a son, Antonio (?-1396) and a nephew, Felice (?-?).
63. ^ Ane son, Coppo, (?-?). Cfr. Mecatti, Giuseppe Maria; Muratori, Lodovico Antonio (1755). Storia cronologica della città di Firenze (in Italian). Vol. Parte prima. Naples: Stamperia Simoniana. p. 157. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
64. ^ 2 more brothers unknown.
65. ^ Two more brothers: Andrea (*? †?), Bartolomeo (*? †?).
66. ^ 1 more than brother: Pietro (*? †?), line extinct.
67. ^ I more than brother: Giovanni (*? †?)
68. ^ One more son: Francesco (†1552?)
69. ^ One more son Bernardo (†1592?)
70. ^ de Roover, Raymond (31 July 2017). The Medici Bank: Its Organization, Management, Operations, and Decline. Pickle Partners Publishing. pp. note 1.
71. ^ Mackworth-Immature, Rose (29 March 2012). "The Medici balls: Origins of the family's coat of artillery". The Florentine. Florence: B'Gruppo Srl (160). Retrieved 17 October 2017.
72. ^ Clare, Edward G. (1985). St. Nicholas: His Legends and Iconography. Florence: Leo Southward. Olschki. p. 76.
73. ^ Ruggiero, Rocky, Ph.D., Rebuilding The Renaissance, Episode 93 – Florence: The Medici Dynasty, Making Art and History Come to Life, Oct 28, 2020, an sound file

References [edit]

• Hibbert, Christopher (1975). The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall . Morrow. ISBN0-688-00339-7. a highly readable, non-scholarly full general history of the family
• Miles J. Unger, Magnifico: The Bright Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de Medici, (Simon and Schuster 2008) is a vividly colorful new biography of this true "renaissance man", the uncrowned ruler of Florence during its aureate historic period
• Ferdinand Schevill, History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance (Frederick Ungar, 1936) is the standard overall history of Florence
• Cecily Booth, Cosimo I, Duke of Florence, 1921, University Press
• Harold Acton, The Concluding Medici, Macmillan, London, 1980, ISBN 0-333-29315-0
• Paul Strathern, The Medici—Godfathers of the Renaissance (Pimlico, 2005) is an informative and lively account of the Medici family unit, their finesse and foibles—extremely readable, though with a few factual and typographical errors.
• Lauro Martines, April Blood—Florence and the Plot Against the Medici (Oxford Academy Printing 2003) a detailed account of the Pazzi Conspiracy, the players, the politics of the day, and the fallout of the bump-off plot . Though authentic in historic details, Martines writes with a definite 'anti-Medici' tone.
• Accounting in Italy
• Herbert Millingchamp Vaughan, The Medici Popes. New York: Thou.P. Putnam's Sons, 1908.
• Jonathan Zophy, A Brusk History of Renaissance and Reformation Europe, Dances over Fire and Water. 1996. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.
• Villa Niccolini (Camugliano), Villa Niccolini, is one of the Medici'south tuscany villa previously called Villa Medicea di Camugliano, Villa Niccolini is located east from Ponsacco, near a little feudal village, Camugliano.

Farther reading [edit]

• Jean Lucas-Dubreton, Daily Life in Florence in the Fourth dimension of the Medici.

• Danny Chaplin, "The Medici: Ascent of a Parvenu Dynasty, 1360–1537."

External links [edit]

• The Medici Annal Project
• Prince Ottaviano de' Medici: Solving a 417-year-sometime murder mystery (May 4, 2004)
• The Moscow Florentine Society
• Medici Family Tree, featuring portraits and bios of central members of the Medici Dynasty, 1400–1737
• The Medici Family unit, History Channel. Retrieved viii Apr 2016. The Medici Family
• The Medici Family of Florence

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Medici

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