Medici

Shield of weapons of Popes Médici, Leo X, Clemente VII, Pius IV and Leo XI.

Members of the Medici family in a fresco painted by Benozzo Gozzoli in 1461.

The Médici (pron. médichi) were a powerful and influential Renaissance family in Florence whose members included four popes: Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV and Leo XI; two queens of France: Catherine de' Medici and Marie de' Medici; and numerous Florentine leaders, members of the royal houses of France and England, who stood out for being patrons, sponsoring artists and scientists of their time.

The family is of modest origins, and while it prospered in Florence, it traces its origins to the Mugello region, being the first known member of the Medico di Potrone house, which belies the theory that they were originally doctors professional. The initial power of the family arose from the bank; the Banco dei Medici was one of the most prosperous and respected banks in Europe. On this basis, they initially acquired political power in Florence, where they appeared as confalonier or head of the city since the XIV century (Salvestro di Médici was a confalonier in 1378). His power and influence then spread throughout Italy and the rest of the European continent.

John de' Medici, the family's first banker, began the lineage's influence over Florentine government, but the Medici became the unofficial head of the republic in 1434, when their eldest son Cosimo de' Medici took among his titles Pater Patriae and "Grand Master". The main branch of the family – made up of their descendants – governed the destinies of Florence until the assassination of Alessandro de' Medici, first Duke of Florence, in 1537.

Power then passed to the junior branch of the Medici, that is, to the descendants of Lorenzo the Elder, the youngest son of Giovanni de' Medici, beginning with his great-great-grandson, Cosimo I de' Medici, 2nd Duke of Florence (1537-1569).) and I Grand Duke of Tuscany (1569–1574). In Duke Cosimo I the two family branches are united, since he is the son of Juan de las Bandas Negras, of the Popolana branch, and of María Salviati, granddaughter of Lorenzo de Médici.

The rise of the Medici to power was recounted in detail in the chronicle of Benedetto Dei.

Festina lente (Latin, “Be quick”).

Lema de la Casa de Médici

Art and architecture

The Medici were the most important lineage of patrons in Italy and Europe. The most significant achievements of the family were in the field of art and architecture, so much so that the talents they used are today the main references.

Juan di Bicci de' Medici was the family's first patron—financial patron of art. He helped Masaccio, and ordered the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

Cosme de' Medici patronizes notable artists such as Donatello and Fra Angelico.

Under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, artists such as Sandro Botticelli, Andrea Verrocchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Leonardo Da Vinci worked. He also patronized and supported poets and humanists such as Marsilio Ficino, Cristoforo Landino, Angelo Poliziano, and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, all members of the Florentine Platonic Academy founded by Cosimo de' Medici.

But the main "acquisition" of the Medici throughout history was Michelangelo, an architect, sculptor, and painter—considered one of the best in all three fields—who produced a series of works for different members of the family, beginning with Lorenzo the Magnificent. In addition to architectural contractors and artistic patrons, the Medici were prolific collectors, collecting a multitude of works that today form the central collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

In architecture, the Medici are responsible for several notable buildings in Florence, including the Uffizi Gallery, the Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens, the Belvedere, and the Medici Palace.

• Juan di Bicci de Médici personally commissioned Brunelleschi to rebuild the Church of San Lorenzo in 1419.
• Leonor Álvarez de Toledo, wife of Cosme I, bought the Pitti Palace at Buonaccorso Pitti in 1550.
• Cosme I sponsored Vasari, who built the Uffizi Gallery in 1560.
• María de Médici, widow of Henry IV of France and III of Navarre and mother of Louis XIII of France, was used as a model by Peter Paul Rubens in 1622 for oil painting Mary of Medici, Queen of France, arriving at Marseilles.
• Galileo Galilei was protected by Cosme II of Médici and by his son Fernando II of Médici.

Lorenzo the Magnificent visit to Fernando de Aragón (Palazzo Vecchio, Florence).

Notable members

• Salvestro Médici (1331–1388), led the assault against the revolt of the Ciompi—the revolt of the humble workers of the textile industry against the great textiles—, becoming the dictator of Florence, until its expulsion in 1382.
• Juan di Bicci de Médici (1360–1429), restored the family fortune, making it the richest in Europe.
• Cosme de Médici, nicknamed "the Old" (1389–1464), founder of the family political dynasty.
• Lorenzo de Médici, nicknamed "the Magnificent" (1449–1492), leader of Florence during the golden age of the Renaissance.
• Leo X, Giovanni di Lorenzo de Médici (1475–1521), papa.
• Clemente VII, Julio de Médici (1523–1534), papa.
• Cosme I de Médici (1519–1574), the first great Duke of Tuscany, restored the family shine.
• Catalina de Médici (1519–1589), queen and regent of France when King Charles IX, his son, was not yet of age.
• Leo XI, Alejandro Octaviano de Médici (1535–1605), papa.
• Mary of Medici (1573–1642), Queen and Regent of France.
• Ana María Luisa de Médici (1667–1743), the last of the family line.

Family tree

Additional bibliography

• Jean Lucas-Dubreton, Daily Life in Florence in the Time of the Medici. (in English)
• Danny Chaplin, "The Medici: Rise of a Parvenu Dynasty, 1360–1537." (in English)
• Pompeo Litta Biumi (1827). Famiglie celebri d'Italia. Medici di Firenze (in Italian). Torino.
• Brunetto Dami (1899). Giovanni Bicci dei Medici, nella vita politica. Ricerche storiche (1400-1429) (in Italian). Firenze: B. Seeber.
• George Frederick Young, translator Giuseppina Taddei Saltini (2016, 1934 (English)). The Medici (in Italian). Firenze: Salani. ISBN 978-88-9381-064-7.
• Gaetano Pieraccini (1924-25). Lape stir dei Medici di Cafaggiolo. Saggio di ricerche sulla trasmissione ereditaria dei caratteri ereditari (3 voll.) (in Italian). Firenze: Vallecchi. - Nardini, 1986-1994.
• Umberto Dorini (1947-1989). I Medici and loro tempi (in Italian). Firenze: Nerbini Editore. - at present with the title I Medici. Storia di una famiglia, Odoya, Milano, 2015-2016.
• John R. Hale, translator M. Papini (1980). Firenze and i Medici. Storia di una città e di una famiglia. Collana Storia e Documenti.Grandi dinastie (in Italian). Milano: Mursia. ISBN 978-88-425-8639-5.
• Marcello Vannucci (1987). I Medici. A famiglia to the potere (in Italian). Rome: Newton Compton.
• Franco Cardini (1990). Breve storia di Firenze (in Italian). Pacini Editore.
• Marcello Vannucci (2001). Le grandi famiglie di Firenze (in Italian). Rome: Newton Compton.
• AA.VV. (2001). Medici (in Italian). Nike Edizioni.
• Marcello Vannucci (2004). Le donne di casa Medici (in Italian). Rome: Newton Compton.
• Marco Ferri (2005). I medici riesumano i Medici. Cronaca di una straordinaria avventura alla scoperta dei segreti della grande dinastia fiorentina (in Italian). Nuova Tuscany Editrice. ISBN 978-88-87263-41-1.
• Fornaciari G., Giuffra V., Ferroglio E., Gino S., Bianucci R., Plasmodium Falciparum Immunodetection in Bone Remains of Members of The Renaissance Medici Family (Florence, Italy, Sixteenth Century), Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 104: 583-587, 2010. (in English)
• Gonzague Truc, Les MédicisGrasset 1936. (in French)
• Andrieux, Les Médicis. Paris, Librairie Plon, 1958. (in French)
• Jean Lucas-Dubreton, La Vie quotidienne à Florence au temps des Médicis. Paris, Hachette, 1958. (in French)
• André Chastel, Art et humanisme à Florence au temps de Laurent le Magnifique. Paris, PUF, 1959. (in French)
• Raymond DeRoover, The Rise and Decline of the Medici Bank. New York, Norton Library, 1966. (in English)
• Christopher Hibbert, Rise and Fall of the Medici House. New York, Morrow, 1975.(in English)
• John Rigby Hale, Florence and the Medici. The Pattern of Control. London, Thames and Hudson, 1977. (in English)
• Harold Acton, Les derniers MédicisPerrin 1984.(in French)
• Pierre Antonetti, Les Médicis. Paris, PUF, 1997.(in French)
• Lauro Martines, Le Sang d'avril - Florence et le complot contre les MédicisAlbin Michel - HistoireParis, 2006.(in French)
• Jacques Heers, Le clan des Medicis. Comment Florence perdit ses libertés (1200-1500)Paris, Perrin, 2008.(in French)