who was the medici family
HISTORY OF THE MEDICI: FROM ORIGINS TO THE EXTINCTION OF THE FAMILY
The Medici family’s complete history: from the dynasty’s origins to the disappearance of the most incredible Tuscan dynasty that ruled Florence, Tuscany, and influenced the internal balance of European empires for over three centuries.
History of the Medici: The Origins
Three lines of Medici descent
The Economic and political rise: Giovanni di Bicci (1360-1429)
The Medici Bank, one of the first Tuscan banks
The consolidation of the Medici: Cosimo the Elder (1389-1464)
Medici vs. Strozzi and Albizi
The Magnificence of the Medici: Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492)
The attack on Piero the Gouty
Lorenzo de’ Medici comes to power
The Significance of the Pazzi Conspiracy in Medici History
Lorenzo the Magnificent, the fulcrum of European politics
History of the Medici: After the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent
Which Medici becomes Pope?
Florence: The transformation from Republic to Signoria
The birth of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany: Cosimo I (1519-1574)
The marriage between Cosimo I and Eleonora di Toledo
Cosimo I, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany
Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici (1541-1587)
Johanna of Austria and Bianca Cappello
Grand Duke Ferdinando I (1549-1609)
How the Medici story ends
After the death of Cosimo II de’ Medici
The last generation of the Medici
Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici (1667-1743)
The History of the Medici
The History of the Medici: from the Origins to the Extinction of the Family
First, they ruled Florence, then the entire Tuscany, from 1434 to 1737: over three hundred years. There were three Medici popes – Leo X, Clement VII, and Leo XI – and two Queens of France – Catherine and Mary de’ Medici.
Few other patrons have promoted and favoured art and culture, both humanistic and scientific, of their time as the Medici family did. The foundations of many of Florence’s most important cultural institutions are owed to them. Works, palaces, villas, museums, parks – everything in Tuscany echoes their grandeur. We are talking about the Medici, the Tuscan dynasty that transformed the face of territory, endowing it with splendour and prestige never replicated.
History of the Medici: The Origins
There is no trace of nobility or significant military aptitude in the origins of the Medici. Some sources say the original lineage can be traced back to the Mugello countryside.
Beyond stories, anecdotes, and questionable seventeenth-century manuscripts such as “Origins and Descendants of the Medici Family of Florence,” which suspiciously aimed to exalt the humble origins of the family, there are more reliable testimonies that cast doubt on the Medici family settling in Mugello in such ancient times.
From Filigno de’ Medici’s “Book of Memories,” it is learned that together with the Sizi and others, they built the people’s tower of San Tommaso near the Mercato Vecchio in Florence (now in the area between Piazza della Repubblica and Via de’ Medici). It is also known that between the 12th and 13th centuries, Giambuono lived, considered the progenitor of the lineage and the first recognized figure in Medici history.
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Three Medici Lines of Descent
In the first half of the 13th century, the Medici family was divided into three main lines of descent, respectively headed by Bonagiunta (extinct branch in 1363), Chiarissimo, and Averardo.
Among the descendants, Ardingo, the son of the Guelph Bonagiunta, seems to have been the first Medici to hold prestigious public positions such as Prior of the Arts. However, this was still the early days of what would become the greatest Tuscan dynasty.
Economic and Political Rise: Giovanni di Bicci (1360-1429)
Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, belonging to the central branch of the family, was one of the five sons of Averardo di Bicci de’ Medici and Jacopa (or Giovanna) Spini. While he inherited little from his father, his uncle Vieri de’ Medici introduced him to banking. In 1397, the bank’s headquarters were moved to Florence, near Orsanmichele. The capital amounted to 10,000 florins, a gold coin with 24 carats weighing approximately 3.537 grams.
The Medici Bank
The Medici Bank, one of the first Tuscan banks, thrived in Florence, Venice, and Naples, but it was most lucrative in Rome. Antipope John XXIII granted Giovanni the collection of tithes, from which the family derived a percentage, greatly enhancing their finances.
The Medici clientele consisted of the crème de la crème of Europe at the time. Nevertheless, Giovanni remained humble and reserved, and it was with him that wise prudence towards the envy of others was born, which would be one of the keys to the triumph of his son Cosimo (who would go down in history as Cosimo, the Elder).
Giovanni served as Prior of the Arte del Cambio three times, was a member of the Dieci di Balia in 1419, and Gonfaloniere of Justice in 1421. His anti-oligarchic tendencies, patronage in favour of the middle class, and promotion of fair tax reform earned him the reputation of being the “friend of the people.”
Consolidation of the Medici: Cosimo the Elder (1389-1464)
As the firstborn son of Giovanni di Bicci and Piccarda Bueri, Cosimo received a solid humanistic education. In 1416, after extensive travels in Europe, he married the young Contessina de’ Bardi, a member of one of the oldest and most distinguished families in Florence.
In 1420, Giovanni retired from actively managing the family’s economy and left the bank in the hands of his sons Lorenzo and Cosimo. Cosimo did not hesitate to resort to dubious clientelistic practices and corruption to increase the family’s power and wealth.
Upon Giovanni‘s death in 1429, Cosimo was the head of the family and representative of the Medici interests, which clashed with the overwhelming power of the oligarchic faction led by the Albizzi and Strozzi families in Florence.
Medici vs. Strozzi and Albizzi
Having narrowly escaped unjust imprisonment and an assassination attempt by the Albizzi and Strozzi families, Cosimo wandered in various Italian cities in a sort of golden exile until his cunning and intrigues allowed him to return to Florence as a victor in 1434. He was acclaimed by the people who greatly preferred the Medici’s tolerance over the reactionary despotism of the Albizzi and Strozzi families.
Having sent their adversaries into exile in turn Cosimo gradually emerged as the absolute arbiter of Florentine politics, even without holding direct offices. He led a secluded and modest life like a private citizen, and the term “crypto seigneur” was coined for him, meaning a de facto ruler if not a de jure one. He, also known as the “Pater Patriae,” and the ingenuity of Marsilio Ficino was responsible for the foundation of the Neoplatonic Academy, which played a significant role in Florence’s artistic and cultural life.
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The Magnificence of the Medici: Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492)
After the death of Cosimo the Elder‘s second son Giovanni in 1463 and due to the illness afflicting the eldest son Piero, known as “Piero the Gouty,” the “Pater Patriae” decided that Piero’s sons, Giuliano and Lorenzo, would assist their father in managing the family.
Lorenzo de’ Medici (who became known as Lorenzo the Magnificent), the son of Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici and Lucrezia Tornabuoni, was born in 1449 in Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. He received a profound humanistic education and thorough political preparation alongside his brother Giuliano.
After gaining valuable experience at various Italian courts, Lorenzo signed a contract in Rome in 1466, in agreement with Pope Paul II, securing Medici’s participation in the alum mines discovered in Tolfa.
The Assassination Attempt on Piero the Gouty (Piero il Gottoso)
Lorenzo played an essential and active role in foiling the conspiracy orchestrated by Luca Pitti against his father, Piero. He distinguished himself in defending his father’s life from Careggi to Florence. Consequently, his father had the seventeen-year-old Lorenzo take his place in the Balìa and the Council of the Hundred, a remarkable act formally transferring his power to his son and designating him as his worthy successor.
With the approval of his meticulous mother, Lucrezia Tornabuoni, Lorenzo married Clarice Orsini, a scion of one of the noblest Roman families. The Medici aimed to enter the exclusive patrician circle of the Papal States.
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Lorenzo de’ Medici comes to power
After the death of Piero the Gouty in 1469, twenty-year-old Lorenzo the Magnificent assumed power in Florence alongside his brother Giuliano. Like his grandfather and father, he did not officially accept public office, desiring to be considered a simple citizen like the others.
Between 1469 and 1472, Lorenzo managed to suppress all rivalries among Florentine families, becoming the supreme judge.
The Importance of the Pazzi Conspiracy in Medici History
After thwarting a coup and conquering Volterra with a particular ferocity (which earned him the disapproval of many), at the age of 29, after nine years of rule, Lorenzo faced the most severe attack in the entire history of the Medici family—the so-called Pazzi Conspiracy. In this conspiracy, his brother Giuliano was killed, and Lorenzo was injured but miraculously survived.
As a result of the conspiracy, in which some of his Florentine opponents participated with the support of the Pope and other Italian states, the people of Florence openly sided with him. His supporters (called Palleschi, referring to the “balls” present in the Medici coat of arms) harshly punished the culprits, allowing Lorenzo to further centralize power through a reform of the republican institutions, which became subordinate to him.
Lorenzo the Magnificent, the Balancing Force in European Politics
Lorenzo was a man of great political and diplomatic understanding, and he always managed to mend relations among the unruly Italian states, promoting the great endeavour of general peace in Italy through the concept of peaceful coexistence. Moreover, he was a figure of international importance, considered by various European sovereigns as an equal to a monarch and earning the nickname “the balancing force.”
His dual nature divided him between politics, diplomacy, and humanistic sciences. His literary personality was of remarkable stature, equal to his political role. He also delved into philosophy, collecting art. Due to his interest, the Sistine Chapel, previously entrusted to Umbrian artists like Perugino, was later frescoed by the best Florentine painters.
Lorenzo’s declared enemy was the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola, who saw him as a promoter of neopaganism. The Magnificent tolerated him as if he were a lesser evil, maintaining mutual respect with the religious figure to the extent that they never had a confrontation.
Medici History: After the Death of Lorenzo the Magnificent
The eldest son of Lorenzo de’ Medici and Clarice Orsini was Piero II de’ Medici, known as “the Fatuous” or “the Unfortunate,” these epithets speak volumes about his fate. Lacking charisma and talent (far from the greatness of his father), he proved to be a disaster in domestic and foreign politics and patronage. He didn’t even recognize Michelangelo‘s talent, ordering him to create a statue out of the snow during the heavy snowfall of January 1494.
Due to his incompetence, the fragile balance of the Italian city-states crumbled like dry clay. An anecdote tells that when Charles VIII of France crossed the Alps to reclaim the Kingdom of Naples, Piero not only did not oppose his passage through the territories of the Florentine Republic but humiliated himself before him in such an unconditional surrender that he even knelt to kiss his slippers.
This episode, more or less anecdotal, is said to have been the basis for the second expulsion of the Medici from Florence by the short-lived theocratic regime established by Savonarola.
Which Medici Becomes Pope?
After Savonarola was condemned to the stake by Pope Alexander VI and Piero the Fatuous met an ignominious death by drowning in the Garigliano River during a battle manoeuvre by the French army, the head of the Medici family passed to Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici, the fourth son of Lorenzo the Magnificent and Clarice Orsini, who returned to Florence in 1512.
Giovanni, with the support of the Orsini party, was elected Pope in 1513 under the name Leo X. He was one of the most magnificent pontiffs and a great patron of artists.
After the brief pontificate of Adrian VI, another Medici was elected to the throne, Giulio, who took the name Clement VII. He appointed Alessandro, known as “the Moor” and the son of Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino (the only son of Piero II and grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent), as the new lord of the city of Florence, despite his bad reputation.
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Florence: The Transformation from Republic to Lordship
Following the news of the sack of Rome by the Landsknechts of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, the Florentines rebelled against the ruler imposed by the Pope and expelled the Medici for the third time.
However, after imprisoning the Pope in Orvieto, the Emperor reconciled with him and helped reestablish Alessandro the Moor on the throne of Florence, this time with the title of Duke. Thus, the long season of the Florentine Republic came to an end, transforming into a Lordship and definitively establishing Medici dominance over the city.
Alessandro il Moro, vicious and cruel, with centralized power in his hands, was soon killed at 26 by a hired assassin sent by his jealous cousin Lorenzaccio.
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany is born: Cosimo I (1519-1574)
The history of the Medici family and Florence took an unexpected turn here. The city unexpectedly chose an 18-year-old boy, Cosimo, as its leader. He was the son of Giovanni delle Bande Nere (son of Caterina Sforza and Giovanni dei Medici, known as “il Popolano”) – belonging to the cadet branch of the Medici family, the “popular” – and Maria Salviati (daughter of Lucrezia de’ Medici, the eldest daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent).
However, Cosimo did not turn out to be the poor puppet to be manipulated as the cunning Florentine notables who had summoned him from Mugello had thought. Soon, with great strength, the young Cosimo seized absolute power. The most influential families, such as the Strozzi, formed various alliances and waged war against him, but he got rid of them at the Rocca di Montemurlo. At the same time, their leaders were imprisoned in the Bargello and later beheaded.
The Marriage between Cosimo I and Eleonora di Toledo
In 1539, Cosimo married Eleonora di Toledo, daughter of Don Pedro Alvarez di Toledo, the Marquis of Villafranca and Spanish Viceroy of Naples, inheriting, among other things, her immense wealth. Theirs was a great love, not motivated by self-interest.
Under his rule, Tuscany gradually became a well-administered modern state. The Medici family was firmly back in power, perhaps even more so than during the time of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Alliances worked, order was restored, and Cosimo I was an essential patron of the arts.
Cosimo I, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany
He expanded Palazzo Pitti in the Oltrarno, transforming it into his new residence, and connected it to Palazzo Vecchio through the Vasari Corridor, which would later become his official residence. It seemed to say, “L’état, c’est moi.” He also completed the Boboli Gardens and hosted immensely talented artists like Vasari, Bronzino, Ammannati, and Cellini at his court.
In 1569, he obtained the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany from Pope Pius V. However, in 1564, primarily due to the grief caused by the premature deaths of his wife and two of his beloved children, he abdicated in favour of his son Francesco. He passed away in 1574 at the age of 55.
Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici (1541-1587)
As the eldest son of Cosimo I and the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco was similar to his father in some ways. He was occasionally dissolute and despotic but had a much more twilight and mystical inclination, which led him to delegate government affairs to a network of obscure officials.
The Studiolo in Palazzo Vecchio permeated with the initiatory and alchemical culture of the time, and the magnificent Villa di Pratolino, where everything was meant to be a surprise and wonder for the five senses, were symbolic of his reign.
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Giovanna of Austria and Bianca Cappello
The Medici family had become equal to other reigning European houses. Francesco married Giovanna of Austria, the sister of Emperor Maximilian II. Despite having many children (six daughters and One stillborn son), their marriage was not happy. Francesco had fallen in love with the Venetian Bianca Cappello, who was also married, and they lived an audacious and disapproved love affair (especially in Florence).
After years of secrecy, both of them became widowed in 1579 and were finally able to marry each other. However, their idyll lasted only until one October night in 1587 when they both died within a few hours of each other, experiencing excruciating spasms of malaria fever or possibly due to poison administered by Cardinal Ferdinando, his brother and successor.
Grand Duke Ferdinando I (1549-1609)
Cardinal Ferdinando, the second son of Cosimo I, ascended to the government of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany with the papal dispensation, assuming the name Ferdinando I. It is uncertain whether he had any part in the strange deaths of his brother Francesco and Bianca Cappello (whom he couldn’t stand and called the “wretched Bianca”). Still, it is inevitable that he took control of the government and restored order in the country.
He promoted tax reform, supported commerce, encouraged technological and scientific progress, and carried out great public works such as the reclamation of the Val di Chiana and the enhancement of the port and fortifications of Livorno, making it one of the most active commercial ports in the Mediterranean.
Thanks to the collaboration with the architect Bernardo Buontalenti, it was with him that the entire system of Medici villas reached its maximum extent and the most extraordinary splendour in the whole history of the Medici family.
How the Medici Family story ends
The end of the Medici story came with the death of Ferdinando I. He was succeeded in the governance of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany by Cosimo II, the eldest son of Ferdinando and his wife Cristina of Lorraine, daughter of Duke Charles III. With the death of Cosimo II, the dynasty began its slow decline towards the end of the Medici family story.
Cosimo II, a capable and intelligent man with a great tutor and friend in Galileo Galilei, closed down the centuries-old Banco de’ Medici, which was considered unworthy of a ruler.
However, his physical weakness led him to delegate a large part of state affairs and dictate specific provisions for the subsequent regency, entrusted to his mother, Cristina of Lorraine and his wife, Maria Maddalena. However, these provisions should have been considered.
After the death of Cosimo II de’ Medici
After the death of Cosimo II, influenced by ecclesiastical advisors, his wife Maria Maddalena of Austria, his mother Cristina of Lorraine, and the wife of Ferdinando II, Vittoria della Rovere, he established a state that became increasingly religious, falling into narrow-minded conformity and bigotry instead of maintaining a healthy morality.
The administration became increasingly financially deficient, far from the splendour of the past, with Cosimo III‘s long and sad reign exemplifying this decline. He was indifferent to the pressing demands of the people, who suffered from oppressive taxes imposed on them, while he responded cruelly with the ostentation of his court.
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Visit the Accademia Gallery and immerse yourself in the beauty of Renaissance artworks and statues, including the iconic masterpiece of Michelangelo’s David. With the help of an enthusiastic local guide, your experience is sure to be unforgettable.
The last generation of the Medici
After his death, the issue of succession arose. The eldest of his three children, Grand Prince Ferdinando, died at 50 without heirs due to syphilis. His sister, Anna Maria Luisa, was sterile, and his brother Gian Gastone was homosexual.
After over 300 years of Medici rule in Tuscany, we had reached the end. The fate of the Grand Duchy was decided by European sovereigns, and upon the death of Gian Gastone, it passed to the Habsburg-Lorraine family, despite various claims and protests from collateral branches, including the still-existing branch of the Medici of Ottajano, which descended directly from Lorenzo the Magnificent through the maternal line.
Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici (1667-1743)
Among the remembered figures is Anna Maria Luisa, sister of Gian Gastone, who had tremendous merit. In 1737, she entered into the “Family Pact” with the House of Lorraine, which stipulated that they could not transport or remove “Galleries, Paintings, Statues, Libraries, Jewels, and other precious things” from the capital and the state of the Grand Duchy so that they would remain as ornaments of the state, for the public’s benefit, and to attract the curiosity of foreigners.
This pact was strictly honoured by the new grand dukes, and their loyalty prevented Florence from losing any works of art. If Florence is one of the world’s greatest capitals of art and culture today, we owe it to Anna Maria Luisa, to whom we will be forever indebted. Thus ends the glorious story of the Medici Family, undoubtedly the greatest Tuscan dynasty ever.
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How long did the Medici rule?
The Medici family ruled Florence for approximately three centuries, from 1434 to 1737. Initially, they were involved in textile trade and agriculture, but they later became one of Italy’s wealthiest and most powerful families through banking activities. Giovanni Di Bicci founded the Medici Bank.
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[…] the reign of Grand Duke Francesco I, the palace’s top floor was transformed into a museum, where the great works of art from the […]
[…] a row of jewellers and artisans working with precious metals and stones. Why? During the wedding of Francesco I and Giovanna D’Austria in 1565, the architect Giorgio Vasari built the famous Vasari […]