Contemporary work by Los Angeles-based Artist, George Medici

Table Of Content

• Medici family
• Dürer: The Great Renaissance Artist and His World
• Kensington Palace: Untold Lives
• Inside the House of Medici (Part II): Palazzo Vecchio
• San Lorenzo Church and the Medici Chapels – the final resting place of the Medici
• A New Medici Branch Comes to Power
• Who Were the Medicis? The Family That Ruled Florence

The House of Medici produced 4 popes – Leo X (1513–1521), Clement VII (1523–1534), Pius IV (1559–1565) and Leo XI (1605). The Medici family originated in the agricultural Mugello region of Tuscany. When Cosimo I moved the Florentine administrative offices into a building known as the Uffizi, he also established a small museum.

Medici family

Theories about the origins of this blazon have multiplied over time, and some are quite funny. Some say that the six balls were medicinal pills and alluded to the meaning of the family name; others said that they were the symbol of bitter oranges to indicate trade with the East. Later, in Rome, the Medici Popes continued in the family tradition of patronizing artists in Rome. While the Medici used their talents to gain power and prestige for themselves, they also used their influence to improve the quality of life of those in their charge to sponsor cultural endeavors and to keep Florence free from foreign domination. The last great act of the Medici for their city was made ​​by the last descendant Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici. She made ​​an agreement with the Lorraine family―the new sovereigns of Florence―and forced them to leave intact the heritage of the Medici family, which had to be kept in Florence.

Dürer: The Great Renaissance Artist and His World

A poet and humanist himself, his grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent supported the work of Renaissance artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Using his success in banking, he turned to new lines of commerce – trading spices, silk and fruit. The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, was a banking and political dynasty during the Renaissance period. After Ferdinand’s son Cosimo II (who supported the work of the mathematician, philosopher and astronomer Galileo Galilei) died in 1720, Florence and Tuscany suffered under ineffectual Medici rule. 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.

Kensington Palace: Untold Lives

A political family drama set in Florence in the early fifteenth century. Cosimo de Medici finds himself at the helm of his banking dynasty when his father, Giovanni, dies suddenly.A political family drama set in Florence in the early fifteenth century. Cosimo de Medici finds himself at the helm of his banking dynasty when his father, Giovanni, dies suddenly. The House Medici (pronounced med-ee-chee) or Medici family was a very important family in Florence, Italy from the year 1300 to about 1600.

The next few years marked the high point of Medici influence in Europe, as Leo X followed in his father’s humanistic footsteps and devoted himself to artistic patronage. Gian Gastone died on 9 July 1737, surrounded by prelates and his sister. Anna Maria Luisa was offered a nominal regency by the Prince de Craon until the new grand duke could peregrinate to Tuscany, but declined.[50] Upon her brother's death, she received all the House of Medici's allodial possessions. Gian Gastone despised the electress for engineering his catastrophic marriage to Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg; while she abhorred her brother's liberal policies, he repealed all of his father's anti-Semitic statutes.

San Lorenzo Church and the Medici Chapels – the final resting place of the Medici

Florence was known as the center of the Renaissance, attracting thinkers and artists alike to the city through the reputation of its benevolent rulers, and producing thinkers and artists from schools sponsored by the Medici and others. The city welcomed the ideals and philosophies of distant lands, absorbing them into the writing and art that it produced. As many as five death sentences were reported out of respect of the Medici 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. In addition to commissioning 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 are responsible for some notable features of Florence, including the Uffizi Gallery, the Boboli Gardens, the Belvedere, the Medici Chapel, and the Palazzo Medici. The grand project of Cosimo was to unify all of Tuscany, and to that end he undertook wars with Pisa, Lucca, and Siena.

When Lorenzo's son Piero gave in to French demands, the Florentines rebelled and exiled the most prominent members of the Medici family. The Medici produced four popes (Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV, and Leon XI), and their genes have been passed through many of Europe’s royal families. The last Medici ruler, Gian Gastone, died without a male heir in 1737, ending the family dynasty after almost three centuries and beginning the long European reign of the Hapsburg-Lorraine 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. His grandson Salvestro took up his policy of alliance with the popolo minuto (“common people”) and was elected gonfalonier, head of the signoria, the council of government, in 1378.

A Manhattan Medici at Home - The New York Times

A Manhattan Medici at Home.

Posted: Tue, 10 Jul 2018 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Who Were the Medicis? The Family That Ruled Florence

Assuming the mantle of family power from Lorenzo, Piero alienated the people of Florence by siding with the French. Because of this act, considered a betrayal, the Medici had to flee Florence (1494). Giovanni, at that time a cardinal, used his influence with Pope Julius II to bring the family back to positions of power. Giuliano, who received the French title of duc de Nemours, was in poor health and died relatively young. Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici (1475–1521, later Pope Leo X) arranged for his exiled relatives to return to Florence in 1512, and the family set about regaining power. Another rebellion against the Medici in 1527 led to a second period of exile from Florence, but in the 1530s the leadingcitizens of Florence, weary of decades of civil strife, coups, and exile, accepted Medici rule in return for stability.

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. The historical drama was made in English because of the international sales potential with its outstanding international cast. Rai 1 announced on October 28, 2016, that it is now possible to watch Medici Masters of Florence in the English language on his online platform Raiplay. Previously, this was only possible by choosing the language option during the live show and only with a terrestrial or satellite decoder. RAI Tv, the Italian national TV network, aired episodes 1 and 2 on Tuesday, October 18, 2016. According to the Italian ratings compiler Auditel, it attracted a record 7.6 million viewers.

The Papacy made the Medici bank their official bank and this is the crucial moment that led to the increase in the family's power and wealth. In the late 14th century, Giovanni de' Medici (also called Giovanni di Bicci) started the Medici bank in Florence. It was through this influential role that he was asked to serve in Florence's governing Signoria. It is important to note that as a trade town, the guilds of commerce and trade ran Florence through this Signoria, essentially a council made up of guild members drawn randomly from a select pool of eligible members. The 9 elected officials ruled for only 2 months and lived in Palazzo Vecchio (called Palazzo della Signoria at that time) away from their families and the public to avoid being "corrupted" by outside influences. They used their large amounts of money to keep and expand that power and influence over the course of the centuries not just in Florence, but across Italy and Europe.