The Medici family can be traced to the Mugello valley just north of Florence where they were mentioned in a document from the year 1230. Giovannis two sons, Cosimo (13891464) and Lorenzo (13941440), both of whom acquired the appellation of the Elder, founded the famous lines of the Medici family. [38], Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 afflicted by apoplexy and dropsy. 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. Another branch of the family, descended from Salvestros distant cousin Giovanni di Bicci de Medici, would begin the great Medici dynasty. To ensure that a Medici of the Cosimo line would continue to rule Florence, Pope Clement VII, nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent, installed Alessandro (151137), reputedly his own illegitimate son, as hereditary duke of Florence. The Medici, however, were able to escape this fate and even took advantage of it to establish themselves among the citys elite. One unproven story traces their ancestry to a knight of Charlemagne's, Averardo, who defeated a giant, Mugello. As Cosimo I, he established absolute power in the region, and his descendants would rule as grand dukes into the 1700s. Born 12 Jun 1519 in Firenze. The Medici lacked male heirs, and by 1705, the grand ducal treasury was virtually bankrupt. Despite the presence of some Medici in the city's government institutions, they were still far less notable than other outstanding families such as the Albizzi or the Strozzi. The family originally came from a village in Tuscany but eventually migrated to Florence, its capital. [49] In January 1737, the Spanish troops withdrew from Tuscany, and were replaced by Austrians. Acting, Distant cousin of Alessandro de' Medici, Son of. He is most remembered as the patron of astronomer Galileo Galilei, whose 1610 treatise, Sidereus Nuncius, was dedicated to him. Omissions? 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. Born 13 April 1519 - Florence, Toscana, Italy. His memory, however, was still alive in 1393, when the popolo magro (lean people) once more thought it possible to take over the signoria. In 1530, after allying himself with Charles V, Pope Clement VII succeeded in securing the engagement of Charles V's daughter Margeret of Austria to his illegitimate nephew (reputedly his son) Alessandro de' Medici. By the early 1520s, few descendants of Cosimo the Elder remained. THE MEDICI FAMILY THE MEDICI FAMILY: the most rich and powerful family of Italy! The Medici story began around the 12th century, when family members from the Tuscan village of Cafaggiolo emigrated to Florence. In comparison 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%. This generation of grand dukes ruled by force, and reduced Florence's reputation as a cultural capitol. Eldest son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Medici, one of Italy's most celebrated clans. 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. In later years the most significant protg of the Medici family was Michelangelo Buonarroti (14751564), who produced work for a number of family members, beginning with Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was said to be extremely fond of the young Michelangelo and invited him to study the family collection of antique sculpture. He made an enormous amount of money doing this, as did many Florentine bankers." This added to their family heritage and affluence, earning them the title of Duke of Florence. Cousin of Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, illegitimate son of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino or Pope Clement VII. . Giovanni died in 1429 and his son, Cosimo de' Medici, inherited the family business. "Beginning with Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (1360-1429), he established several branches of the Medici Bank, the most lucrative associated with the papal court. Ferdinando also sponsored a Tuscan expedition to the New World with the intention of establishing a Tuscan colony, an enterprise that brought no result for permanent colonial acquisitions. Her name was the Contessina de' Bardi. [51], The "Lorrainers", as the occupying forces were called, were popularly loathed, but the regent, the Prince de Craon, allowed the electress to live unperturbed in the Palazzo Pitti. Palaces of the Medici Family in Florence. Medici Family Islamic Medicine John Hunter Louis Pasteur Germ Theory Lung Cancer Mass Vaccination Medicine on the Western Front Medieval Surgery Modern Medicine Public Health Acts Public Health in Early Modern Britain The Black Death The Pharmaceutical Industry Theory of the Four Humours Welfare Reforms Spread of Islam Abd al-Malik Abu Bakr Under Savonarola's fanatical leadership many great works were "voluntarily" destroyed in the Bonfire of the Vanities (February 7, 1497). However, these portions of his proclamation were completely ignored, and he died a few days later. 2. [17] Involvement in another plot in 1400 caused all branches of the family to be banned from Florentine politics for twenty years, with the exception of two. Another outstanding figure of the 16th-century Medici family was Cosimo I, who rose from relatively modest beginnings in the Mugello to attain supremacy over the whole of Tuscany. In general, the later Medici line renounced the older generations republican sympathies and established more authoritarian rule, a change that produced stability in Florence and Tuscany, but led to the regions decline as a cultural hub. Upon the death of his first son, Cosimo contemplated restoring the Florentine republic, either upon Anna Maria Luisa's death, or on his own, if he predeceased her. His daughter Marie would become queen of France when she married Henry IV in 1600; her son would rule as Louis XIII from 1610-43. Ferdinando died in 1609, leaving an affluent realm; his inaction in international affairs, however, would have long-reaching consequences down the line. [39] At that time, the economy was so decrepit that barter trade became prevalent in rural market places. [59] Eleanor of Toledo, a princess of Spain and wife of Cosimo I the Great, purchased the Pitti Palace from Buonaccorso Pitti in 1550. They were also protagonists of the counter-reformation, from the beginning of the reformation through the Council of Trent and the French wars of religion. In 1536, Alessandro de' Medici married Charles V's daughter, Margaret of Austria; however, the following year he was assassinated by a resentful cousin, Lorenzino de' Medici. Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or) was granted by Louis XI in 1465. Just supporting arts and culture can attract trade and commerce, tourism and . The family business is believed to have dwindled in the hands of its later descendants. ADVERTISEMENT On the left side is a view of the city of Florence. [18], Three successive generations of the MediciCosimo, Piero, and Lorenzoruled over Florence through the greater part of the 15th century. This led to the transfer of Medici blood, through Catherine's daughters, to the royal family of Spain through Elisabeth of Valois, and the House of Lorraine through Claude of Valois. Through banking and commerce, the Medicis rose to become one of the most important families in Florence. She lived the rest of her life deprived of any political influence. By the early 1520s, few descendants of Cosimo the Elder remained. The electress donated much of her fortune to charity: 4,000 a month. Clement VII's tumultuous pontificate was dominated by a rapid succession of political crisesmany long in the makingthat 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. Perhaps God wills that this war, which began in the blood of my brother and of myself, should be ended by any means. The curtains closed on almost 300 years of Medici rule in Florence with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici, the seventh family member to serve as grand duke of Tuscany. The building is now the site of Florence's famed Uffizi Gallery, home to Michelangelos statue of David and many other great Renaissance-era treasures amassed by the Medicis since the time of Cosimo the Elder. The Art of Living and Giving. 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. Medici family, French Mdicis, Italian bourgeois family that ruled Florence and, later, Tuscany during most of the period from 1434 to 1737, except for two brief intervals (from 1494 to 1512 and from 1527 to 1530). [34] Upon the death of the last Duke of Urbino (Francesco Maria II), 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 be annexed by Pope Urban VIII. Francesco married Johanna of Austria, and with his consort produced Eleonora de' Medici, Duchess of Mantua, and Marie de' Medici, Queen of France and Navarre. The Medicis popped up in Assassin's Creed 2, and yes, of course there's a TV show starring a dude from Game of Thrones . Medici Giovanni (de') 1360 - 1429 Bueri Piccarda 1368 - 1433 Bardi Alessandro (de') 1360 - Pannocchieschi Camilla - Medici Cosimo (de') 1389 - 1464 Bardi Lotta (de') 1391 - 1473 Medici Piero (de') 1416 - 1472 Tornabuoni Lucrezia - Medici Lorenzo (de') 1449 - 1492 View full family tree Source : 19riccardo60 More information Giovanni was a self made man with a rags to riches story, bringing his family from abject obscurity to nationwide fame. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, read more, According to Machiavelli, the ends always justify the meansno matter how cruel, calculating or immoral those means might be. Because of her generous love for the city of Florence, the last descendant of the family, Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, created the "Family Pacts," which ensures the preservation of all of the Medici family's artwork. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Members of the Medici family were arguably the most-conspicuous social climbers of the Renaissance period. . [32] Cosimo died of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1621. How did Medici family end? The line of the Princes of Ottajano, an extant branch of the House of Medici who were eligible to inherit the grand duchy of Tuscany when the last male of the senior branch died in 1737, could have carried on as Medici sovereigns but for the intervention of Europe's major powers, which allocated the sovereignty of Florence elsewhere. Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence (1511-1537) was the illegitimate son of Clement VII but officially the illegitimate son of Lorenzo de' Medici. Members of the family rose to some prominence in the early 14th century in the wool trade, especially with France and Spain. This bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century and facilitated the Medicis' rise to political power in Florence, although they officially remained citizens rather than monarchs until the 16th century. At least half, probably more, of Florence's people were employed by the Medici and their foundational branches in business. 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