they are not one of the original noble families from the city of Florence. The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, first attained wealth and political power in Florence, Italy, in the 13th century through its success in commerce and banking. In the same year, 1532, Clement VII abolished the citys old constitution. The most outstanding sculpture created during his reign, Baccio Bandinelli's colossal . [29] Francesco and Ferdinando, due to lax distinction between Medici and Tuscan state property, are thought to have been wealthier than their ancestor, Cosimo de' Medici, the founder of the dynasty. He also was the leader of the Florence merchants. [38] The war effort was costly and the treasury so empty because of it that when the Castro mercenaries were paid for, the state could no longer afford to pay interest on government bonds, with the result that the interest rate was lowered by 0.75%. THE MEDICI FAMILY THE MEDICI FAMILY: the most rich and powerful family of Italy! Both also served as de facto political rulers of Rome, Florence, and large swaths of Italy known as the Papal States. Cousin of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, illegitimate son of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours. I go full of hope, praying to God to give me grace to perform what every citizen should at all times be ready to perform for his country. The family also got its genes mixed with those of most royal families in Europe. The second son, Lorenzo (144992), became in his own time Il Magnifico (The Magnificent). Gian Gastone revelled in upsetting her. 2. The House of Medici (English: /mdti/ MED-i-chee,[4] Italian:[mditi]) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originally came from a village in Tuscany but eventually migrated to Florence, its capital. 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. Print Family Tree. Like other families ruling in Italian signorie, the Medici dominated their city's government, were able to bring Florence under their family's power, and created an environment in which art and humanism flourished. But their policy of consolidating their position by controlling the governmentthe work of the descendants of Chiarissimo II (himself the grandson of the first known Medici)resulted in 50 years of serious misfortunes for the family (134393). Ferdinando's successor, Cosimo II, reigned for less than 12 years. Henry explicitly stated that he would defend Tuscany from Spanish aggression, but later reneged, after which Ferdinando was forced to marry his heir, Cosimo, to Maria Maddalena of Austria to assuage Spain (where Maria Maddalena's sister Margaret was the incumbent Queen consort). Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or) was granted by Louis XI in 1465. Medici is the plural of medico, meaning "medical doctor". The conspiracy involved the Pazzi and Salviati families, both rival banking families seeking to end the influence of the Medici, as well as the priest presiding over the church services, the Archbishop of Pisa, and even Pope Sixtus IV to a degree. Cosimo in turn 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. By the 1520s, few descendants of Cosimo the Elder remained. The Medicis' wealth and influence was initially derived from the textile trade guided by the wool guild of Florence, the Arte della Lana. They founded the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and Italy's largest public library. His contemporaries read more, Known as the Renaissance, the period immediately following the Middle Ages in Europe saw a great revival of interest in the classical learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome. But in 1381, when the popular government fell, he had to go into exile. Gian Gastone, who came to power in 1723 and led a life of debauchery, died without any heirs. This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 23:27. 1535-1605). 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. Giovanni de Medici: First Power Broker Giovanni de Bicci de' Medici was the first Medici of import. The Medici bank was founded by Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici in Florence in 1397. [72][73] The number of balls also varied with time, as shown below. 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. [38], Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 afflicted by apoplexy and dropsy. Leo X's fun-loving pontificate bankrupted Vatican coffers and accrued massive debts. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. In 1537 he was assassinated by a companion who was also a relative. He groomed the headstrong Piero II to follow as his successor in civil leadership; Giovanni[21] (future Pope Leo X) was placed in the church at an early age; and his daughter Maddalena was provided with a sumptuous dowry to make a politically advantageous marriage to a son of Pope Innocent VIII that cemented the alliance between the Medici and the Roman branches of the Cybo and Altoviti families. Pieros son, also named Lorenzo, regained power in Florence, and his daughter Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) would become queen of France after marrying King Henry II; three of her four sons would rule France as well. The first grand duke of the new dynasty, Francis I, was a great-great-great-grandson of Francesco I de' Medici, thus he continued the Medicean Dynasty on the throne of Tuscany through the female line. The dynasty collapsed with a debauched duke. Finally, all were consumed by a passion for arts and letters and for building. The next few years marked the high point of Medici influence in Europe, as Leo X followed in his fathers humanistic footsteps and devoted himself to artistic patronage. 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%. Cosimo de' Medici. Their collective regency is known as the Turtici. Maria Maddelana's 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. He ruled for five years. Cosimo (Cosimo I) "Granduca di Toscana, Duca di Firenze" de' Medici formerly Medici. In 1512, thanks in part to the efforts of Pieros younger brother Giovanni (a cardinal at the time and the future Pope Leo X), the Medici family was able to return to Florence. [10] The origin of the name is uncertain. In addition, the early Medici resolutely courted favour with the middle and poorer classes in the city, and this determination to be popolani (plebeian) endured a long time after them. The period has even been called the century of Leo X. From 1513 to 1521, surrounded by five nephews and cousins whom he had named cardinals, Leo X reigned less over Christianity than over arts and letters in the style of his father, the Magnificent, too occupied with patronage to pay sufficient attention to an unimportant monk by the name of Martin Luther. 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. At least half, probably more, of Florence's people were employed by the Medici and their foundational branches in business. Upon Vittoria's death in 1694, her allodial possessions, the Duchies of Rovere and Montefeltro, passed to her younger son. This read more, The Romanov family was the last imperial dynasty to rule Russia. He was called "Piero the Gouty" because of the gout that pained his foot and led to his death. With Vieri this branch of the Medici was to disappear definitively from history. In 1378, Salvestro de' Medici proposed a reform widening the suffrage within the Republic, attracting the sympathy of the population for his family. The Medici remained in exile until 1512 when the descendants of Cosimo de Medici returned and ruled until 1537. The descendants of Cosimo de' Medici's brother Lorenzo (great-uncle of Lorenzo the Magnificent) spawned a line of Grand Dukes of Tuscany, beginning with Cosimo I (1519-1574), and another Queen of France . The Florentines grieved her,[54] and she was interred in the crypt that she helped to complete, San Lorenzo. [77] In addition, the notion of Etruscan votive sculpture would have chimed with the participation of the Medici in the religious custom of offering up votive statues, a practice that recalled the ancient Etruscan convention of donating sculptures in the hope of, or gratitude for, divine favour. Brother of Piero the Unfortunate, second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. "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. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [42] Cosimo frequently paid the Holy Roman Emperor, his nominal feudal overlord, exorbitant dues,[43] and he sent munitions to the emperor during the Battle of Vienna. [23], The Medici additionally benefited from the discovery of vast deposits of alum in Tolfa in 1461. This has been suggested as a reason for the rise of the Medici family.[16]. Patrilineal descendants today: 0; Total descendants . These descendants included Cosimo I, who became Duke of Florence in 1537 and grand duke of Tuscany in 1569. And there are still about 100, 000 descendants of this great family, but zero patrilineal descendants. Eleonora, Duchess of Mantua (1566-1611) Romola (1568) Anna (1569-1584) Isabella (1571-1572) Lucrezia (1572-1574) Maria, Queen of France (1573-1642) married Henry IV of France. The few years of this period are often considered to be the apogee of the Medici age. Father of, Cousin of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, son of. Ferdinando's marriage to Vittoria della Rovere produced two children: Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Francesco Maria de' Medici, Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro. At this point, the descendants of Cosimo the Elders brother (known as Lorenzo the Elder) came forward to launch a new Medici dynasty. Anna Maria Luisa was offered a nominal regency by the Prince de Craon until the new grand duke could peregrinate to Tuscany, but declined. Due to his illness, he mostly stayed at home bedridden, and therefore did little to further the Medici control of Florence while in power. Giulia Romola di Alessandro de' Medici [1] (c. 1535 - c. 1588) was the illegitimate, possibly multiracial, [2] daughter of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence and his mistress Taddea Malaspina . The exile of the Medici lasted until 1512, after which the "senior" branch of the familythose descended from Cosimo the Elderwere able to rule until the assassination of Alessandro de' Medici, first Duke of Florence, in 1537. Ancestors. Son of Ludovico Medici and Maria Salviati. Giovanni was a self made man with a rags to riches story, bringing his family from abject obscurity to nationwide fame. Where do the rich people live in Florence? The Medici lacked male heirs, and by 1705, the grand ducal treasury was virtually bankrupt. "They are doing this without asking permission," said Marchese Giuliano Medici Tornaquinci, an elder of the family clan that now lives in Rome. Part 1 covers the Medici family from almost the earliest (relatively) well-documented generation to Salvestro, who established a brief populist dictatorship as I discuss here, and Vieri, who would take in his impoverished cousin Giovanni di Bicci and put him on the path to becoming a wealthy banker. 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). The Medicis were an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence during the first half of the 15th century; they owned the largest bank in Europe, which. Fanciful stories depict the images as pills or cupping glasses, a late-medieval medical instrument used to draw blood. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. They were generous patrons of the arts who commissioned masterpieces such as Raphael's Transfiguration and Michelangelo's 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. Genealogy of the Medici family of Florence, 1569. He was interred in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici's necropolis. Lorenzo the Elder and His Heirs. After 1340 an economic depression throughout Europe forced these more powerful houses into bankruptcy. There were two lines of the Medici family, descended from the two sons of Giovanni di Bicci (1360-1429). Descendants Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany Maria (1540-1557) Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1541-1587) married Johanna of Austria. Born in Rome, she is most known as the wife of Lorenzo de' Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent), de facto ruler . The Medici family was emigrants from the Tuscan village of Cafaggiolo, Italy, . [59] Eleanor of Toledo, a princess of Spain and wife of Cosimo I the Great, purchased the Pitti Palace from Buonaccorso Pitti in 1550. [36] In 1657, Leopoldo de' Medici, the Grand Duke's youngest brother, established the Accademia del Cimento, organized to attract scientists to Florence from all over Tuscany for mutual study. Click here for live data and advanced tools for collaboration, genetic genealogy, surname projects, etc. The table below shows the origins of the Medici: This extract shows the branch that gave rise to the celebrated branch of the Medici descending from Giovanni "di Bicci", who founded the Medici fortunes: This is the branch of Cosimo's brother, Lorenzo, called the "Popolano" Branch, which gave rise to the Grand-Dukes of Tuscany: The origin of the Medici coat of arms is not recorded. 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. [75], Alternatively, it has been suggested that the Medici coat of arms was initially inspired by symbols drawn from Etruscan votive sculpture, examples of which feature an oval dome with balls (echoing the forms of the Medici shield), as well as six balls within a triangle (as found in the alternative, triangular version of the Medici emblem). Giulio de' Medici, the illegitimate son of Lorenzo the Magnificent's brother Giuliano, abdicated power in 1523 to become Pope Clement VII, and the short and brutal rule of Alessandro (reputed to be Giulio's own illegitimate son) ended with his assassination in 1537. He served on the Florentine board of war, called the Dieci (The Ten), and held other posts. [1], Coat of Arms of the Grand-Duke of Tuscany, Coat of Arms of Catherine of Medici, as Queen of France, Coat of Arms of Maria of Medici, as Queen of France, Coat of Arms of the Grand-Duchy of Tuscany, Italian banking family and political dynasty, "Medicis" redirects here. Following her father's assassination, she was reared at the court of Cosimo I de' Medici and married advantageously twice. Despite his refusal of official approval, the pope nonetheless allowed the plot to proceed without interfering, and, after the failed assassination of Lorenzo, also gave dispensation for crimes done in the service of the church. Louis repudiated her pro-Habsburg policy in 1617. Henry and Catherine became the ancestors of monarchs of several countries. Answer (1 of 3): The authentic Medici bloodline is long dead: they went extinct in the 1700s, the last man being Giangastone de Medici. Assuming the mantle of family power from Lorenzo, Piero alienated the people of Florence by siding with the French. The Ruspanti, Gian Gastone's decrepit entourage, loathed the electress, and she them. It would also have reflected the family's interest in Etruscan art and culture. [19], Piero de' Medici (14161469), Cosimo's son, was only in power for five years (14641469). Gently saute the garlic until soft but not brown. In 1605, Ferdinando succeeded in getting his candidate, Alessandro de' Medici, elected Pope Leo XI. However, several extant branches of the House of Medici survive, including the Princes of Ottajano, the Medici Tornaquinci,[55] and the Verona Medici Counts of Caprara and Gavardo. The Medici headed Europe's largest bank, became Florence's richest family, and controlled Florentine politics. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Catherine de' Medici became the Queen of France, and as History tells us, the family produced no less than four popes. This MEDICI index was pre-built so it loads quickly. By the early 1520s, few descendants of Cosimo the Elder remained. [78] Such favours would have included the wish for a strong and healthy family, both for the supplicant and their descendants. The bed, often smelling of faeces, was occasionally cleaned by Violante. 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Lorenzo, Piero alienated the people of Florence in 1537 and grand Duke Tuscany... Was pre-built so it loads quickly the early 1520s, few descendants of this family! 1340 an economic depression throughout Europe forced these more powerful houses into bankruptcy as shown below this been... Of Florence in 1723 and led to his death of most royal families in Europe early 1520s, few of... The French smelling of faeces, medici family descendants occasionally cleaned by Violante he served on the Florentine board of,! Medici is the plural of medico, meaning `` medical doctor '' she them companion...
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