Medici

History of the Medici family

The Medici family was a powerful and influential Florentine family from the 13th to 17th century. The family produced three popes, numerous rulers of Florence, and later members of the French royalty.

From humble beginnings (the origin of the name is uncertain, though it probably reflects a medical trade - medico), the family first achieved power through banking. The Medici Bank was one of the most prosperous and most respected in Europe. From this base, the family acquired political power initially in Florence, and later in the wider Italy and Europe.

Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici was the first Medici to enter banking, and while he became influential in Florentine government, it wasn't until son Cosimo the Elder took over that in 1434 as gran maestro that the Medici became unofficial head of state of the Florentine republic. The "senior" branch of the family — those descended from Cosimo the Elder; ruled until the assassination of Alessandro de' Medici, the first duke of Florence, in 1537. Power then passed to the "junior" branch — those descended from Lorenzo the Elder, younger son of Giovanni de Bicci, starting with his great-great-grandson Cosimo I the Great.

Art and architecture

The most significant accomplishments of the Medici were in art and architecture, within which the portfolio of talent employed by Medici is a "Who's Who?" of Renaissance art and architecture. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, the first patron of art in the family, aided Masaccio and ordered the reconstruction of the Church of San Lorenzo. Cosimo the Elder's notable artistic associates were Donatello and Fra Angelico. The most significant addition to the list over the years was Michelangelo, who produced work for a number of Medici, beginning with Lorenzo the Magnificent. In addition to commissions for 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 Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens, and the Belvedere.

Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici personally commissioned Brunelleschi to reconstruct the Church of San Lorenzo in 1419.
Cosimo the Elder also commissioned Brunelleschi to finish the uncompleted dome of Santa Maria del Fiore. The dome, the largest in the world at that time, was finished in 1436.
Eleonora of Toledo, wife of Cosimo I the Great, purchased Pitti Palace from Buonaccorso Pitti in 1550.
Cosimo I the Great patronized Vasari who erected the Uffizi Gallery in 1560 and founded the Academy of Design in 1562.
Marie de Medici, widow of Henri IV and mother of Louis XIII, is used by Peter Paul Rubens in 1622-23 as the subject in his oil painting Marie de' Medici, Queen of France, Landing in Marseilles.

Notable members

Salvestro de' Medici (1331–1388), led the assault against the revolt of the ciompi, became dictator of Florence, and banished in 1382
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (1360–1429), restored the family fortune and made the Medici family the wealthiest in Europe
Cosimo the Elder (1389–1464), founder of the Medici political dynasty
Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449–1492), leader of Florence during the Golden Age of the Renaissance
Giovanni de' Medici (1475–1523), also known as Pope Leo X
Giulio de' Medici (1478–1534), also known as Pope Clement VII
Cosimo I the Great (1519–1574), First Grand Duke of Tuscany and restored the Medici lustre
Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589), Queen of France
Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici (1535–1605), also known as Pope Leo XI
Marie de' Medici (1573–1642), Queen and Regent of France

Florentine reckoning

The Florentine calendar was used in Italy in the middle ages. In this system, the new day begins at sunset. When the reference of a birth was, for example, "two hours into the day", this meant two hours after sunset. This means a birth date of August 12th would, by modern reckoning, be considered to be August 11th.

The year also began not on January 1st but rather on March 25th, which is why some dates are in apparent one-year discrepancy. For example, a birth date of March 10, 1552 in Florentine reckoning translates to March 10, 1553 in modern reckoning. This was not unusual; before the conversion to the Gregorian calendar in 1583, the French year began on Easter day, the Venetian year on March 1st, and the English year on March 25th (until 1752). Italy was one of the few nations to immediately convert from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian: October 4, 1582 was followed by October 15, 1582 (Gregorian).

Medici family tree (1360 - 1675)

Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (1360–1429)
│
├─Antonio de' Medici (?–1398)
│
├─Damian de' Medici (1389–1390)
│
├─Cosimo de' Medici (the Elder) (1389–1464)
│ │
│ ├─Piero I de' Medici (the Gouty) (1416–1469)
│ │ │
│ │ ├─Lorenzo de' Medici (the Magnificent) (1449–1492)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├─Lucrezia de' Medici (1470–1550)
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ ├─Maria Salviati (1499–1543)
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ └─Francesca Salviati
│ │ │ │   │
│ │ │ │   └─Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici (1535–1605)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├─Piero II de' Medici (the Unfortunate) (1471–1503)
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ ├─Lorenzo II de' Medici (1492–1519)
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ ├─Alessandro de' Medici (the Moor) (1510–1537)
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ ├─Giulio de' Medici (ca. 1533–1600)
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─Cosimo de' Medici (?–?)
│ │ │ │ │ │ │   │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │   └─Angela/Angelica de' Medici (1608–1636)
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ └─Giulia de' Medici (ca. 1535–?)
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ └─Caterina Maria Romola di Lorenzo de' Medici
│ │ │ │ │   (Catherine de' Medici) (1519–1589)
│ │ │ │ └─Clarissa de' Medici (1493–1528)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├─Maddalena de' Medici (1473–1528)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├─Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici (1475–1521)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ ├─Giuliano de' Medici (1479–1516)
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ └─Ippolito de' Medici (1511–1535)
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ └─Contessina de' Medici (?–1515)
│ │ │
│ │ └─Giuliano de' Medici (1453–1478)
│ │   │
│ │   └─Giulio de' Medici (1478–1534)
│ │
│ ├─Giovanni de' Medici (1421–1463)
│ │ │
│ │ └─Cosimo de' Medici (1452–1461)
│ │
│ └─Carlo de' Medici (1430–1492)
│
└─Lorenzo de' Medici (the Elder) (1395–1440)
  │
  └─Pierfrancesco de' Medici (the Elder) (1431–1476)
    │
    ├─Lorenzo the Popolano (1463–1503)
    │ │
    │ └─Pierfrancesco de' Medici (the Younger) (1487–1525)
    │   │
    │   ├─Laudomia de' Medici (1463-?)
    │   │
    │   ├─Lorenzino de' Medici (1514–1548)
    │   │
    │   ├─Giuliano the Medici (ca. 1520–1588)
    │   │
    │   └─Maddalena de' Medici (?–1583)
    │
    └─Giovanni the Popolano (1467–1498)
      │
      └─Lodovico de' Medici (1498–1526)
        │ (Giovanni dalle Bande Nere)
        └─Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574)
          │
          ├─Bia de' Medici (1537–1542)
          │
          ├─Maria de' Medici (1540–1557)
          │
          ├─Francesco I de' Medici (1541–1587)
          │ │
          │ ├─Eleonora de' Medici (1566–1611)
          │ │
          │ ├─Romola de' Medici (1568–1568)
          │ │
          │ ├─Anna de' Medici (1569–1584)
          │ │
          │ ├─Isabella de' Medici (1571–1572)
          │ │
          │ ├─Lucrezia de' Medici (1572–1574)
          │ │
          │ ├─Marie de' Medici (1573–1642)
          │ │
          │ ├─Antonio de' Medici (1576–1621)
          │ │
          │ └─Filippo de' Medici (1577–1582)
          │
          ├─Isabella de' Medici (1542–1576)
          │
          ├─Giovanni de' Medici (1543–1562)
          │
          ├─Lucrezia de' Medici (1545–1561)
          │ 
          ├─Pietro (Pedricco) de' Medici (1546–1547)
          │
          ├─Garzia de' Medici (1547–1562)
          │
          ├─Antonio de' Medici (1548–1548)
          │
          ├─Ferdinando I de' Medici (1549–1609)
          │ │
          │ ├─Cosimo II de' Medici (1590–1621)
          │ │ │
          │ │ ├─Maria Cristina de' Medici (1609–1632)
          │ │ │
          │ │ ├─Ferdinando II de' Medici (1610–1670)
          │ │ │ │
          │ │ │ ├─Cosimo de' Medici (1639–1639)
          │ │ │ │
          │ │ │ ├─Cosimo III de' Medici (1642–1723)
          │ │ │ │ │
          │ │ │ │ ├─Ferdinando III de' Medici (1663–1713)
          │ │ │ │ │
          │ │ │ │ ├─Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (1667–1743)
          │ │ │ │ │
          │ │ │ │ └─Gian Gastone de' Medici (1671–1737)
          │ │ │ │
          │ │ │ └─Francesco Maria de' Medici (1660–1711)
          │ │ │
          │ │ ├─Giovanni Carlo de' Medici (1611–1663)
          │ │ │
          │ │ ├─Margherita de' Medici (1612–1679)
          │ │ │
          │ │ ├─Matteo de' Medici (1613–1667)
          │ │ │
          │ │ ├─Francesco de' Medici (1614–1634)
          │ │ │
          │ │ ├─Anna de' Medici (1616–1676)
          │ │ │
          │ │ └─Leopoldo de' Medici (1617–1675)
          │ │
          │ ├─Eleonora de' Medici (1591–1617)
          │ │
          │ ├─Caterina de' Medici (1593–1629)
          │ │
          │ ├─Francesco de' Medici (1594–1614)
          │ │
          │ ├─Carlo de' Medici (1595–1666)
          │ │
          │ ├─Filippino de' Medici (1599–1602)
          │ │
          │ ├─Lorenzo de' Medici (1600–1648)
          │ │
          │ ├─Maria Maddalena de' Medici (1600–1633)
          │ │
          │ └─Claudia de' Medici (1604–1648)
          │
          ├─Anna de' Medici (1553–1553)
          │
          ├─Pietro de' Medici (1554–1604)
          │
          ├─(Unnamed daughter) (1566–1566)
          │
          ├─Giovanni de' Medici (1567–1621)
          │
          └─Virginia de' Medici (1568–1615)