Carlo di Cosimo de' Medici (1428 or 1430 – May 29, 1492) was an Italian

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. A member of the powerful Medici family, he became a senior clergyman and collector.

Early life

Born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, he was the illegitimate son of Cosimo de' Medici (the Elder) and a slave-woman named Maddalena, who was said to have been purchased in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. It is widely accepted that Maddalena was a Circassian, as hinted by Carlo's "intense blue eyes" and other "marked Circassian features" as well. However, it has been once suggested that his mother might have been a black African, only because of the apparently dusky features depicted in Mantegna's portrait of Carlo.

Career

His father forced him to take on a religious life. After becoming

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the cathedral at Florence in 1450, he was appointed

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Pieve di Santa Maria (Dicomano) in

Mugello The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Fl ...

and the Pieve of San Donato di Calenzano. He became

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

of San Salvatore at

Vaiano Vaiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Prato in the Italian region of Tuscany. It is located about northwest of Florence and about north of Prato. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 9,532 and an area of .All de ...

, outside Prato. He was also Papal tax collector and nuncio in Tuscany. Carlo was dean of Prato as early as 1460. A cultured man, he collected medallions. He died in Florence in 1492.

Portrayals

Fra Filippo Lippi - The Funeral of St Stephen (detail) - WGA13274

Carlo was portrayed by

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in orde ...

in a head-and-shoulders portrait wearing the clerical garb of a protonotary apostolic in 1466. He also appears in the funeral scene of Filippo Lippi's '' Stories of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist'' in the

Prato Cathedral Prato Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Stephen, ( it, Duomo di Prato; Cattedrale di San Stefano) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prato, Tuscany, Central Italy, from 1954 the seat of the Bishop of Prato, having been previously, from 1653, a cat ...

, in which he is depicted standing behind the Pope. He may also be portrayed as one of the figures in

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festive, vibrant processions ...

's paintings of the journey of the Magi in the

Magi Chapel The Magi Chapel is a chapel in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi of Florence, Italy. Its walls are almost entirely covered by a famous cycle of frescoes by the Renaissance master Benozzo Gozzoli, painted around 1459 for the Medici family, the effective ...

in Florence. In the

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthu ...

series ''

Da Vinci's Demons ''Da Vinci's Demons'' is a historical fantasy drama series that presents a fictional account of Leonardo da Vinci's early life. The series was conceived by David S. Goyer and stars Tom Riley in the title role. It was developed and produced in ...

'', Carlo was played by actor

Ray Fearon Raymond Fearon is an English actor. He played garage mechanic Nathan Harding on ITV's long-running soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and voiced the centaur Firenze in the Wizarding World film series ''Harry Potter'' and '' Fantastic Beasts''. ...

. He is depicted as a missionary whom the cruelty of the world has made doubt the Church and its message. He appears in seasons two and three of ''

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) 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 originated in the Mu ...

'', played by Callum Blake. His mother is played by Sarah Felberbaum in the first season.

Notes

References

External links

Online Archive of Medici Family Documents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medici, Carlo De 1420s births 1492 deaths Carlo Nobility from Florence Italian people of Circassian descent Italian abbots 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Clergy from Florence