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Medici
The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of Tuscany, and prospered gradually in trade until it was able to fund the Medici Bank. This bank was the largest in Europe in 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. In 1532, the family acquired the hereditary title Duke of Florence. In 1569, the duchy was elevated to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany after territorial expansion. The Medici ruled the Grand Duchy from its inception under the builder Cosimo I until 1737, with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici. The Medici produced four popes of the Catholic Church— Pope Leo X (1513–1521), Pope Clement VI ...
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Giambuono De' Medici
Root Medici Tree Medici family tree (Grand Dukes of Tuscany) Structure of the family tree lines The descendants line Origins Branch of Salvestro di Averardo Branch of Cafaggiolo Branch of Popolano (Trebbio)/Grand Ducal Branch Cornerstone figures of the line of succession Places * Medici villas * Villa del Trebbio * Villa di Castello * Santi Severino e Sossio, Naples See also * History of Florence References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Medici House of Medici, * Family trees History of Florence History of Tuscany Grand Duchy of Tuscany People from the Republic of Florence ...
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Catherine De' Medici
Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. She was the mother of French kings Francis II of France, Francis II, Charles IX of France, Charles IX, and Henry III of France, Henry III. She was a cousin of Pope Clement VII. The years during which her sons reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici" since she had extensive, albeit at times varying, influence on the political life of France. Catherine was born in Florence to Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne. In 1533, at the age of 14, Catherine married Henry, the second son of King Francis I of France, Francis I and Queen Claude of France, who would become Dauphin of France (heir to the throne) upon the death of his elder brother Francis III, Duke of Brittany, F ...
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Lorenzo De' Medici
Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lorenzo held the balance of power within the Italic League, an alliance of states that stabilized political conditions on the Italian Peninsula for decades, and his life coincided with the mature phase of the Italian Renaissance and the golden age of Florence. As a patron, he is best known for his sponsorship of artists such as Botticelli and Michelangelo. On the foreign policy front, Lorenzo manifested a clear plan to stem the territorial ambitions of Pope Sixtus IV, in the name of the balance of the Italic League of 1454. For these reasons, Lorenzo was the subject of the Pazzi conspiracy (1478), in which his brother Giuliano di Piero de' Medici, Giuliano was assassinated. The Peace of Lodi of 1454 that he supported among the various List of h ...
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Cosimo De' Medici
Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the House of Medici, Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth as a banker and intermarriage with other rich and powerful families. He was a patron of arts, learning, and architecture. He spent over 600,000 gold florins (approx. $500 million inflation adjusted) on art and culture, including Donatello, Donatello's ''David (Donatello, bronze), David'', the first freestanding Nude (art), nude male sculpture since antiquity. Despite his influence, his power was not absolute; he was viewed by fellow Florentine politicians as first among equals rather than an autocrat.Martines, Lauro (2011). ''The Social World of the Florentine Humanists, 1390–1460''. University of Toronto Press. p. 8. Florence's legislative councils resisted his proposals throughout his political career, even sending h ...
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Republic Of Florence
The Republic of Florence (; Old Italian: ), known officially as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. The republic originated in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon the death of Matilda of Tuscany, who controlled vast territories that included Florence. The Florentines formed a commune in Rabodo's (Matilda’s successor) successors' place. The republic was ruled by a council known as the Signoria of Florence. The signoria was chosen by the (titular ruler of the city), who was elected every two months by Florentine guild members. During the Republic's history, Florence was an important cultural, economic, political and artistic force in Europe. Its coin, the florin, was the dominant trade coin of Western Europe for large scale transactions and became widely imitated throughout the continent. During the Republican period, Florence was al ...
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Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate of the popes", Clement VII's reign was marked by a rapid succession of political, military, and religious struggles—many long in the making—which had far-reaching consequences for Christianity and world politics. Elected in 1523 at the end of the Italian Renaissance, Clement came to the papacy with a high reputation as a statesman. He had served with distinction as chief advisor to Pope Leo X (1513–1521, his cousin), Pope Adrian VI (1522–1523), and commendably as gran maestro of Florence (1519–1523). Assuming leadership at a time of crisis, with the Protestant Reformation spreading, the Church nearing bankruptcy, and large foreign armies invading Italy, Clement initially tried to unite Christendom by making peace among the m ...
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Grand Duchy Of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population of the Grand Duchy was about 1,815,000 inhabitants. Having brought nearly all Tuscany under his control after conquering the Republic of Siena, Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I de' Medici, was elevated by a papal bull of Pope Pius V to Grand Duke of Tuscany on 27 August 1569. The Grand Duchy was ruled by the House of Medici until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. While not as internationally renowned as the old republic, the grand duchy thrived under the Medici and it bore witness to unprecedented economic and military success under Cosimo I and his sons, until the reign of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando II, which saw the beginning of the state's long economic decline. That econo ...
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Cosimo I De' Medici, Grand Duke Of Tuscany
Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. He built the Uffizi (office) to organize his administration, and conquered Siena to consolidate Florence's rule in Tuscany. He expanded the Pitti Palace and most of the Boboli Gardens were also laid out during his reign. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 June 1519, the son of the famous condottiere Ludovico de' Medici (known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere) and his wife Maria Salviati, herself a granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent. He was the grandson of Caterina Sforza, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola. Cosimo became Duke of Florence in 1537 at age 17, after the former Duke of Florence, Alessandro de' Medici, was assassinated. Cosimo was from a different branch of the Medici family, descended from ...
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Marie De' Medici
Marie de' Medici (; ; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. Her mandate as regent legally expired in 1614, when her son reached the age of majority, but she refused to resign and continued as regent until she was removed by a coup in 1617. Marie was a member of the powerful House of Medici in the branch of the grand dukes of Tuscany. Her family's wealth inspired Henry IV to choose Marie as his second wife after his divorce from his previous wife, Margaret of Valois. The assassination of her husband in 1610, which occurred the day after her coronation, caused her to act as regent for her son, Louis XIII, until 1614, when he officially attained his legal majority, but as the head of the ''Conseil du Roi'', she retained the power. Noted for her ceaseless political intrigues at the French court, her extensive artisti ...
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Giovanni Di Bicci De' Medici
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici ( – February 1429) was an Italian banker and founder of the Medici Bank. While other members of the Medici family, such as Chiarissimo di Giambuono de' Medici, who served in the Signoria of Florence in 1401, and Salvestro de' Medici, who was implicated in the Ciompi Revolt of 1378, are of historical interest, it was Giovanni's founding of the family bank that truly initiated the family's rise to power in Florence. He was the father of Cosimo de' Medici and of Lorenzo the Elder; grandfather of Piero di Cosimo de' Medici; great-grandfather of Lorenzo de' Medici (the Magnificent); and the great-great-great-grandfather of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Biography Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici was born in Florence, Italy. He was the son of Averardo de' Medici and Jacopa Spini. His father, Averardo died in 1363 with a respectable amount of wealth. This inheritance was divided among Giovanni and his four brothers, leaving Giovanni with ...
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Gian Gastone De' Medici, Grand Duke Of Tuscany
Gian Gastone de' Medici (born Giovanni Battista Gastone; 25 May 1671 – 9 July 1737) was the seventh and last Medicean grand duke of Tuscany. He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans. His sister, Electress Palatine Anna Maria Luisa, arranged his marriage to the wealthy and widowed Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg in 1697. The couple despised each other and had no children. As Grand Prince Ferdinando, Gian Gastone's elder brother, predeceased Cosimo III, Gian Gastone succeeded his father in 1723. His reign was marked by the reversal of his predecessor's conservative policy; he abolished taxes for poorer people, repealed penal laws which restricted Jews and discontinued public executions. The Medici were wanting in male heirs; his father, Cosimo III, wanted the Electress Palatine to succeed Gian Gastone. However, Spain, Great Britain, Austria and the Dutch Republic disregarded Cosimo's plan and appointed Charles of Spain—whose ...
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List Of Heads Of State Of Florence
The first de facto Lord () in the history of the Republic of Florence was Cosimo de' Medici. Thanks to his moderate policy, Cosimo managed to maintain power for over thirty years until his death, ruling the state silently through his trusted men and thus allowing the consolidation of his family, the Medici, in the government of Florence. In 1532, to reinforce and formalize the Medici rule in Florence, Pope Clement VII, himself a Medici, created the title of Duke of the Florentine Republic to Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, Alessandro de' Medici. With the creation of the new title it abolished the age-old ''signoria'' (elective government) and the office of ''gonfaloniere'' (titular head-of-state elected for a two-month term) and replaced it with three institutions: the ''consigliere'', the Senate and the Council of Two Hundred. Background From its creation in the 12th century until the first decades of the 15th century, the city-state of Florence was ruled by a series ...
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