Patrilineal descendants today: 0; Total descendants today: about 40,000. Catherine's father, Lorenzo II de' Medici, was made Duke of Urbino by his uncle Pope Leo X, and the title reverted to Francesco Maria I della Rovere after Lorenzo's death. Main article: House of Medici Contents 1Root Medici Tree 2Medici family tree (Grand Dukes of Tuscany) 3Structure of the family tree lines 4The descendants line 4.1Origins 4.2Branch of Salvestro di Averardo 4.3Branch of Cafaggiolo 4.4Branch of Popolano (Trebbio)/Grand Ducal Branch 5Cornerstone figures of the line of succession 6Places 7See also 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). Cosimo de Medici, the older brother, established the familys political base. The Medici lacked male heirs, and by 1705, the grand ducal treasury was virtually bankrupt. Lorenzos great-great-grandson Cosimo (1519-1574) became duke of Florence in 1537, then grand duke of Tuscany in 1569. The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, was a wealthy, powerful, and influential family that lived and operated in the city of Florence, Italy during the Renaissance in the 13th. How did Medici family end? His memory, however, was still alive in 1393, when the popolo magro (lean people) once more thought it possible to take over the signoria. From this base, they acquired political power initially in Florence and later in wider Italy and Europe. [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%. However, these portions of his proclamation were completely ignored, and he died a few days later. 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. Inheriting from his forebears a deep respect for arts and letters, he became a poet himself as well as a patron of artists and a skilled statesman. Medici women included Catherine (1519-1589) who married Henry II, King of France and ruled the coutry after her husband's death; Maria (1573-1642) married Henry IV, King of France. 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. The family originated in the Mugello region of Tuscany, and prospered gradually until it was able to fund the Medici Bank. Both also served as de facto political rulers of Rome, Florence, and large swaths of Italy known as the Papal States. During the Russian Revolution read more, The Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic rebirth following the Middle Ages. Duchess Violante of Bavaria, Gian Gastone's sister-in-law, tried to withdraw the grand duke from the sphere of influence of the Ruspanti by organising banquets. The Medici were responsible for a high proportion of the major Florentine works of art created during their period of rule. [35], Grand Duke Ferdinado was obsessed with new technology, and had a variety of hygrometers, barometers, thermometers, and telescopes installed in the Palazzo Pitti. 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. [72][73] The number of balls also varied with time, as shown below. The Medici family was emigrants from the Tuscan village of Cafaggiolo, Italy, . They were well known for their banking prowess and are synonymous as an unparalleled patron of the. So. When Giovanni (Dustin Hoffman) dies, his son Cosimo (Richard Madden, Games of Thrones 's Robb Stark) knows foul play was involved and sets out to solve the whodunnit. 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. . Gian Gastone died on 9 July 1737, surrounded by prelates and his sister. His conduct at the banquets was less than regal; he often vomited repeatedly into his napkin, belched, and regaled those present with socially inappropriate jokes. Some examples of these families include the Bardi, Altoviti, Ridolfi, Cavalcanti and the Tornabuoni. The greatest accomplishments of the Medici were in the sponsorship of art and architecture, mainly early and High Renaissance art and architecture. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. As a consequence, the grand duchy expired and the territory became a secundogeniture of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. Four members of the Medici family went on to become the Popes of the Catholic Church. 2. The Medici remained in exile until 1512 when the descendants of Cosimo de Medici returned and ruled until 1537. [44] Cosimo desperately tried to reach a settlement with the European powers, but Tuscany's legal status was very complicated: the area of the grand duchy formerly comprising the Republic of Siena was technically a Spanish fief, while the territory of the old Republic of Florence was thought to be under imperial suzerainty. Elected to the Papacy, becoming Pope Leo X. [22], The Pazzi conspiracy of 1478 was an attempt to depose the Medici family by killing Lorenzo with his younger brother Giuliano during Easter services; the assassination attempt ended with the death of Giuliano and an injured Lorenzo. In 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled. 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 . 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). Needless to conclude, that the world has need of people like the Medicis still. 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. The Medici were expelled from Florence from 1494 to 1512 after Piero acceded to all of the demands of invader Charles VIII of France. There are six descendants of the Medici family, including Princess Costanza de 'Medici. In Japan, Ottaviano d Medici, the first male successor, was introduced as a descendant of the Medici family on the . Ancestors. As such, Medici rule stagnated until the next generation, when Piero's son Lorenzo took over. What problems did the Medici family face? "They were bankers," says Bartlett. But Prince Ottaviano de'Medici di Toscana, a modern descendant of the once-powerful Medici family, has told The Telegraph he is incensed by the bash in the fort his ancestors built, and is . [57] Lorenzo also served as patron to Leonardo da Vinci (14521519) for seven years. After 1340 an economic depression throughout Europe forced these more powerful houses into bankruptcy. 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. 3. Palaces of the Medici Family in Florence. The couple first lived in Palazzo Bardi before Cosimo, being ambitious, decided to have a mansion of his own. In France, Marie de' Medici was acting as regent for her son, Louis XIII. Both businesses were very profitable and the family became extremely wealthy. Maria's daughters became queens of Spain and England. The differences between these three collateral lines are essentially due to circumstances, for there was in all the Medici an extraordinary persistence of hereditary traits. Clement also convinced Charles V to name Alessandro as Duke of Florence. 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. His natural genius crossed so many disciplines that he epitomized the term Renaissance man. Today he remains best known for two of his paintings, "Mona Lisa" and "The Last read more, Michelangelo was a sculptor, painter and architect widely considered to be one of the greatest artists of theRenaissanceand arguably of all time. Please join us. Secrets and Romance of the de' Medicis. [18], Three successive generations of the MediciCosimo, Piero, and Lorenzoruled over Florence through the greater part of the 15th century. He died in 1574, succeeded by his eldest surviving son Francesco, whose death without male heirs led to the succession of his younger brother, Ferdinando, in 1587. [27] In foreign affairs, he shifted Tuscany away from Habsburg[28] hegemony by marrying the first non-Habsburg marriage candidate since Alessandro, Christina of Lorraine, a granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici. In 1537 he was assassinated by a companion who was also a relative. The Habsburgs were deposed in favor of the House of Bourbon-Parma in 1801 (themselves deposed in 1807), but were later restored at the Congress of Vienna. For the pharmaceutical company, see, Minerva, Mercury and Pluto pay homage to the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, The Medieval World Europe 11001350 by Friedrich Heer, 1998 Germany. Giuliano, who received the French title of duc de Nemours, was in poor health and died relatively young. The Medici Family. Upon Vittoria's death in 1694, her allodial possessions, the Duchies of Rovere and Montefeltro, passed to her younger son. [38], Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 afflicted by apoplexy and dropsy. One Salvestro de' Medici was speaker of the woolmakers' guild during the Ciompi revolt of 137882, and one Antonio de' Medici was exiled from Florence in 1396. Ferdinando eagerly assumed the government of Tuscany. Answer (1 of 3): The authentic Medici bloodline is long dead: they went extinct in the 1700s, the last man being Giangastone de Medici. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The Spanish reaction was to construct a citadel on their portion of the island of Elba. The Medici family ruled the city of Florence throughout the Renaissance. Father of, Cousin of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, son of. Living in Florence, Italy, he has been the Grand Duke of Tuscany (a sovereign entity without territory) since 2017. Although knowledge of vitamins did not exist at the time, the benefit of oranges for certain diseases was recognized and their association with recommendations by medical doctors suggests to Dr. Ruggiero that this likely is the imagery intended in the coats of arms for the Medici family. Image Credit How the Medici Family Continues to Influence the World The Medici family were businesspeople. Florence remained a republic until 1537, traditionally marking the end of the High Renaissance in Florence, but the instruments of republican government were firmly under the control of the Medici and their allies, save during intervals after 1494 and 1527. In 1534, following a lengthy illness, Pope Clement VII diedand with him the stability of the Medici's "senior" branch. 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. 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. Giovannis elder son, Cosimo de Medici (1389-1464), rose to political power in 1434 and ruled Florence as an uncrowned monarch for the rest of his life. Nephew of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, son of Piero the Unfortunate. The last Medici ruler died without a male heir in 1737, ending the family dynasty after almost three centuries. The Medici, rulers of Renaissance Florence, are not the most obvious example of a multiracial family. The barbarous, unenlightened Middle Ages were over, they said; the new age would be a rinascit (rebirth) of learning and literature, art and culture. 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 Click to learn more! The latter died before his father, who in death received the title Father of His Country. Piero di Cosimo de Medici maintained and strengthened the political fortunes of the family. In 1569, the duchy was elevated to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany after territorial expansion. [60] Marie de' Medici, widow of Henry IV of France and mother of Louis XIII, is the subject of a commissioned cycle of paintings known as the Marie de' Medici cycle, painted for the Luxembourg Palace by court painter Peter Paul Rubens in 162223. Clarice Orsini (c. 1453 - 29 July 1487) was the daughter of Jacopo (Giacomo) Orsini (see Orsini family), lord of Monterotondo and Bracciano, and his wife and cousin Maddalena Orsini. In 1293, the Ordinances of Justice were enacted; effectively, they became the constitution of the Republic of Florence throughout the Italian Renaissance. READ MORE:7 Things You May Not Know About the Medicis. It provided the Roman Catholic Church with four popes (Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV, and Leon XI) and married into the royal families of Europe (most notably in France, in the persons of Queens Catherine de Mdici and Marie de Mdicis). Lorenzo de Medici deservedly holds an honoured place in the history of Florence and Italy. Leo X's fun-loving pontificate bankrupted Vatican coffers and accrued massive debts. For example, the Medici family gained political control over Florence in the 1430s, which ultimately led to the end of the Florence Republic and led to their reign as monarchs over the city-state. This has been suggested as a reason for the rise of the Medici family.[16]. Giovanni's son Cosimo the Elder, Pater Patriae (father of the country), took over in 1434 as gran maestro (the unofficial head of the Florentine Republic). When Lorenzo died in 1492, however, his son Piero proved quite incapable of responding successfully to challenges caused by the French invasion of Italy in 1492, and within two years, he and his supporters were forced into exile and replaced with a republican government. The mob hastened to seek out Salvestros first cousin, Vieri, who was, however, able to fade away without losing face. In 1378, Salvestro de' Medici proposed a reform widening the suffrage within the Republic, attracting the sympathy of the population for his family. Prince Lorenzo de' Medici relates his experiences in giving back to the world and continuing the philanthropic legacy of his de' Medici namesake. In fact, more than a dilemma, the biblical sin of usury (charging excessive interest in money lending) created a significant . He also was the leader of the Florence merchants. The Medicis produced four popes (Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV and Leo XI), and their genes have been mixed into many of Europes royal families. As these descendants lost their grip on the banking empire, economic troubles with debt-ridden foreign nationals and the Pazzi conspiracy - a coup by rival banking families backed by the Catholic Church to usurp Medici control in Florence - had brought the Medici Bank to an end. 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). 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. However, the Medici family did afford the scientist a safe haven for many years. 2. 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. In the dangerous circumstances in which our city is placed, the time for deliberation is past. Part 2 and 3 follow the line of Giovanni di . Pius II granted the Medici family a monopoly on the mining there, making them the primary producers of alum in Europe.[24]. When Cosimo I moved the Florentine administrative offices into a building known as the Uffizi, he also established a small museum. He made an enormous amount of money doing this, as did many Florentine bankers." How the Medici Used Portraits as Propaganda. Click here for live data and advanced tools for collaboration, genetic genealogy, surname projects, etc. Thus began the reign of Medici monarchs in Florence, which lasted two centuries. 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 . Ferdinando's successor, Cosimo II, reigned for less than 12 years. 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. He served on the Florentine board of war, called the Dieci (The Ten), and held other posts. 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. [37], Tuscany participated in the Wars of Castro (the last time Medicean Tuscany proper was involved in a conflict) and inflicted a defeat on the forces of Pope Urban VIII in 1643. The last ruler of the House of Medici was Gian Gastone, who died in 1737. [78] Such favours would have included the wish for a strong and healthy family, both for the supplicant and their descendants. There, by the following century, the Medici were counted among the wealthy notables, although in the second rank, after leading families of the city. Anna Maria Luisa was offered a nominal regency by the Prince de Craon until the new grand duke could peregrinate to Tuscany, but declined. 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. The family tree of the Medicis illustrates the political impact of wealth accumulated through trade, commerce, and banking. . Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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. When the last Medici grand duke, Gian Gastone, died without a male heir in 1737, the family dynasty died with him. He bought what became the Palazzo Medici . 15 Feb 1471, d. 28 Dec 1503. At this point, the descendants of Cosimo the Elders brother (known as Lorenzo the Elder) came forward to launch a new Medici dynasty. 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 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. Francesco Maria de' Medici, Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro, Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Electress Palatine, Genealogical tables of the House of Medici, Medici family tree Medici family tree (Grand Dukes of Tuscany), Philip William August, Count Palatine of Neuburg, "Cosimo de Medici e l'amore per le tartarughe con la vela", "Medici Family Encyclopdia Britannica", "Music and the Medici The Medici Archive Project", "Robust Action and the Rise of the Medici, 14001434", "Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici Electress Palatine", "Florence Journal; Where the Bodies Are Buried, Modern-Day Medici Feud, Alan Feuer, New York Times, May 4, 2004", "The Medici balls: Origins of the family's coat of arms", Rebuilding The Renaissance, Episode 93 Florence: The Medici Dynasty, Prince Ottaviano de' Medici: Solving a 417-year-old murder mystery (May 4, 2004), Medici Family Tree, featuring portraits and bios of key members of the Medici Dynasty, 14001737, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=House_of_Medici&oldid=1134291888, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Italian-language text, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from April 2022, Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, By Medico, Castellan of Potrone, considered the first ancestor of the house, Eldest son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Although he never held any political office, he gained strong popular support for the family through his support for the introduction of a proportional system of taxation. That shield was red strewn with Byzantine coins (bezants). The name in Italian is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable /m .di.ti/ and not on the second vowel. WikiTree is a community of genealogists growing an increasingly-accurate collaborative family tree that's 100% free for everyone forever. He was called "Piero the Gouty" because of the gout that pained his foot and led to his death. [59] Eleanor of Toledo, a princess of Spain and wife of Cosimo I the Great, purchased the Pitti Palace from Buonaccorso Pitti in 1550. Born in Rome, she is most known as the wife of Lorenzo de' Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent), de facto ruler . Because of this act, considered a betrayal, the Medici had to flee Florence (1494). His three children, Piero (14721503), Giovanni (14751521)later Leo Xand Giuliano (14791516), played contrasting roles in the citys history. Against the opposition of Catherine de' Medici, Paul III and their allies, he prevailed in various battles to conquer Florence's hated rival Siena and found the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. A scouting party was sent out, and in late December the read more. Contents 1 Background, pedigree and family ties 1.1 Henry II of France 1.2 Catherine de' Medici 2 Children 3 Descendants of Elizabeth of Valois 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. This generation of grand dukes ruled by force, and reduced Florence's reputation as a cultural capitol. Omissions? Why did the Medici family lose power? Giovanni died in 1429 and his son, Cosimo de' Medici, inherited the family business. From the time of Clement's election as pope in 1523 until the sack of Rome, Florence was governed by the young Ippolito de' Medici (future cardinal and vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church), Alessandro de' Medici (future duke of Florence), and their guardians. Giulia de' Medici. Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici were married on October 28, 1533, and their marriage produced ten children. The Medici ruled the Grand Duchy from its inception until 1737, with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici. More famous descendants of the Medici family would include the royal family of Britain. Only Great Britain and the Dutch Republic gave any credence to it, and the plan ultimately died with Cosimo III in 1723.[45]. By 1722, the electress was not even acknowledged as heiress, and Cosimo was reduced to spectator at the conferences for Tuscany's future. The family's influence grew with its patronage of wealth, art, and culture. Queen. And at the heart of Florence sat the Medici - perhaps the ugliest family in all of Italian history. Catherine de Medici. The Medici family, also known as the House of Medici, was the Italian 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).