HOUSE OF MEDICI

The House of Medici or Casa de' Medici  was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside, gradually rising until they were able to found the Medici Bank. The bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century, seeing the Medici gain political power in Florence — though officially they remained simply citizens, rather than monarchs. The Medici produced four Popes of the Catholic Church and in 1531 the family became hereditary Dukes of Florence. In 1569, the duchy was elevated to a grand duchy after territorial expansion. They ruled the Grand Duchy of Tuscany from its inception until 1737, with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici. The grand duchy witnessed degrees of economic growth under the earlier grand dukes, but by the time of Cosimo III de' Medici, Tuscany was fiscally bankrupt.

Their wealth and influence initially derived from the textile trade guided by the guild of the Arte della Lana. Like other signore families they dominated their city's government. They were able to bring Florence under their family's power, allowing for an environment where art and humanism could flourish. They fostered and inspired the birth of the Italian Renaissance along with other families of Italy, such as the Visconti and Sforza of Milan, the Este of Ferrara, and the Gonzaga of Mantua.

The Medici Bank was one of the most prosperous and most respected institutions in Europe. There are some estimates that the Medici family were the wealthiest family in Europe for a period of time. From this base, they acquired political power initially in Florence and later in wider Italy and Europe. A notable contribution to the profession of accounting was the improvement of the general ledger system through the development of the double-entry bookkeeping system for tracking credits and debits. This system was first used by accountants working for the Medici family in Florence.

Lorenzo de' Medici, a real Florentine Genius

Medici was the name of a great ruling family of Florence. Lorenzo, the Magnificent, was the most famous Medici. Lorenzo de Medici was the grandson of Cosimo de Medici, and he took the reigns of control over Florence from Cosimo in 1469. (Rabb and Marshall, 1993, p. 28). While Cosimo had taken a low profile approach to governing Florence, Lorenzo was not afraid of confrontation, and he took a more prominent position in Florence society.he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists, and poets. His life coincided with the high point of the early Italian Renaissance; his death marked the end of the Golden Age of Florence. The fragile peace he helped maintain between the various Italian states collapsed with his death. Lorenzo de' Medici is buried next to his brother Giuliano in the Medici Chapel in Florence. Lorenzo de' Medici was ruling over Florence, but several parties had conspired against the Medici family, trying to overthrow and move them into a position of power in their place. Lorenzo hired Giovanni Auditore, an Assassin, to investigate. Giovanni successfully captured one of Rodrigo Borgia's men and hands him over to Lorenzo for interrogation. The man revealed an assassination plot to kill Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the Duke of Milan and a powerful ally of Lorenzo's. He then sent Giovanni to Milan in order to prevent the assassination. Unfortunately, Giovanni failed and the assassination was successful. However, Giovanni did manage to retrieve an encrypted paper from the thug that led the assassination. Michelangelo While still in his adolescence, he was given equally extensive exposure to the art and thought of the ancient world as a privileged protege of Lorenzo de' Medici, in whose palace he encountered a celebrated collection of classical works of art and conversed with the leading humanist poets and philosophers of the day, notably Marsilio Ficino and Angelo Poliziano. Neoplatonism espoused by Poliziano and Ficino, Michelangelo found his belief in rationalistic humanism tempered by the fiery sermons of the Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola, whose fundamentalist attacks on pagan culture and corrupt church practices struck a responsive chord in the deeply religious young artist. During the last years of his life, Lorenzo fell under the spell of an Italian Religious reformer name Girolamo Savonarola. Savonarola preached that he strongly felt that Christians wondered too far into Roman Culture. Lorenzo Medici was the reason that Savonarola was brought to Florence. Lorenzo de Medici died on either April 8th or April 9th and one of his dying wishes was for Girolamo Savonarola could be taken to his death bed so they could have a final talk before Lorenzo died. A horrible rumor was created by an unknown source that Savonarola dammed Lorenzo in his dying moments but this rumor has been argued by many people. Witnesses of the account say that Savonarola blessed the dying Lorenzo de Medici and that he passed away a consoled man.
Lorenzo de Medici was known for his exceptional peace keeping skills rather than his assets in banking and commerce. Lorenzo maintained the peace between Italy and Florence from 1480 until his death in 1492.
If Florence is so important, in our opinion, is mainly thanks to Lorenzo De Medici," il Magnifico".