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".

Piazzale Michelangelo: a panoramic view

Piazzale Michelangelo is a famous square with a magnificent panoramic view of Florence, Italy and is a popular tourist destination in the Oltrarno district of the city. The view from this most famous observation point of the city landscape has been reproduced in countless postcards and snapshots over the years.
It was built in 1869 and designed by architect Giuseppe Poggi on a hill just south of the historic center, on completion of retraining of the left bank of the shore. From that fact, Florence was the capital of Italy and the whole city was involved in an urban renewal, the so-called rehabilitation, or the rebirth of the city middle class: they were created lungarni; on the right bank, instead of the fourteenth-century walls were open the avenues of the ring of a boulevard, on the left bank was traced, wind on the hill of San Miniato, the Viale dei Colli, a street tree overview 8 kilometers long, at whose climax the square was built as a terrace with a panoramic view inside the city. The chronicle of the early construction of the company has been described in detail by the Italian journalist Peter Ferrigno (known under the name of Yorick) that does not fail to report as a part of Florence is dispiacesse "for the excessive spending of the construction.
The square Michelangelo square, dedicated to the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo, has copies of some of his famous works in Florence: the David and the four allegories of the Medici Chapel of San Lorenzo. These copies are made of bronze, while the originals are all in white marble. The monument was brought up by nine pairs of oxen on 25 June 1873.
Poggi designed the loggia in the neoclassical style that dominates the whole terrace, which today houses a panoramic restaurant. Originally it was supposed to house a museum of works by Michelangelo, ever. In the wall of the balcony, under the loggia, an epigraph is a banner characters reminiscent of his work: Florentine architect Giuseppe Poggi turn around here is his monument MCMXI.
The panorama encompasses the heart of Florence from Forte Belvedere to Santa Croce lungarni through the bridges of Florence and in sequence, especially the Ponte Vecchio, are the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, the Bargello and the octagonal bell tower of the Badia Fiorentina, without forgetting opposed to the hills north of the city with the center and Settignano Fiesole.
The square can be accessed by car along the tree-Viale Michelangelo, made in those same years, or walk the stairs going up the ramps of the monumental Piazza Poggi Poggi in the district of San Niccolò.

Florence and Science. The 19th-century collections

Florence is not only Uffizi or Accademia. There are so many things to see that is impossible to be informed of all that we have here.Today we would like to talk about Florence and Science, that is also the name of an exhibition of three institutions in the centre of the city containing the richest and most important scientific collections in Europe: Museum of the History of Science, “La Specola” Museum of Natural History, and the Physics Cabinet of the Science and Technology Foundation.The exhbition will be until 9th of May 2010. The Itinerary displays thousands of objects, instruments, and artefacts as well as paintings, drawings, and sculptures of especial value and rarity.
The aim is to commemorate the extraordinary period before the unification of Italy when Florence was its intellectual capital and one of the European centres of scientific knowledge, as well as the city in which, among others, the first telegraph, teletypewriter and even piston engine were invented, and experiments on the telephone carried out.




The Museums and the Exhibitions





Palazzo Medici Riccardi
Florence, 1829. Art, Science and Society
curated by Silvestra Bietoletti


Museum of Natural History - “La Specola” Zoology Section
Tribune of Galileo and the Florentine Specola
curated by Fausto Barbagli

Museum of the History of Science (Galileo Museum)
Physics in 19th-century Florence. Functioning Machines and Models
curated by Mara Miniati and Simone Contardi

Science and Technology Foundation – Physics Cabinet
Educational Methods for Science in the 19th Century
curated by Paolo Brenni, Anna Giatti and Guido Gori


The Firenze Scienza Card


The Firenze Scienza Card is the ticket valid for all the various seats of the exhibitions and entitles you to special discounts and services from the moment you buy it till May 9th, 2010

Full-price Card € 10

Reduced-price Card € 7
Visitors over 65, groups of minimum 15 people, as well as ACI, Coop, Touring Club, CTS, Lions and Rotary members, holders of single or season ATAF tickets, holders of tickets for theatres of the Associazione Firenze dei Teatri, holders of Orchestra della Toscana tickets, clients and employees of Banca CR Firenze and Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, soldiers, holders of admission tickets to one of the Florentine museums listed below

Special ticket for families
Two adults with children are entitled to the reduced-price Card

Special Card for Schools € 4.50
It is valid for 7 to 18 year olds.
Valid for students of schools of all levels and types, as well as for university students.
The special card for schools entitles the holders to free guided visits
and workshops!

Free of charge
Children under the age of 6, those escorting the disabled, group leaders, journalists with a press card, tourist guides of Florence, teachers with Edumusei Card, ICOM and ANMS members