Cosimo de' Medici

In Florence 1389, a boy is baptized, he was not of noble birth. He was the son of a local merchant. His name was Cosimo De Medici. According to the book “Culture & Values: A survey of the Humanities” by Lawrence S. Cunningham, John J. Reich, and Louis Fichner-Rathus, “ Cosimo de’ Medici (de facto ruler of Florence from 1434 to 1464) was an astute banker and a cultivated man of letters” (382). From humble beginnings, his dynasty would seek for power and influence and not stop until they secured the papacy itself. This was a world where power came at a price in three: murder, assassination, and war. However, the city of Florence was also home of creativity and for the greater glory of the family. The Medici would protect and pay for the greatest artists and thinkers of that age, Michael Angelo, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Leonardo, Galileo. An expression of ideas that will shutter the medieval world and resonate for centuries with a single word, renaissance –rebirth-. Behind it, there is still The Medici, the godfathers of the Renaissance. In a side street of the main plaza in…

Medici controlled political power differently. Cosimo de' Medici used money to control Florence. The article, “History of the Medici,” mentions that Cosimo de' Medici was banished from Florence, but because of connections, he was welcome back. The people who originally kick him out was banished forever. Cosimo de' Medici used his money to control Florence politically, and whoever was against him received finical destruction. Lorenzo the Magnificent, grandson of Cosimo de' Medici, ruled…

attended Ghiberti making the very famous bronze doors of the Baptistry of Florence.He was one of the most bestest Florentine sculptors alive. He lived mostly in Florence but spent some time in Rome, Padua and Siena.He did a lot of traveling.He is the master of sculpture in marble and bronze, one of the bestest of all Italian Renaissance artists. Donatello was the first to get at training at a goldsmith's shop and then with Ghiberti. He launched a solo career during the first decade of the…

4. Florence was considered to be the focus of what came to be the Renaissance. The political realm of Florence was dictated by the Medici family. This family controlled the city in secret, for nearly eight decades. The family saw the city of Florence as their work of art One member of this family was Cosimo de’ Medici. Cosimo embraced the very essence of what humanism is. Humanism embraces the arts and literature from cultures of Ancient Greece and Rome. Cosimo made sure that he was constantly…

spread ideas of the Renaissance through individualism. Most merchants were not born into wealthy families. Instead, they had to earn their social, economical and political status. This was important because it went against the idea from the medieval times that you were born into a certain status and the that is where you were meant to stay. This was called individualism which is self-achievement. Lastly, a lot of the wealthy families would use money or simply their status to gain control in…

The Medici family did not always start off with controlling Florentine’s politics and being Florence’s richest family. They were the first dynasty to not prevail their social position by warfare or inheritance but through financial transactions and banking. Not only they are the head of Europe’s largest bank but they dominated the Italian city throughout the Renaissance and beyond from 1434 to 1737. The House of Medici rose to prominence and power around 1291. Together with bringing peace and…

the London branch of the Medici Bank would be helpful. “A merchant would borrow 1000 florins (Florence’s currency) from Giovanni’s Florentine branch where the exchange rate is 40 pence (England’s currency) per florin. With that money, the merchant buys goods in Italy that he knows are in high demand in London. Upon arriving in London, he sells his goods and receives English pence. He is now prepared to pay back his debt of 40,000 pence, pocketing any excess he made as profit. The Medici branch…

The Medici Family The Medici family influenced politics in Italy for 300 years and can be traced back to the end of the 12th century. They belonged to the aristocratic class and not nobility, the family gained its fortune through banking and commerce and acquired great wealth by the 13th century. The first Medici to get notable political influence was Salvestro de’ Medici who was the gonfaliere during the 14th century, he led a revolt against the ciompi and became the dictator of the city,…

Through the Medici Party and many other established connections, the successful Medici leaders controlled the European Economy in the 15th Century. The Medici Family, originally from Mugello, a small, rural town, rose from simple beginnings to rule Florence (Cesati 19). The first ruler, Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, moved a small Roman Bank Branch to Florence in order to utilize the possibility for expansion and investments (“Medici Bank”). After the death of Giovanni, Cosimo de’ Medici, took…

which are the Medici (Frey 315). Events like the Great Schism and the Reformation weakened the Catholic Church (Jensen 193) which had been the center of life in the Medieval era (Frey 31). The Medici Family had more influence on Italian culture and society than the Catholic Church during the Renaissance. The Medicis were one of the richest families in Europe. Originally middle class bankers from Florence, they rose to power because of their skill at their craft (Jensen 64). They…