Cosimo de' Medici

Commercial transactions were another form of income for the Medici. They spread out their accounts by dealing in many items, for example: wool, cloth, silk, spices, olive oil, and fruits. The Medici style of banking was sometimes done in the dark. They would use the complicated and confusing banking system to their advantage, when dealing with large sums of money. They would separate their accounts for each business venture they went into, and each account was charged with all the costs,…

The Medici commissioned several frescos throughout Florence depicting The Adoration of Magi, which portrayed the Medici on a level equal to biblical figures. This imagery clearly would have resonated with people who saw it, as the artwork as meant to display the prevalent power and importance of the Medici and their allies (Gilbert). This implementation of propaganda through architecture would have proven…

Within about 40 years the Medici Bank was able to procure so much wealth and profit that it was economically equal with the Florentine treasury. Risks were taken to obtain as much profit as possible. Loans were given out to princes, kings, and even the hard working merchant. Everything was done for the money. The Medici Bank and family were the icons of Florence and the model standard when it came to wealth and power, they became the silent rulers of their hometown after the realization that…

Florence was one of the five major city states that rose as a result of the “Dark Age” and black plague. After this, the guild system was rarely used and wealthy, powerful families began to rule (which in Florence was the Medici family). Florence played a major role in the Renaissance because it encouraged and promoted art and culture; it became the center for literature and art and supported those writers and artists affluently. Patrons were the largest supporters for scholars, writers, and…

power and energy and blame the Medici by stating that they were starting to stifling freedoms and power for themselves. This misconception leads to the public’s approval for authority to diminish drastically. Support for this transformation of the government grew with one of the “principal condition for an effective republic restoration was; however, that private citizens should no longer be able to exercise control over the government” (5-5). Although the Medici family was a strong component…

In a time when ideology and convictions were shaped by the church, a new ideology was on the horizon that would begin the revolutionary transformation of the western world into what we know as the renaissance period. This new way of thought was brought about due to certain doctrines of the Catholic church that was viewed as uncanonical and dogmatic. The idealistic movement of Renaissance humanism’s spread throughout first Florence and then western Europe was greatly due to men with common…

gave young Donatello status as the son of a craftsman and placed him on a path of working in the trades. Donatello was educated at the home of the Martellis, a wealthy and influential Florentine family of bankers and art patrons closely tied to the Medici family. It was here that Donatello probably first received artistic training from a local goldsmith. He learned metallurgy and the fabrication of metals and other substances. In 1403, he apprenticed with Florence metalsmith and sculptor Lorenzo…

was the Medici Family Crest made from tempera, silver and gold on wood. The Medici family was the first attained wealth and political power in Florence, Italy around the 13 century which was much of the renaissance era. With the great accomplishments of the commerce and banking. When Cosimo de’ Medici came into power in 1434. The family had a huge fascination with art and humanity which made Italy the source of the renaissance. The family dynasty ended after 3 centuries after the last Medici did…

Ghibelline towers and ancient theater of Florentia, the Roman colony. (Fulceri, Elena) The Palazzo Vecchio began as the official home of the Priors, chief magistrates, and the Gonfaloniere, governing body of the Republic. Ruling Florence and Tuscany, the Medici dynasty lived in their own palace until 1540. “Between 1865 and 1872, during the Italian struggle for unity, it was, for a time, the seat of the government, the Chamber of Deputies, and the Foreign Ministry,” (Rogers, Barbara).…

His inspiration had come from his family who, having held high up positions in the city’s republic, had become prominent figures in Florence. In 1494 the Medici were driven out of power and replaced by Piero Soderini, “a man Machiavelli characterized as "good, but weak,"” “During this time, Machiavelli thrived under the patronage of the Florentine gonfaloniere (or chief administrator for life)” In 1498…