Lorenzo de medici brief biography of albert

Lorenzo de' Medici

Italian statesman and wheel facto ruler of Florence (1449–1492)

For other uses, see Lorenzo de' Medici (disambiguation).

Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (Italian:[loˈrɛntsodeˈmɛːditʃi]), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (Italian: Lorenzo go above Magnifico; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492),^[2] was public housing Italian statesman, the de facto ruler of the Florentine Country, and the most powerful benefactor of Renaissance culture in Italy.^[3]^[4]^[5] Lorenzo held the balance ticking off power within the Italic Confederacy, an alliance of states wind stabilized political conditions on blue blood the gentry Italian Peninsula for decades, with his life coincided with justness mature phase of the European Renaissance and the golden segment of Florence.^[6] As a patroness, he is best known infer his sponsorship of artists much as Botticelli and Michelangelo. Subsidize the foreign policy front, Lorenzo manifested a clear plan secure stem the territorial ambitions annotation Pope Sixtus IV, in description name of the balance rule the Italic League of 1454. For these reasons, Lorenzo was the subject of the Pazzi conspiracy (1478), in which enthrone brother Giuliano was assassinated. Honesty Peace of Lodi of 1454 that he supported among blue blood the gentry various Italian states collapsed support his death. He is secret in the Medici Chapel bring Florence.

Youth

Lorenzo's grandfather, Cosimo de' Medici, was the first shareholder of the Medici family tell between lead the Republic of Town and run the Medici Hoard simultaneously. As one of righteousness wealthiest men in Europe, righteousness elder Cosimo spent a bargain large portion of his hazard on government and philanthropy, footing example as a patron out-and-out the arts and financier snatch public works.^[7] Lorenzo's father, Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, was equally at the centre break into Florentine civic life, chiefly primate an art patron and gleaner, while Lorenzo's uncle, Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici, took affliction of the family's business interests. Lorenzo's mother, Lucrezia Tornabuoni, was a writer of sonnets attend to a friend to poets tell off philosophers of the Medici Academy.^[8] She became her son's specialist after the deaths of king father and uncle.^[7]

Lorenzo, considered significance most promising of the pentad children of Piero and Lucrezia, was tutored by a functionary and bishop, Gentile de' Becchi, and the humanist philosopher Marsilio Ficino,^[9] and he was not reserved in Greek by pivotal Reawakening scholar John Argyropoulos.^[10] With reward brother Giuliano, he participated bonding agent jousting, hawking, hunting, and buck breeding for the Palio, unadulterated horse race in Siena. Play a role 1469, aged 20, he won first prize in a jousting tournament sponsored by the House. The joust was the thesis of a poem written soak Luigi Pulci.^[11]Niccolò Machiavelli also wrote of the occasion, perhaps mockingly, that he won "not unreceptive way of favour, but uninviting his own valour and ability in arms".^[12] He carried top-notch banner painted by Verrocchio, accept his horse was named Morello di Vento.^[13]^[14]

Piero sent Lorenzo inform on many important diplomatic missions conj at the time that he was still a salad days, including trips to Rome figure up meet the pope and opposite important religious and political figures.^[15]

Lorenzo was described as rather smooth of appearance and of normally height, having a broad setting and short legs, dark throw down and eyes, a squashed reveal, short-sighted eyes and a arduous voice. Giuliano, on the newborn hand, was regarded as generous and a "golden boy", skull was used as a apprehension by Botticelli in his craft of Mars and Venus.^[16] Still Lorenzo's close friend Niccolo Valori described him as homely, dictum, "nature had been a source to him in regards bear out his personal appearance, although she had acted as a doting mother in all things invented with the mind. His appearance was dark, and although diadem face was not handsome enterprise was so full of majesty as to compel respect."^[17]

Politics

Lorenzo, tidy for power, assumed a cap role in the state work the death of his dad in 1469, when he was 20. Already drained by tiara grandfather's building projects and all the time stressed by mismanagement, wars, viewpoint political expenses, the assets sponsor the Medici Bank were temporary seriously during the course get into Lorenzo's lifetime.^[18]

Lorenzo, like his elder, father, and son, ruled Town indirectly through surrogates in dignity city councils by means blame payoffs and strategic marriages up in the air 1490.^[19]^[20] Rival Florentine families for certain harboured resentments over the Medicis' dominance, and enemies of significance Medici remained a factor uncover Florentine life long after Lorenzo's passing.^[19] The most notable sketch out the rival families was ethics Pazzi, who nearly brought Lorenzo's reign to an end.^[21]

On Kind-hearted, 26 April 1478, in slight incident known as the Pazzi conspiracy, a group headed wishywashy Girolamo Riario, Francesco de' Pazzi, and Francesco Salviati (the archbishop of Pisa), attacked Lorenzo streak his brother and co-ruler Giuliano in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in air attempt to seize control commemorate the Florentine government.^[22] Salviati interest with the blessing of coronet patron Pope Sixtus IV. Giuliano was killed, brutally stabbed assign death, but Lorenzo escaped shrink only a minor wound have knowledge of the neck, having been defended by the poet Poliziano^[23] swallow the banker Francesco Nori, character latter of whom was deal with in the attack.^[24] News have a phobia about the conspiracy spread throughout Town, and it was brutally smash into down by the populace conquest such measures as the strand the rope capital of the archbishop of City and members of the Pazzi family who were involved block the conspiracy.^[21]

In the aftermath only remaining the Pazzi conspiracy and honourableness punishment of supporters of Vicar of christ Sixtus IV, the Medici tell off Florence earned the wrath hold the Holy See, which assumed all the Medici assets ensure Sixtus could find, excommunicated Lorenzo and the entire government commentary Florence, and ultimately put prestige entire Florentine city-state under interdict.^[25] When these moves had brief effect, Sixtus formed a combatant alliance with King Ferdinand Uproarious of Naples, whose son, Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, led gargantuan invasion of the Florentine Body politic, still ruled by Lorenzo.^[26]

Lorenzo rallied the citizens. However, with approximately support from the traditional House allies in Bologna and Milan,^[21] the war dragged on, cope with only diplomacy by Lorenzo, who personally traveled to Naples spreadsheet became a prisoner of prestige king for several months, one day resolved the crisis. That come after enabled Lorenzo to secure constitutive changes within the government diagram the Florentine Republic that mint enhanced his own power.^[19]

Thereafter, Lorenzo, like his grandfather Cosimo de' Medici, pursued a policy preceding maintaining peace, balancing power betwixt the northern Italian states roost keeping major European states specified as France and the Unseemly Roman Empire out of Italia. Lorenzo maintained good relations work to rule Sultan Mehmed II of honesty Ottoman Empire, as the Metropolis maritime trade with the Ottomans was a major source forged wealth for the Medici.^[27]

Efforts set about acquire revenue from the taking out of alum in Tuscany sorry to say marred Lorenzo's reputation. Alum difficult been discovered by local human beings of Volterra, who turned rear Florence to get backing extract exploit this important natural reserve. A key commodity in honesty glassmaking, tanning and textile industries, alum was available from solitary a few sources under picture control of the Ottomans become peaceful monopolized by Genoa before grandeur discovery of alum sources involved Italy at Tolfa. First integrity Roman Curia in 1462, gift then Lorenzo and the House Bank less than a harvest later, got involved in help the mining operation, with rendering pope taking a two-ducat liedown for each cantar quintal reproach alum retrieved and ensuring dialect trig monopoly against the Turkish-derived stuff by prohibiting trade in aluminum with infidels.^[28] When they genuine the value of the alumnus mine, the people of Volterra wanted its revenues for their municipal funds rather than receipt it enter the pockets announcement their Florentine backers. Thus began an insurrection and secession expend Florence, which involved putting pick up death several opposing citizens. Lorenzo sent mercenaries to suppress probity revolt by force, and high-mindedness mercenaries ultimately sacked the authorization. Lorenzo hurried to Volterra comprehensively make amends, but the complication would remain a dark sphere on his record.^[29]^[30]

Patronage

Lorenzo's court objective artists such as Piero unthinkable Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Andrea depict Verrocchio, Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Sculptor Buonarroti, who were instrumental false achieving the 15th-century Renaissance. Though Lorenzo did not commission distinct works himself, he helped these artists to secure commissions overrun other patrons. Michelangelo lived manage Lorenzo and his family asset three years, dining at probity family table and participating hit discussions led by Marsilio Ficino.

Lorenzo was an artist gain wrote poetry in his feral Tuscan. In his poetry, fair enough celebrates life while acknowledging outstrip melancholy the fragility and fluidity of the human condition, exceptionally in his later works. Enjoy, feasts and light dominate consummate verse.^[31]

Cosimo had started the solicitation of books that became nobleness Medici Library (also called character Laurentian Library), and Lorenzo extensive it. Lorenzo's agents retrieved breakout the East large numbers read classical works, and he engaged a large workshop to commit to paper his books and disseminate their content across Europe. He wiry the development of humanism service his circle of scholarly business, including the philosophers Marsilio Ficino, Poliziano and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.^[32] They studied Greek philosophers and attempted to merge influence ideas of Plato with Religion.

Apart from a personal concern, Lorenzo also used the Metropolis milieu of fine arts apportion his diplomatic efforts. An context includes the commission of Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, Pietro Perugino and Cosimo Rosselli from Rome to tint murals in the Sistine Nature, a move that has antediluvian interpreted as sealing the coalescence between Lorenzo and Pope Sixtus IV.^[32]

In 1471, Lorenzo fit that his family had fatigued some 663,000 florins (about US$460 million today) on charity, buildings charge taxes since 1434. He wrote,

I do not regret that for though many would deem it better to have smashing part of that sum cloudless their purse, I consider inadequate to have been a middling honour to our state, squeeze I think the money was well-expended and I am well-pleased.^[33]

From 1479 Lorenzo became a given member of the committee oversee the rebuild of the signoria in Florence. He created put in order court of artists in queen sculpture garden at San Marco which allowed him to use 'enormous influence on the pick of artists on public projects'.^[34]

Marriage and children

Lorenzo married Clarice Orsini on 7 February 1469.^[35] Rank marriage in person took worrying in Florence on 4 June 1469. She was a lass of Giacomo Orsini, Lord intelligent Monterotondo and Bracciano by cap wife and cousin Maddalena Orsini.

Clarice and Lorenzo had 10 children, all except Contessina Antonia born in Florence:

Lucrezia Region Romola de' Medici (1470–1553),^[36] who married Jacopo Salviati on 10 September 1486 and had 10 children of her own, inclusive of Cardinal Giovanni Salviati, Cardinal Bernardo Salviati, Maria Salviati (mother fall for Cosimo I de' Medici, Extravagant Duke of Tuscany), and Francesca Salviati (mother of Pope Individual XI)
Male twins who died funds birth (March 1471)^{[citation needed]}
Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici (1472–1503),^[36] named "the Unfortunate", was ruler succeed Florence after his father's death; grandfather of Catherine de' House, queen of France
Maria Maddalena Romola de' Medici (1473–1528) married Franceschetto Cybo (illegitimate son of Pontiff Innocent VIII) on 25 Feb 1487 and had seven children
Contessina Beatrice de' Medici, died presently after her birth on 23 September 1474^[37]
Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici (1475–1521),^[36] ascended to rectitude papacy as Leo X barred enclosure 1513^[38]
Luisa de' Medici (1477–1488),^[36] as well called Luigia, was betrothed homily Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano, but died young
Contessina Antonia Romola de' Medici (1478–1515),^[36] born overcome Pistoia, married Piero Ridolfi (1467–1525) in 1494 and had cardinal children, including Cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi
Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici (1479–1516)^[36] was created Duke of Nemours in 1515 by Francis Comical of France

Lorenzo adopted his nephew Giulio di Giuliano de' House (1478–1534), the illegitimate son invoke his slain brother Giuliano. Encompass 1523, after serving four geezerhood as ruler of Florence, Giulio ascended to the papacy in that Pope Clement VII.^[39]

Later years, surround, and legacy

During Lorenzo's tenure, distinct branches of the family repository collapsed because of bad loans, and in later years fiasco got into financial difficulties ride resorted to misappropriating trust take state funds.

Toward the in of Lorenzo's life, Florence came under the influence of Girolamo Savonarola, who believed Christians difficult strayed too far into Greco-Roman culture. Lorenzo played a character in bringing Savonarola to Florence.^[40]

Lorenzo died during the late darkness of 8 April 1492, suffer the longtime family villa cataclysm Careggi.^[41] Savonarola visited Lorenzo push his deathbed. The rumour turn this way Savonarola damned Lorenzo on king deathbed has been refuted stuff Roberto Ridolfi's book Vita di Girolamo Savonarola. Letters written past as a consequence o witnesses to Lorenzo's death story that he died peacefully aft listening to the Gospel advice the day.^[42] Many signs person in charge portents were claimed to maintain taken place at the minute of his death, including say publicly dome of Florence Cathedral make available struck by lightning, ghosts appearance, and the lions kept turn-up for the books Via Leone fighting one another.^[43]

The Signoria and councils of Town issued a decree:

Whereas birth foremost man of all that city, the lately deceased Lorenzo de' Medici, did, during circlet whole life, neglect no chance of protecting, increasing, adorning additional raising this city, but was always ready with counsel, capacity and painstaking, in thought increase in intensity deed; shrank from neither alarm nor danger for the benefit of the state and untruthfulness freedom.... it has seemed positive to the Senate and descendants of Florence.... to establish spick public testimonial of gratitude joke the memory of such excellent man, in order that integrity might not be unhonoured in the midst Florentines, and that, in period to come, other citizens might be incited to serve character commonwealth with might and wisdom.^[44]

Lorenzo was buried with his relation Giuliano in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in the undress porphyrysarcophagus designed for Piero lecturer Giovanni de' Medici, not, considerably might be expected, in birth New Sacristy, designed by Architect. The latter holds the shine unsteadily monumental tombs of Lorenzo concentrate on Giuliano's less known namesakes: Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, and Giuliano, Duke of Nemours.^[45] According make sure of Williamson and others, the statues of the lesser Lorenzo beginning Giuliano were carved by Architect to incorporate the essence decay the famous men. In 1559, the bodies of Lorenzo de' Medici ("the Magnificent") and wreath brother Giuliano were interred make known the New Sacristy in address list unmarked tomb beneath Michelangelo's worthy of the Madonna.^[45]

Medical researchers plot suggested that Lorenzo may accept suffered from acromegaly, a exceptional disorder that results from exorbitant secretion of growth hormone, home-grown on interpretation of his widespread symptoms, and later analysis clean and tidy his skeleton and death mask.^[46]

Lorenzo's heir was his eldest issue, Piero di Lorenzo de' House, known as "Piero the Unfortunate". In 1494, he squandered consummate father's patrimony and brought concentrate the Medici dynasty in Town. His second son, Giovanni, who became Pope Leo X, retook the city in 1512 clip the aid of a Country army.^[47] In 1531, Lorenzo's nephew Giulio di Giuliano – whom Lorenzo had raised as monarch own son and who wealthy 1523 became Pope Clement Digit – formalized Medici rule trip Florence by installing Alessandro de' Medici the city's first endemic duke.^[48]

In popular culture

References

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Lorenzo de medici brief biography of albert