History

Lorenzo de Medici, de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic, known to his

contemporaries as Lorenzo the Magnificent, was a diplomat, a politician and a
patron of scholars, artists, and poets. Taking a keen interest in cultural affairs, he
made huge contributions to the art world, giving large sums of money to artists so
they could create great works of art. At a time when the major city-states of Italy
were engaged in a fierce political and economic rivalry with one another, Lorenzo
de' Medici managed to preserve the independence and territorial integrity of
Florence. His life and rule coincided with the apex of the Italian Renaissance.
Childhood and Upbringing
Lorenzo de' Medici was born in Florence on Jan. 1, 1449. He was the son of Piero the
Gouty and the grandson of Cosimo, Pater Patriae. Cosimo, aware of his son Piero's
physical weakness and fearful that Piero would not long survive him, prudently
groomed his grandson for the exercise of authority. Lorenzo enjoyed the best
education available, learning Greek, Latin, and philosophy, both formally, in rigorous
sessions with teachers, and informally, in the company of humanists and statesmen.
While still a youth, he began to write sonnets and other poems, usually about love.
Piero himself sent Lorenzo on many important diplomatic missions when he was still
a youth. These included trips to Rome to meet with the pope and other important
religious and political figures. In 1469, on the advice of his father, Piero, he married
Clarice Orsini, thereby establishing a bond with one of the oldest, most powerful
noble families of Rome.
Ruler of Florence
Piero died on Dec. 5, 1469, and 2 days later the 20-year-old Lorenzo was asked by a
delegation of eminent citizens to take control of the state. This he did, ruling as his
father and grandfather had done, from behind the scenes and without holding any
public office.
Lorenzo enhanced the prestige and stability of his house when he came to an
agreement with Pope Sixtus IV in 1471 by which the Medici would continue to
handle the papal finances. And in 1472 he won the hearts of all Florentines by
saving the city from an imminent famine. When the bad harvest of that year
threatened the population with disaster, it was Lorenzo who imported large amounts
of grain.
Pazzi Conspiracy and Aftermath
Although it was a maxim of Medici policy to retain close ties with the Holy See,
relations between Lorenzo and Pope Sixtus were not always cordial. The Pontiff was
very displeased when Lorenzo's diplomacy achieved an alliance between Florence,
Venice, and Milan, for such a combination was more than a match for the armies of

the Church. Sixtus felt thwarted in his ambitions to expand the papal territory and
uneasy about the safety of what the Church already held. His hostility grew when he
learned that Lorenzo was trying to buy the town of Imola, which was strategically
important. Consequently the Pope agreed to a plot designed to rid Florence of both
Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano. The chief conspirators were the Pazzi family, a
rival banking house and bitter enemies of the Medici. The plan was to assassinate
the two brothers at a moment when their guard would be down, during the
celebration of Mass on Easter Sunday, April 26, 1478. Giuliano was slain, but
Lorenzo escaped with wounds. The people of Florence rallied to the Medici standard
and visited a terrible retribution on the hapless conspirators, most of whom did not
survive the day. Among those killed was Francesco Salviato, Archbishop of Pisa.
The Pope, enraged, excommunicated Lorenzo and placed an interdict on the city. In
1479, in the midst of unbearable tension, Sixtus and King Ferrante (Ferdinand) of
Naples declared war on Florence. Lorenzo, knowing that the safety of his city and
his dynasty were at stake, undertook the most hazardous adventure of his colorful
career. He went by sea to Naples, virtually placing his life in the hands of the King.
Ferrante was won over by Lorenzo's charm and his persuasive argument that it
would not do for Italy to be divided or Florence destroyed. Lorenzo returned to
Florence with the gift of peace and was received with great joy. Sixtus was bitter but
grudgingly bowed to necessity and in 1480 made peace. Lorenzo's control over
Florence and its possessions would not be challenged again.
A new constitution in 1480 simplified the structure of Florentine government. The
Signoria, or executive branch, chose 30 citizens, who in turn selected 40 more, all to
serve for life in a new council. Hence forward all other branches, including the
Signora, were responsible to this permanent Council of Seventy. Since the council
was filled with Lorenzo's adherents, the effect of the constitutional change was to
make his rule over the state more obvious. Under this rule the prosperity of Florence
grew, primarily through banking and commerce. Not the least of Lorenzo's
contributions to this prosperity was the peace which his diplomacy, from 1480 until
his death, maintained between Florence and the rest of Italy.
Patronage
The private fortune of the Medici did not fare so well under Lorenzo's management
as did the economy of Florence. This is attributable to the fact that he tended to
neglect business, so preoccupied was he with diplomatic and cultural concerns. It is
not accidental that the last decade of his life coincided with the period of Florence's
greatest artistic contributions to the Renaissance. He paid with a lavish hand the
painters Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Fra Filippo Lippi to add beauty
to the city. The humanist John Lascaris and the poet Angelo Poliziano traveled great
distances at the behest and the expense of Lorenzo in search of manuscripts to
enlarge the Medici libraries. What could not be bought was copied, and Lorenzo
permitted the scribes of other eager book collectors to copy from his stores. When

Poliziano and others scorned the new invention of printing from movable type,
Lorenzo had the foresight to recognize its value and encourage its use. The famous
Platonic Academy frequently met at Lorenzo's palace, where in lively philosophic
discussions the ruler was quite the equal of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola,
Michelangelo, and Marsilio Ficino. The University of Pisa owes it revival to Lorenzo.
In 1471 Lorenzo calculated that since 1434, his family had spent some 663,000
florins (approx. 460 million USD today) for charity, buildings and taxes. He wrote, I
do not regret this for though many would consider it better to have a part of that
sum in their purse, I consider it to have been a great honor to our state, and I think
the money was well-expended and I am well-pleased.

The prodigious feats of patronage touched upon here, as valuable as they are, are
secondary in the scale of Lorenzo's accomplishments. It is not too much to say that
Lorenzo, with his verses in the vernacular, elevated Tuscan Italian to the dignity and
respect it had known in Dante's time, before the humanists buried it under mounds
of classical Latin. Although his friend Poliziano still favored Latin, Lorenzo composed
Italian poetry not inferior to anything written in his time. His canti
carnascialeschi (carnival songs) are still read with pleasure.
Later life
Lorenzo de' Medici died during the late night of 8 April or during the early morning
of 9 April 1492, at the long-time family villa of Careggi (Florentine reckoning
considers days to begin at sunset, so his death date is the 9th in that reckoning).
The preacher Girolamo Savonarola visited Lorenzo on his death bed. Letters written
by witnesses to Lorenzo's death report that he died a consoled man, on account of
the blessing Savonarola gave him. As Lorenzo died, the tower of the church of Santa
Reparata was allegedly struck by lightning. He and his brother Giuliano are buried in
a chapel designed by Michelangelo, the New Sacristy