LORENZO THE MAGNIFICENT

 THE MARVELOUS MEDICI (RENAISSANCE FLORENCE)

REIGN: 1449–1492

FATHER: Piero the Gouty / MOTHER: Lucrezia Tornabuoni

SUCCESSOR: Piero the Unfortunate

WHAT WAS SO GREAT ABOUT LORENZO?

Lorenzo believed that it was important to ask big questions and to try to learn as much as possible about the world. He believed art was important, not just to individuals, but also to society. By placing importance on the arts, Lorenzo enriched not only the lives of people in his own country during his time but also the lives of those throughout history who still appreciate the art created through his sponsorship.

MAGNIFICENT BEGINNINGS

Lorenzo was born into one of the most powerful families—the Medicis—in Florence, which was one of the richest cities in the world at that time. For more than a hundred years, the Medici family had gained wealth and influence. They had many palaces all over Tuscany—the area of Italy where they ruled (this was before the different parts of Italy were unified into one country).

When Lorenzo was born, the world was changing. The Dark Ages (the period after the Roman Empire fell, when few people were educated) were over. The Renaissance (a time when science, education, and the arts began to thrive again) was starting. As he was growing up, Lorenzo was educated by the brightest minds of his generation. He studied philosophy. He learned to speak Greek and Latin and to play the lute. He was also an excellent jouster. Is it any wonder that he was destined to become magnificent?

MAGNIFICENT POWER

Imagine a high-ceilinged room in a palace, decorated with elaborate frescos and bronze and marble sculptures. Here, a group of well-dressed courtiers are discussing big ideas, such as “What is the nature of life?” and “What is love?” Some of the most legendary artists in the world come in and out—Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo Buonarroti. This was Lorenzo’s court at its peak.

Lorenzo was one of the greatest supporters of the arts in his time. The famous painter and sculptor Michelangelo even lived with him for a while! He was also known as a great entertainer. He held masked balls at his palace. He was known to keep many exotic pets at his country home, including a giraffe that was given to him as a gift from a ruler in North Africa.

BLOODY SUNDAY

Lorenzo brought a lot of great things to Florence, but he didn’t always do it in the nicest way. He earned many enemies, including members of the Pazzi family, who wanted to take the Medici’s power. On Easter Sunday in 1478, members of the Pazzi family ambushed Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano as they went to mass at Florence’s main cathedral. During the most holy part of the service, the Pazzis attacked. Lorenzo was only slightly wounded, but Giuliano died. Legend has it you can still see his blood stains on the cathedral’s floor.

The pope was on the Pazzis’ side, and shortly after the attack he banished Lorenzo from the Catholic Church. The King of Naples sided with the pope and soon invaded Florence. In order to protect his people, Lorenzo sailed to Naples and offered himself as prisoner to stop the invasion. Because of his political skill, he was able to negotiate his way out and preserve the independence of his realm.

MORE MEDICI MURDERS

What happened to Giuliano at the Duomo was probably the most famous murder story of the Medici family. But it wasn’t the only one.

Isabella, daughter of Cosimo de’ Medici I, married Paolo Orsini when she was just sixteen years old. When she died at age thirty-four, her husband said she had fallen while washing her hair, but others said that he strangled her in front of witnesses. Strangely, her cousin Leonora had died of the same kind of accident at the same house a few days earlier. She is also thought to have been strangled by her husband.

Francesco de’ Medici chose for his second wife a woman named Bianca Capello, who came from Venice. People in Florence accused her of being a spy or a witch. Francesco’s brother Ferdinando is thought to have had both of them poisoned at their country house: they died within days of each other in 1587. Perhaps it was karma; Francesco is said to have known about and approved of Isabella’s and Leonora’s murders.

Lorenzo was an enthusiastic reader. His family had many books, but he collected even more by sending out agents to find and purchase the most important books on the continent. He started a library that still exists in Florence today, the Biblioteca Laurenziana (roughly translated, it means “Lorenzo’s Library”). He improved relations with other kingdoms in Italy and even used art as a tool for diplomacy. He sent his favored architects and artists to other courts to offer their services. This promoted Florence’s reputation as a cultural center and built goodwill. Florence’s well-known artists and skilled craftspeople gained were offered greater opportunities.

Lorenzo was very well respected by his citizens. When he died, it was said that lightning struck the top of the Duomo (the cathedral of Florence) and that the lion statues in the city came to life and began to fight each other. He was so memorable that even today there are stories of his ghost haunting the city.

RENAISSANCE MEN (AND WOMEN)

You may have heard someone being called a “Renaissance Man.” That expression is often used to describe a person who can do just about everything—and do it well. The term was coined to describe people like Leonardo da Vinci, who did everything from painting the Mona Lisa to inventing a flying machine.

Leonardo was remarkable, but his range of knowledge wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for his time. Educated noblemen in Renaissance Italy were expected to study Latin and Greek, philosophy, natural science, astronomy, music, history, drama, and poetry. They needed to understand art and architecture. But they also had to be strong. They studied archery, swordplay, jousting, and hunting. In addition to all of this, they were expected to have good manners, to be able to carry on a decent conversation, and to dance well. There was no such thing as specializing in Lorenzo’s day: you had to be good at everything.

Life was different for girls, though. They weren’t allowed to leave the house without their father, brother, or another older male to look out for them. They were often taught poetry, music, and dancing at home. They were expected to be good conversation partners. But science and fine arts were off limits to them. Despite this, some women became very powerful. Isabella d’Este, for example, became known as “the first lady of the world.” She ruled her town of Mantua, first when her husband was imprisoned, and again before her son was old enough to take over for his father. She used her family’s money to support artists, including Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Some think she may have even been the model for the Mona Lisa!

Even though they couldn’t take apprenticeships required of artists, some girls in Renaissance Italy studied with private tutors to become artists. Sofonisba Anguissola, for example, became well known and was invited to be a court painter in Spain. Lavinia Fontana was trained by her father, who was also a painter. Renaissance girls had the talent, but they had to work harder to get the respect that men got.

AN AMAZING ART COLLECTION

Leonardo. Michelangelo. Botticelli. These are some of the best-known names in art. And much of their work started out in the Medici art collections. Throughout the years, Medici descendants added works by Peter Paul Reubens, Titian, and others to the family collection. While the works of these artists can be seen in museums around the world, the largest number of them are located at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Upon her death, Ana Luisa, the last of the Medici line, asked that the collection stay in Florence. Her descendants opened the Uffizi to the public as a gallery in the 1760s, and it can still be visited to this day.

Lorenzo’s Legacy

Lorenzo’s art patronage helped to expand the Renaissance and led to scientific and academic advancements that changed the world forever.

WHEN LORENZO RULED…

Machu Picchu was being built in the Andes Mountains

Johannes Gutenberg introduced his printing press in Germany

Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean