Lorenzo De Medici Essay Research Paper Florence

Lorenzo De Medici Essay, Research Paper

Florence 1453. Politics were stable, artists and intellects flooded to the city, commerce was booming, the city was being beautified, and in the midst of all this greatness grew the strength and power of the Medici family. The Medici’s considered themselves to be Florentine royalty although it was their wealth, and thus, power that elevated the family to their status.

All of this took place during the Renaissance which saw a revived interest in the arts, it was a time of movement, forward thinking and progressiveness. New ideas and thoughts gave Europeans a new direction and excitement for the future. A time like this needed a powerful leader.

Lorenzo de Medici was likely to have great power over his city and country, like his father and grandfather before him. “Although he projected an image of himself as a man who led a life of sobriety and simplicity, the fact remains that he always enjoyed the good things of life: wine, food, music, books and beautiful surroundings, and that he positively delighted in spending money”. 1 During his lifetime, Lorenzo had a great influence on many artists who lived or moved through Florence, he ruled the city until his death, and was also a gifted artist and poet himself.

Lorenzo’s grandfather, “Cosimo de Medici was the first Medici to rule Florence. Exiled from Florence in 1433, he returned in 1434 and doubled his wealth through banking”. 2 After Cosimo’s death, Florence continued to be ruled by the Medici family for centuries. Piero de Medici, Lorenzo’s father, was next to control the destinies of the Florentine people, and after his death, it was up to Lorenzo and his brother, Guiliano, to continue the greatness and cultural diversity of Florence.

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The Medici’s wealth continued to increase due to their success as merchants as well as, bankers. They were not stingy, and flaunted their wealth, building a large palace in the center of Florence for all to see and admire. “Although Cosimo liked the story which spread around that he had deliberately chosen an unostentatious design for his palace [Via Larga], the fact remains that twenty other dwellings had to be demolished to make room for it, and the completed building, built in the new Renaissance style, was an imposing structure…”. 3 It was here that young Lorenzo grew, surrounded by friends and relatives.

From his earliest days, Lorenzo received the best education. He was taught by the best and brightest intellectuals in Florence. And Lorenzo was an avid learner: “by the age of twelve Lorenzo was reading Latin with pleasure, and combining the study of Ovid with that of Dante; he began to write poems of his own when he was about sixteen”. 4 It was this love of learning and eagerness to please that made Lorenzo perfect for public office. Another part of his education and preparation to be the next ruler of Florence started at age 15. 5 At this time, young Lorenzo was sent on missions throughout Italy to plan, interact and work with many prominent families as well as, royalty. “Piero had begun to coach him for the responsibilities to which it was hoped he would fall heir, by sending him on courtesy missions to some of the ruling families with whom he would have to deal” 6. It was not until several years later, after his father’s death in 1469 7, that Lorenzo began to rule Florence with his brother, Guiliano. By this time, Lorenzo knew his duty as a Medici and realized that it was his turn to control the destiny of this great Italian city:

Although I, Lorenzo, was very young, being twenty years of age, the principal men of the city and of the regime came to us in our house to condole with us on our loss and to

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encourage me to take charge of the city and the regime as my grandfather and my father had done. This I did, though on account of my youth and the great peril and responsibility arising therefrom, with great reluctance, solely for the safety of our friends and of our possessions. For it is ill living in Florence for the rich unless they rule. 8

Lorenzo was still a young man when he began ruling Florence and was in complete control of the Medici destiny. He would have to gain the trust and respect of the Florentine people before he could begin ruling efficiently and fulfilling their needs. But it was the wealthy that Lorenzo often protected in his public affairs. By 1469, Lorenzo had settled into a stable position as a politician. “From the interests of the Medici family, he came to realize that, paradoxically, in order to defend his position and that of his family, he had to make his first priority the defense of Florentine interests, or, rather, the interests of Florence’s ruling families”. 9 The Florentine people began rallying behind him and his decisions. Lorenzo did not rule Florence as a single-minded, controlling man, but rather as a democracy, with the aide of councils and the ruling class.

It was around this time that there began a rivalry and disagreements between the Medici and Pazzi families. This argument over money and power in Florence eventually led to assassination threats on the lives of Lorenzo and Guiliano. These two powerful families were not only rivals in Florence, but also in Rome where their powerful banks fought for control over the papal finance. The Pazzi family had been ridiculed and exiled to their home in Florence fo