Lorenzo de' Medici (1449 to 1492), known in his own time as Lorenzo the Magnificent, was the de facto ruler of the Republic of Florence during the height of the Italian Renaissance and one of the era's most significant patrons of the arts. Head of the Medici banking family and its political network, he used the family's wealth to commission and support painters, sculptors, and scholars in Florence, including artists associated with the workshop tradition that trained Michelangelo, and to build a personal collection of classical manuscripts and antiquities. His patronage helped make fifteenth century Florence the leading center of the early Renaissance's revival of classical learning and naturalistic art, though historians debate how much of the city's artistic flowering should be credited to Lorenzo personally rather than to the wider culture of Florentine civic and mercantile patronage he inherited and extended.
Facts
RoleDe facto ruler of Florence and patron of Renaissance art and scholarship 3 Death DateDied in the night of 8-9 April 1492 at Villa Careggi; 8 April is the conventional single date of record. BirthplaceFlorence, in the Republic of Florence 1 Death PlaceVilla di Careggi, near Florence 1 Role
Role (category)Classified from the Wikidata occupation statement (P106). Role (category)Classified from the Wikidata occupation statement (P106). FAQs
What was the Pazzi conspiracy against Lorenzo de' Medici?
The Pazzi conspiracy was a 1478 plot to kill Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano during Easter Mass. Giuliano died, and Lorenzo escaped.
The Pazzi conspiracy was a plot backed by Pope Sixtus IV, his nephew Girolamo Riario and Francesco Salviati, the archbishop of Pisa, who supported the rival Pazzi family. The conspirators decided to assassinate Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano in the cathedral during Easter Mass on April 26, 1478. Giuliano was killed in front of the altar, but Lorenzo took refuge in a sacristy. The papal side then threatened Florence with interdiction unless it handed Lorenzo over, and the city and its clergy rejected the demand. Ferdinand I, king of Naples, was supporting the papacy, yet Lorenzo's bold response led Ferdinand to conclude a peace, which left Sixtus IV isolated.
Connections
Associated With
Source The Rise and Decline of the Medici Bank, 1397-1494 (Raymond de Roover)Raymond de Roover
In Era
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases
Influenced
Also in Arts and Music Atlas: which this subject influenced.
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. Wikipedia
WikipediaLorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (Italian: Lorenzo il Magnifico; 1 January 1449 - 8 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy.
Lorenzo de' Medici: Patronage of the arts
Lorenzo's court included artists such as Piero and Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Andrea del Verrocchio, Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Michelangelo Buonarroti, who were instrumental in achieving the 15th-century Renaissance.
Lorenzo de' Medici: Pazzi conspiracy, 1478
On Sunday, 26 April 1478, in an incident known as the Pazzi conspiracy, a group headed by Girolamo Riario, Francesco de' Pazzi, and Francesco Salviati attacked Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in an attempt to seize control of the Florentine government.
Lorenzo de' Medici: Gender
Lorenzo de' Medici (1449 to 1492), known in his own time as Lorenzo the Magnificent, was the de facto ruler of the Republic of Florence during the height of the Italian Renaissance and one of the era's most significant patrons of the arts.
View the Source 2. Wikidata: Lorenzo de' Medici
Wikidata Q177854, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source 3. Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Rise and Decline of the Medici Bank, 1397-1494 (Raymond de Roover)
Raymond de Roover, Harvard University Press, 1963Associated With: Medici Bank
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.