Lorenzo Medici (Magnificent) - (born January 1, 1449 - death April 8, 1492) - ruler of Florence, statesman, banker, writer, poet.
Origin. early years
Lorenzo, the most illustrious ruler of the Medici family, is the model of an enlightened despot who cared for the welfare of the people. He was born in 1449 into the family of the ruler of Florence (Tuscany) Pietro Medici. Even Lorenzo's grandfather, Cosimo Medici, from an early age began to prepare his grandson for the role of the ruler of Florence. Lorenzo received an excellent education and became one of the most enlightened rulers of the Renaissance. Representatives of the Medici family, which appeared on the public scene as early as the 13th century, were the largest bankers of their era, credited not only to Italian rulers, but throughout Europe.
Lorenzo sang well, played several musical instruments, tried his hand at poetry. At the age of 16, he began to carry out his father's diplomatic assignments, visiting the Duke of Milan Sforza and the Pope.
At the age of 18, Lorenzo married Clarice Orsini, who was from a noble Roman family close to the papal throne. Claricha gave birth to Lorenzo 3 sons and 4 daughters. At the age of 37, she died of tuberculosis.
Ruler of florence
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In 1469, Lorenzo began to rule Florence together with his brother Giuliano. After the death of Pietro, the Florentines asked Lorenzo to take care of the welfare of the city. He himself hypocritically stated in his memoirs: “I agreed without enthusiasm. The burden seemed quite dangerous and was not for my age. I only agreed to preserve our family's friends and wealth. After all, in Florence it is possible to be rich only when you are protected by the state. Being engaged in public affairs, Lorenzo did not stop banking. He had bank offices in Venice, Milan, London, Bruges, Geneva and other important cities in Western Europe.
Cosimo Medici (Lorenzo's grandfather).
As a ruler, he was able to achieve quick recognition from the allies - Milan and Naples. But suddenly the city of Prato in Tuscany rebelled against him. Lorenzo severely punished the rebels, 19 of the main rebels were hanged by the legs. After that, no one began to risk challenging his authority.
At that time, the financial situation of the Medici house was complicated. Its debtors were the monarchs of the largest European states, but making them pay was not an easy matter. And when the new Pope Sixtus IV came to power, relations with the Roman throne became complicated. The Pope tried to carve out a new state in the center of Italy for his beloved nephew, which did not please Lorenzo at all. Sixtus, in response, tried to overthrow Lorenzo with the help of the Pazzi banking family, to whom he transferred the right to manage his treasury. Then Lorenzo was able to pass a law that deprived Pazzi of the inheritance of one of his distant relatives.
Lucrezia Tornabuoni is the mother of Lorenzo and Piero Podagrik is the father.
Lorenzo the Magnificent and art
Despite the existence of the Florentine constitution and the preservation of republican institutions, the rule of the brothers was more like an absolute monarchy. But the Medici dictatorship was very mild. The ruler greatly contributed to the fact that Florence became a city of merry holidays, brilliant balls, a center of sciences, arts and literature, and for his penchant for the fine arts he was nicknamed the Magnificent. Lorenzo wrote the lyric poem The Forests of Love, the mythological poem Apollo and Pan, a book of poems with the prosaic Commentary on Some of His Sonnets, the mystery of Saints John and Paul, and a number of other works. His hometown became the most important cultural center in Italy.
The ruler surrounded himself with great poets and artists, among whom were such famous names as Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Pica de Mirandola, Verrochio. At the same time, with all the breadth of his intellect, at times he sank to the petty regulation of the life of citizens. So, in order to prevent an excessive increase in the financial power of individual clans, the ruler forbade the Florentines, who possessed any significant fortunes, to marry without his personal permission.
Assassination attempt. Massacre
The Pazzi wanted to use the dissatisfaction of a part of the Florentines with the Medici dictatorship to achieve their goals, not content with the fact that they managed to take control of papal finances from Lorenzo and Giuliano. 1478 - Supported by Pope Sixtus IV, they plotted to kill the rulers of Florence in the cathedral during the Easter service on April 26. The conspirators were able to stab Giuliano, but Lorenzo managed to take refuge in the sacristy of the cathedral. The people of Florence rose to the defense of the Medici. The conspirators were literally torn to pieces. The leader of the conspirators, Archbishop of Pisa, Francesco Salviati Lorenzo ordered to be hanged in full church vestments. In total, 262 Pazzi supporters were executed.
Strengthening power
The popularity of Lorenzo Medici in Florence reached unprecedented heights. Having a desire, he could easily proclaim himself king or duke, having achieved recognition of this title from the pope and European monarchs. But Lorenzo chose to strengthen his power in a different way. He dispersed the former parliament "Cento" and in 1480 was replaced by the Council of Seventy, where the influence of the Medici family was unlimited. Also, Lorenzo had two boards completely under the control - for political and military affairs (of 8 people), and for finance and law (of 12 people). As a military force, he relied on a large personal guard, with the help of which he suppressed all rebellions.
War with the Pope
Sixtus, whose nephew the cardinal was in captivity by the ruler of Florence, excommunicated Lorenzo and his closest associates from the church. The Pope did not even think to condemn the murder of Giuliano, but began to demand from the Florentines to hand over Lorenzo to him for the execution of the archbishop. He threatened to excommunicate all the inhabitants of Tuscany if they did not extradite the Medici and their supporters to the papal court within a month. But the Signoria - the government of Tuscany - took the side of Lorenzo. The concessions to the pope by the ruler of Florence were limited to the release of the papal nephew. The Pope was not satisfied with this and began, supported by the Kingdom of Naples, a war against Florence.
Lorenzo went to Naples to meet with King Ferdinand I, which was very risky: the monarch was famous for his treachery. However, a peace agreement was reached with him. After that, the Pope was forced to retreat. Lorenzo was able to attract the Neapolitan monarch to his side, explaining that the political stability provided in Florence by the Medici house is much better than the leapfrog with the election of the popes, who change almost every ten years, and with them the direction of Rome's policy.
Lorenzo Medici (The Magnificent).
Foreign and domestic policy
Although the ruler did not hold any official position, no decisions in Florence were made without his approval, and his henchmen predominated in the Signoria and the Council of Seventy. Although Florence did not have a large army, its ruler managed to maintain its influence in Italy through financial power, diplomatic skills and a wide network of informants and "agents of influence" in all Italian states.
Lorenzo Medici was almost able to create a welfare state in Tuscany. There were no beggars or homeless people in Florence. The state took care of all the weak and the poor. The peasants, who were not oppressed by the duties of the feudal lords and taxes, prospered, creating an abundance of products in the state. Lorenzo put people in high positions, considering only their ability and personal devotion to the Medici, and by no means nobility. Florence under Lorenzo was experiencing its golden age, the greatest artists and scientists of Italy and all of Europe worked in it.
After the death of Sixtus IV, relations between the Medici and Rome improved. With the new dad, Lorenzo even became related. 1488 - Pope's illegitimate son, forty-year-old Francesco Cibo, married the 16-year-old daughter of the Florentine ruler, Magdalene. And the 13-year-old son Lorenzo was elevated to a cardinal dignity by the dad for joy. And the young cardinal justified his high confidence by becoming Pope Leo X in the future.
1) Pope Sixtus IV; 2) Pope - Leo X (son of Lorenzo).
Last years. Death
The head of Tuscany dreamed of the unification of Italy under the rule of Florence. But in this case, the ruler was too ahead of his time. In the last years of his reign, Lorenzo did not make much of a difference between public and personal finance. He used public money to organize celebrations and performances that strengthened the popularity of the Medici. And he made public payments through banks controlled by the Medici and received his commercial interest. By the end of Lorenzo's reign, direct taxes had increased from 100,000 to 360,000 florins, which did not generate enthusiasm among the Florentines. Banking houses were also unhappy with the preferences enjoyed by the Medici house. But it never came to an open expression of discontent.
Oddly enough, the ruler also supported the Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola, who on August 1, 1490, for the first time proclaimed from the pulpit of St. Mark's cathedral his preaching of asceticism and a return to the ideals of the original Christianity. Maybe he hoped that by supporting Savonarola, he would be able to keep the fanatic within certain limits and prevent the situation from reaching the point of social explosion. Moreover, Lorenzo shared the preacher's condemnation of the morals that reigned at the papal court.
But the Medici themselves, who were mired in luxury, debauchery and the practice of magic and alchemy, also got from the fanatic monk. Towards the end of his life, the extravagance of the ruler began to irritate the Florentines. But when he died on April 8, 1492, almost the whole city came to his funeral. We can say that almost all of Italy grieved about his death. According to legend, before his death, Lorenzo summoned Savonarola for the last confession, but the frantic monk demanded that Lorenzo first return freedom to Florence, but the dictator left this demagogy unanswered and died without absolution.
Only Lorenzo Medici, with his unsurpassed ability for political compromise, managed to maintain a balance of interests both in Tuscany and in Italy as a whole. Soon Florence plunged into many years of turmoil associated with the activities of Savonarola, and Lorenzo's son Piero the Unfortunate was expelled from the city. Only in 1512 the son of Piero the Unfortunate and the grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent Lorenzo the Younger was able to establish himself in Florence with the help of the papal troops.