View source for House of Medici

{{short description|Italian banking family and political dynasty}}
{{redirect|Medici}}
{{redirect|Medicis|the pharmaceutical company|Medicis Pharmaceutical|the CERN facility|CERN-MEDICIS}}
{{refimprove|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox family
| name = Medici
| type = [[Nobility of Italy|Noble house]]
| coat_of_arms = Augmented Arms of Medici.svg
| coat_of_arms_size = 200px
| coat_of_arms_caption = Arms of the House of Medici<br/>'''Blazon:''' ''Or, five balls in orle gules, in chief a larger one of the arms of France'' (viz. ''Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or''), the incorporation of the arms of France being granted by [[Louis XI]] in 1465<ref name=Woodward162/>
| country = [[Republic of Florence]]<br/>[[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]] <br/>[[Papal States]]<br/>[[Duchy of Urbino]]
| etymology = By Medico, Castellan of Potrone, considered the first ancestor of the house
| origin = [[Mugello]], [[Tuscia]] (present-day Tuscany)
| founded = {{Start date and age|1230}}
| founder = [[Giambuono de' Medici]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Litta|first=Pompeo|title=Famiglie celebri italiane. Medici di Firenze|date=1827}}</ref>
| dissolution = {{End date|1743}} ([[Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici#Death and legacy|original line]])
| cadet branches = 14 cadet branches; 2 extant<br/>{{Collapsible list||[[Princes of Ottajano|De' Medici of Ottajano]]|{{ill|De' Medici Tornaquinci of Castellina|it|Medici Tornaquinci}}}}
| final_ruler = [[Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Gian Gastone de' Medici]]
| final_head = [[Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici]]
| titles = {{bulleted list|[[Pope]] (non-hereditary)|[[Queen of France]]|[[Grand Duke of Tuscany]]|[[Duke of Florence]]|[[List of heads of state of Florence|Lord of Florence]] (informal)|[[Duke of Urbino]]|[[Duke of Nemours]]|[[Princes of Ottajano|Prince of Ottajano]]}}
| members = {{bulleted list|[[Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici]]|[[Cosimo de' Medici]]|[[Lorenzo de' Medici]]|[[Pope Leo X]]|[[Pope Clement VII]]|[[Pope Leo XI]]|[[Catherine de' Medici]]|[[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo I de' Medici]]|[[Marie de' Medici]]}}
| distinctions = [[Order of Saint Stephen]]
| traditions = [[Catholicism]]
| motto = ''[[Festina lente]]''<ref>{{cite news|author=Luisa Greco|url=https://www.toctocfirenze.it/cosimo-de-medici-e-lamore-per-le-tartarughe-con-la-vela/|title=Cosimo de Medici e l'amore per le tartarughe con la vela|publisher=Toctoc|date=22 May 2015|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-date=26 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926123827/https://www.toctocfirenze.it/cosimo-de-medici-e-lamore-per-le-tartarughe-con-la-vela/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| motto_lang = Latin
| motto_trans = "make haste slowly"
| heirlooms = {{Collapsible list|[[Medici Bank]] {{small|(1397{{ndash}}1494)}}|[[Grand Ducal Crown of Tuscany]]|[[Medici Vase]]|[[Medici porcelain]]}}
| estate = {{bulleted list|[[Palazzo Vecchio]]|[[Palazzo Pitti]]|[[Palazzo Medici Riccardi]]|[[Medici villas|Several villas in Tuscany]]}}
}}

The '''House of Medici''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|m|ɛ|d|ɪ|tʃ|i}} {{respell|MED|itch|ee}}, {{IPAc-en|UKalso|m|ə|ˈ|d|iː|tʃ|i}} {{respell|mə|DEE|chee}};<ref>{{Cite Collins Dictionary|Medici|accessdate=12 February 2020}}</ref> {{IPA|it|ˈmɛːditʃi|lang}}) was an Italian [[banking family]] and [[political dynasty]] that first consolidated power in the [[Republic of Florence]] under [[Cosimo de' Medici]] and his grandson [[Lorenzo de' Medici|Lorenzo]] "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the [[Mugello region]] of [[Tuscany]], and prospered gradually in trade until it was able to fund the [[Medici Bank]]. This bank was the largest in Europe in the 15th century and facilitated the Medicis' rise to political power in [[Florence]], although they officially remained citizens rather than monarchs until the 16th century.

In 1532, the family acquired the hereditary title [[Duke of Florence]]. In 1569, the duchy was elevated to the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]] after territorial expansion. The Medici ruled the Grand Duchy from its inception under the builder [[Cosimo I de' Medici|Cosimo I]] until 1737, with the death of [[Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Gian Gastone de' Medici]].  The Medici produced four popes of the Catholic Church—[[Pope Leo X]] (1513–1521), [[Pope Clement VII]] (1523–1534), [[Pope Pius IV]] (1559–1565)<ref>The family of Pius IV, the Medici of [[Milan]], considered itself a branch of the House of Medici and was recognized as such by the Florentine [[Pope Clement VII]] and by Cosimo I 'de Medici in the early 16th century. Historians have found no proof of an actual connection between the Medici of Milan and the Medici of Florence, but this belief was widespread during the life of Pius IV and the Medici of Florence allowed the Medici of Milan to use their [[coat of arms]].</ref> and [[Pope Leo XI]] (1605)—and two queens of France—[[Catherine de' Medici]] (1547–1559) and [[Marie de' Medici]] (1600–1610).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Medici Family – – Encyclopædia Britannica |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/372380/Medici-family |access-date=27 September 2009}}</ref> The Medici's grand duchy witnessed degrees of economic growth under the early grand dukes, but was bankrupt by the time of [[Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo III de' Medici]] (r. 1670–1723).

The Medicis' wealth and influence was initially derived from the textile trade guided by the wool guild of Florence, the ''[[Arte della Lana]]''. Like other families ruling in Italian {{lang|it|[[signorie]]}}, the Medici dominated their city's government, were able to bring Florence under their family's power, and created an environment in which art and [[humanism]] flourished. The [[Italian Renaissance]] was inspired by the Medici along with other families of Italy, such as the [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti]] and [[House of Sforza|Sforza]] in [[Milan]], the [[House of Este|Este]] in [[Ferrara]], the [[House of Borgia|Borgia]] and [[Della Rovere]] in [[Rome]], and the [[House of Gonzaga|Gonzaga]] in [[Mantua]].

The Medici Bank, from when it was created in 1397 to its fall in 1494, was one of the most prosperous and respected institutions in Europe, and the Medici family was considered the wealthiest in Europe for a time. From this base, they acquired political power initially in Florence and later in wider Italy and Europe. They were among the earliest businesses to use the [[general ledger]] system of accounting through the development of the [[double-entry bookkeeping system]] for tracking credits and debits.

The Medici family financed the construction of [[Saint Peter's Basilica]] and [[Florence Cathedral]], and were patrons of [[Donatello]], [[Brunelleschi]], [[Botticelli]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Michelangelo]], [[Raphael]], [[Machiavelli]], [[Galileo]], and [[Francesco Redi]], among many others in the arts and sciences.  They funded the invention of the [[Piano#Invention|piano]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pollens |first=Stewart|date=2013|title=Bartolomeo Cristofori in Florence|journal=The Galpin Society Journal|volume=66|pages=7–245|issn=0072-0127|jstor=44083109}}</ref> and arguably that of [[opera]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Music and the Medici – The Medici Archive Project |url=https://www.medici.org/music-and-the-medici/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |language=it-IT |archive-date=2023-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123143004/https://www.medici.org/music-and-the-medici/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>  They were also protagonists of the [[Counter-Reformation]],{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} from the beginning of the [[Reformation]] through the [[Council of Trent]] and the [[French Wars of Religion]].

==History==
===13th century (1200s)===
The Medici family came from the agricultural [[Mugello region]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7LQe7zAZRQC&pg=PA33|title=Botticelli. Ediz. Inglese|first=Silvia|last=Malaguzzi|year=2004|publisher=Giunti Editore|via=Google Books|isbn=9788809036772}}</ref> north of Florence, and they are first mentioned in a document of 1230.<ref>The Medieval World – Europe 1100–1350 by Friedrich Heer, 1998 Germany</ref> The origin of the name is uncertain. ''Medici'' is the plural of ''[[:wiktionary:medico|medico]]'', meaning "medical doctor".<ref>The name in Italian is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable /ˈmɛ .di.tʃi/ and not on the second vowel.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2006/10/how_to_say_medici_1.shtml How to say: Medici] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625090923/https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2006/10/how_to_say_medici_1.shtml |date=2020-06-25 }}, [[BBC News Magazine Monitor]]—''MED-uh-chee'' in American English.</ref>

In 1293, the [[Ordinances of Justice]] were enacted; effectively, they became the constitution of the [[Republic of Florence]] throughout the Italian Renaissance.<ref name="bartlett2005">{{cite book |first=Kenneth |last=Bartlett |title=The Italian Renaissance |chapter=7 |page=37 |volume=II |date=2005 }}</ref>

For most of the 13th century, the leading banking centre in Italy was [[Siena]]. In 1298, however, as the century came to a close, one of the leading banking families of Europe, the [[Gran Tavola|Bonsignori]]s, went bankrupt, and the city of Siena lost its status as the banking centre of Italy to Florence.<ref name=Strathern18>Strathern, p. 18</ref>

===14th century (1300s)===
{{stack|
[[File:Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|[[Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici]], founder of the Medici bank.]]
[[File:Ghirlandaio a-pucci-lorenzo-de-medici-f-sassetti 1.jpg|thumb|''The Confirmation of the Rule'', by [[Domenico Ghirlandaio]].]]
}}

Members of the Medici family rose to some prominence in the early 14th century in the wool trade, especially with [[France]] and [[Spain]]. Despite the presence of some Medici in the city's government [[institution]]s, they were still far less notable than other outstanding families such as the [[Albizzi]] or the [[Strozzi family|Strozzi]]. One [[Salvestro de' Medici]] was speaker of the woolmakers' [[guild]] during the [[Ciompi]] revolt of 1378–1382, and one Antonio de' Medici was exiled from Florence in 1396.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Florentine history written by Niccolò Machiavelli, Volume 1 |first1=Niccolò|last1=Machiavelli |pages=221 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q9ynqj6brwC&q=%22antonio%20de%20medici%22%201396%20exile&pg=PA221 |year=1906 }}</ref> Involvement in another plot in 1400 caused all branches of the family to be banned from Florentine politics for twenty years, with the exception of two.

In 1397, late in the 14th century, the Medici dynasty properly began with the founding of the [[Medici Bank]] in Florence.{{fact|date=September 2025}}

[[Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici]] (c. 1360–1429), son of [[Averardo de' Medici]] (1320–1363), increased the wealth of the family through the creation of the Medici Bank, and he became one of the richest men in the city of Florence. Although he never held any political office, he gained popular support for the family through his backing for the introduction of a [[proportional tax|proportional system of taxation]]. Giovanni's son [[Cosimo de' Medici|Cosimo the Elder]], {{lang|it|Pater Patriae}} (father of the country), took over in 1434 as [[gran maestro]] (the unofficial head of the Florentine Republic).<ref name=godfathers1>{{cite video|people=Bradley, Richard (executive producer)|date=2003|title=The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (Part I)|medium=[[DVD]]|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] Home Video|url=https://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/}}</ref>

====Rise to power====
Until the late 14th century, the leading family of Florence was the [[Albizzi|House of Albizzi]].<ref name="bartlett2005"/>

The city's numerous luxurious [[palazzo|palazzi]] were becoming surrounded by [[townhouses]] built by the prospering merchant class.<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite web|url=http://www.aboutflorence.com/history-of-Florence.html |title=History of Florence |publisher=Aboutflorence.com |access-date=2015-01-26}}</ref>

The main challengers to the Albizzi family were the Medici, first under [[Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici]], later under his son [[Cosimo de' Medici|Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici]] and great-grandson, [[Lorenzo de' Medici]]. The Medici controlled the Medici Bank—then Europe's largest bank—and an array of other enterprises in Florence and elsewhere.<ref name="crum2001"/>

The Medici family was connected to most other elite families of the time through [[marriage of convenience|marriages of convenience]], partnerships, or employment, so the family had a central position in the [[social network]]: several families had systematic access to the rest of the elite families only through the Medici, perhaps similar to banking relationships. Some examples of these families include the [[Bardi family|Bardi]], [[House of Altoviti|Altoviti]], Ridolfi, [[Zurla (family)|Zurla]], Cavalcanti and the Tornabuoni. This has been suggested as a reason for the rise of the Medici family.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1086/230190 |title=Robust Action and the Rise of the Medici, 1400–1434 |first1=John F. |last1=Padgett |first2=Christopher K. |last2=Ansell |journal=The American Journal of Sociology |volume=98 |issue=6 |date=May 1993 |pages=1259–1319 |jstor=2781822 |s2cid=56166159 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3d48/8cf5644f42b3c321d4c3c4e02881956c4f57.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303131647/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3d48/8cf5644f42b3c321d4c3c4e02881956c4f57.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-03-03 }}. This has led to [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&cites=3047393440246405308&q=network much more analysis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910084858/https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&cites=3047393440246405308&q=network |date=2021-09-10 }}.</ref>

===15th century (1400s)===
[[File:Cosimo Pater Patriae.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[[Cosimo de' Medici|Cosimo]], ''Pater patriae'', Uffizi Gallery, Florence.]]
In 1433, the Medici additionally benefited from the discovery of vast deposits of [[Potassium alum|alum]] in [[Tolfa]]. Alum is essential as a [[mordant]] in the dyeing of certain cloths and was used extensively in Florence, where the main industry was textile manufacturing. Before the Medici, the Turks were the only exporters of alum, so Europe was forced to buy from them until the discovery in Tolfa. [[Pope Pius II|Pius II]] granted the Medici family a monopoly on the mining there, making them the primary producers of alum in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gHtQBAAAQBAJ&q=Pius+II+granted+the+Medici+family+a+monopoly+on+the+mining+there%2C+making+them+the+primary+producers+of+alum+in+Europe.&pg=PT46|title=The Renaissance: All That Matters|last=Halvorson|first=Michael|date=2014|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|isbn=9781444192964|language=en}}</ref>

In 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled.<ref name="crum2001">Crum, Roger J. ''Severing the Neck of Pride: Donatello's "Judith and Holofernes" and the Recollection of Albizzi Shame in Medicean Florence ''. Artibus et Historiae, Volume 22, Edit 44, 2001. pp. 23–29.</ref>

The next year, however, in 1434, a pro-Medici [[Signoria of Florence|Signoria]] (civic government), led by Tommaso Soderini, Oddo Altoviti, and Lucca Pitti, was elected and Cosimo returned. The Medici became the city's leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Florence remained a republic until 1537, traditionally marking the end of the High Renaissance in Florence, but the instruments of republican government were firmly under the control of the Medici and their allies, save during intervals after 1494 and 1527. Cosimo and Lorenzo rarely held official posts but were the unquestioned leaders.{{fact|date=September 2025}}

Three successive generations of the Medici—Cosimo, Piero, and Lorenzo—ruled over Florence through the greater part of the 15th century. They clearly dominated Florentine [[representative government]] without abolishing it altogether.<ref name=Adams1>''[[The Prince]]'' [[Niccolò Machiavelli]]. A Norton Critical Edition. Translated and edited by Rober M. Adams. New York. W.W. Norton and Company, 1977. p. viii (Historical Introduction)</ref> These three members of the Medici family had great skills in the management of so "restive and independent a city" as Florence. When Lorenzo died in 1492, however, his son Piero proved quite incapable of responding successfully to challenges caused by the [[Italian War of 1494-98|French invasion of Italy in 1492]], and within two years, he and his supporters were forced into exile and replaced with a republican government.<ref name=Adams1/>

[[Piero di Cosimo de' Medici|Piero de' Medici]] (1416–1469), Cosimo's son, was in power for five years (1464–69). He was called "Piero the Gouty" because of the [[gout]] that pained his foot and led to his death. Unlike his father, Piero had little interest in the arts. Due to his illness, he often stayed at home bedridden.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpQlBgAAQBAJ&q=Piero+de%27+Medici+stagnant+rule&pg=PA56|title=Ulwencreutz's The Royal Families in Europe V|last=Ulwencreutz|first=Lars|year= 2013|publisher=Lulu.com |access-date=20 September 2018|isbn=9781304581358}}</ref>

[[Lorenzo de' Medici]] (1449–1492), called "the Magnificent", was more capable of leading and ruling a city, but he neglected the family banking business, which led to its ultimate ruin. To ensure the continuance of his family's success, Lorenzo planned his children's future careers for them. He groomed the headstrong [[Piero the Unfortunate|Piero II]] to follow as his successor in civil leadership; Giovanni<ref>15th century Italy.</ref> (future [[Pope Leo X]]) was placed in the church at an early age; and his daughter [[Maddalena de' Medici (1473-1528)|Maddalena]] was provided with a sumptuous dowry to make a politically advantageous marriage to a son of [[Pope Innocent VIII]] that cemented the alliance between the Medici and the Roman branches of the [[Cybo]] and [[House of Altoviti|Altoviti]] families.<ref>Hibbard, pp. 177, 202, 162.</ref>

The [[Pazzi conspiracy]] of 1478 was an attempt to depose the Medici family by killing Lorenzo with his younger brother [[Giuliano de' Medici|Giuliano]] during Easter services; the assassination attempt ended with the death of Giuliano and an injured Lorenzo. The conspiracy involved the [[Pazzi]] and [[Salviati (bankers)|Salviati]] families, both rival banking families seeking to end the influence of the Medici, as well as the priest presiding over the church services, the [[Francesco Salviati (archbishop)|Archbishop of Pisa]], and even [[Pope Sixtus IV]] to a degree. The conspirators approached Sixtus IV in the hopes of gaining his approval, as he and the Medici had a long rivalry themselves, but the pope gave no official sanction to the plan. Despite his refusal of official approval, the pope nonetheless allowed the plot to proceed without interfering, and, after the failed assassination of Lorenzo, also gave [[Dispensation (Catholic Church)|dispensation]] for crimes done in the service of the church. After this, Lorenzo adopted his brother's illegitimate son Giulio de' Medici (1478–1535), the future Pope [[Clement VII]]. Lorenzo's son Piero II took over as the head of Florence after Lorenzo's death. The Medici were expelled from Florence from 1494 to 1512 after Piero acceded to all of the demands of invader [[Charles VIII of France]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Hibbert|first=Christopher|title=The House of Medici: Its rise and fall|publisher=William Morrow and Company|year=1974|isbn=0-688-00339-7|location=New York|oclc=5613740}}</ref>

{{Quote box|quote=In the dangerous circumstances in which our city is placed, the time for deliberation is past. Action must be taken... I have decided, with your approval, to sail for Naples immediately, believing that as I am the person against whom the activities of our enemies are chiefly directed, I may, perhaps, by delivering myself into their hands, be the means of restoring peace to our fellow-citizens. As I have had more honour and responsibility among you than any private citizen has had in our day, I am more bound than any other person to serve our country, even at the risk of my life. With this intention I now go. Perhaps God wills that this war, which began in the blood of my brother and of myself, should be ended by any means. My desire is that by my life or my death, my misfortune or my prosperity, I may contribute to the welfare of our city... I go full of hope, praying to God to give me grace to perform what every citizen should at all times be ready to perform for his country.|source= — ''Lorenzo de' Medici, 1479''<ref>Hibbert, ''The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall'', 153.</ref>|align  = center}}

===16th century===
The exile of the Medici lasted until 1512, after which the "senior" branch of the family—those descended from Cosimo the Elder—were able to rule until the assassination of [[Alessandro de' Medici]], first [[Duke of Florence]], in 1537. This century-long rule was interrupted only on two occasions (between 1494–1512 and 1527–1530), when anti-Medici factions took control of Florence. Following the assassination of Duke Alessandro, power passed to the "junior" Medici branch—those descended from [[Lorenzo the Elder]], the youngest son of Giovanni di Bicci, starting with his great-great-grandson [[Cosimo I de' Medici|Cosimo I "the Great"]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Cosimo the Elder and his father started the Medici foundations in banking and manufacturing—including a form of [[franchising|franchises]]. The family's influence grew with its patronage of wealth, art, and culture. Ultimately, it reached its zenith in the [[pope|papacy]] and continued to flourish for centuries afterward as Dukes of Florence and Tuscany. At least half, probably more, of Florence's people were employed by the Medici and their foundational branches in business.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

====Medici popes====
[[File:MEDICI TAPESTRY.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|The Medici Wedding Tapestry (1589)]]
The Medici briefly became leaders of [[Western Christendom]] through their two famous 16th century popes, [[Leo X]] and [[Clement VII]]. Both also served as ''[[de facto]]'' political rulers of Rome, Florence, and large swaths of Italy known as the [[Papal States]]. They were generous patrons of the arts who commissioned masterpieces such as [[Raphael]]'s ''[[Transfiguration (Raphael)|Transfiguration]]'' and [[Michelangelo]]'s ''[[The Last Judgment (Michelangelo)|The Last Judgment]]''; however, their reigns coincided with troubles for the [[Holy See|Vatican]], including [[Martin Luther]]'s [[Protestant Reformation]] and the infamous [[Sack of Rome (1527)|sack of Rome in 1527]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Leo X's fun-loving pontificate bankrupted Vatican coffers and accrued massive debts. From Leo's election as pope in 1513 to his death in 1521, Florence was overseen, in turn, by [[Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours]], [[Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino]], and Giulio de' Medici, the latter of whom became [[Pope Clement VII]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Clement VII's tumultuous pontificate was dominated by a rapid succession of political crises—many long in the making—that resulted in the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|sack of Rome]] by the armies of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Holy Roman Emperor Charles V]] in 1527 and rise of the Salviati, Altoviti and Strozzi as the leading bankers of the [[Roman Curia]]. From the time of Clement's election as pope in 1523 until the sack of Rome, Florence was governed by the young [[Ippolito de' Medici]] (future cardinal and vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church), [[Alessandro de' Medici]] (future duke of Florence), and their guardians. In 1530, after allying himself with Charles V, Pope Clement VII succeeded in securing the engagement of Charles V's daughter [[Margaret of Parma|Margeret of Austria]] to his illegitimate nephew (reputedly his son) [[Alessandro de' Medici]]. Clement also convinced Charles V to name Alessandro as Duke of Florence. Thus began the reign of Medici monarchs in Florence, which lasted two centuries.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

[[File:Cosimo-GDuke-BR.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.7|[[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo I]], founder of the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]]]]
After securing Alessandro de' Medici's dukedom, Pope Clement VII married off his first cousin, twice removed, [[Catherine de' Medici]], to the son of Emperor Charles V's arch-enemy, King [[Francis I of France]]—the future King [[Henry II of France|Henry II]]. This led to the transfer of Medici blood, through Catherine's daughters, to the royal family of Spain through [[Elisabeth of Valois]], and the [[House of Lorraine]] through [[Claude of Valois]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

In 1534, following a lengthy illness, Pope Clement VII died—and with him the stability of the Medici's "senior" branch. In 1535, Ippolito Cardinal de' Medici died under mysterious circumstances. In 1536, Alessandro de' Medici married Charles V's daughter, Margaret of Austria; however, the following year he was assassinated by a resentful cousin, [[Lorenzino de' Medici]]. The deaths of Alessandro and Ippolito enabled the Medici's "junior" branch to lead Florence.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

====Medici Dukes====
Another outstanding figure of the 16th-century Medici family was Cosimo I, who rose from relatively modest beginnings in the [[Mugello region|Mugello]] to attain supremacy over the whole of [[Tuscany]]. Against the opposition of [[Catherine de' Medici]], [[Pope Paul III]] and their allies, he prevailed in various battles to conquer Florence's hated rival [[Siena]] and found the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Cosimo purchased a portion of the island of [[Elba]] from the [[Republic of Genoa]] and based the Tuscan navy there. He died in 1574, succeeded by his eldest surviving son [[Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Francesco]], whose death without male heirs led to the succession of his younger brother, [[Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinando]], in 1587. Francesco married [[Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany|Johanna of Austria]], and with his consort produced [[Eleonora de' Medici]], Duchess of Mantua, and [[Marie de' Medici]], Queen of France and Navarre. Through Marie, all succeeding French monarchs (bar the [[House of Bonaparte|Napoleons]]) were descended from Francesco.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Ferdinando eagerly assumed the government of Tuscany. He commanded the draining of the Tuscan marshlands, built a road network in southern Tuscany and cultivated trade in [[Livorno]].<ref name=Hale151>Hale, p. 150.</ref> To augment the Tuscan silk industry, he oversaw the planting of [[Morus (plant)|mulberry trees]] along the major roads (silk worms feed on mulberry leaves).<ref>Hale, p. 151.</ref> In foreign affairs, he shifted Tuscany away from Habsburg<ref>Austria and Spain were ruled by the House of Habsburg; the two are interchangeable terms for the Habsburg domains in the time period in question.</ref> [[hegemony]] by marrying the first non-Habsburg marriage candidate since Alessandro, [[Christina of Lorraine]], a granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici. The Spanish reaction was to construct a [[citadel]] on their portion of the island of Elba.<ref name=Hale151/> To strengthen the new Franco-Tuscan alliance, he married his niece, Marie, to [[Henry IV of France]]. Henry explicitly stated that he would defend Tuscany from Spanish aggression, but later reneged, after which Ferdinando was forced to marry his heir, Cosimo, to [[Maria Maddalena of Austria]] to assuage Spain (where Maria Maddalena's sister [[Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain|Margaret]] was the incumbent Queen consort). Ferdinando also sponsored a Tuscan expedition to the [[New World]] with the intention of establishing a Tuscan colony, an enterprise that brought no result for permanent colonial acquisitions.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Despite all of these incentives for economic growth and prosperity, the population of Florence at the dawn of the 17th century was a mere 75,000, far smaller than the other capitals of Italy (i.e., Rome, Milan, Venice, Palermo, and Naples).<ref>Hale, p. 158.</ref> Francesco and Ferdinando, due to lax distinction between Medici and Tuscan state property, are thought to have been wealthier than their ancestor, Cosimo de' Medici, the founder of the dynasty.<ref name=Hale160>Hale, p. 160.</ref> The Grand Duke alone had the prerogative to exploit the state's mineral and salt resources, and the fortunes of the Medici were directly tied to the Tuscan economy.<ref name=Hale160/>

===17th century===
[[File:Cosimo ii de' medici adn two.jpg|thumb|From left to right: [[Maria Maddalena of Austria|The Grand Duchess Maria Maddalena]], [[Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|The Grand Duke Cosimo II]], and their elder son, the future [[Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinando II]]]]

Ferdinando, although no longer a cardinal, exercised much influence at successive conclaves. In 1605, Ferdinando succeeded in getting his candidate, Alessandro de' Medici, elected [[Pope Leo XI]]. He died the same month, but his successor, [[Pope Paul V]], was also pro-Medici.<ref>Hale, p. 165.</ref> Ferdinando's pro-papal foreign policy, however, had drawbacks. Tuscany was overrun with religious orders, not all of whom were obliged to pay taxes. Ferdinando died in 1609, leaving an affluent realm; his inaction in international affairs, however, would have long-reaching consequences down the line.

In France, Marie de' Medici was acting as regent for her son, [[Louis XIII]]. Louis repudiated her pro-Habsburg policy in 1617. She lived the rest of her life deprived of any political influence.

Ferdinando's successor, [[Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo II]], reigned for less than 12 years. He married Maria Maddalena of Austria, with whom he had his eight children, including [[Margherita de' Medici]], [[Ferdinando II de' Medici]], and an [[Anna de' Medici (1569–1584)|Anna de' Medici]].
He is most remembered as the patron of astronomer [[Galileo Galilei]], whose 1610 treatise, [[Sidereus Nuncius]], was dedicated to him.<ref>Strathen, p. 368.</ref> Cosimo died of consumption ([[tuberculosis]]) in 1621.<ref>Hale, p. 187.</ref>

Cosimo's elder son, Ferdinando, was not yet of legal maturity to succeed him, thus Maria Maddalena and his grandmother, Christina of Lorraine, acted as regents. Their collective regency is known as the ''Turtici''. Maria Maddelana's temperament was analogous to Christina's, and together they aligned Tuscany with the [[Papal States|papacy]], re-doubled the Tuscan clergy, and allowed the [[heresy]] trial of Galileo Galilei to occur.<ref>Acton, p. 111.</ref> Upon the death of the last [[Francesco Maria II della Rovere|Duke of Urbino]] (Francesco Maria II), instead of claiming the duchy for Ferdinando, who was married to the Duke of Urbino's granddaughter and heiress, [[Vittoria Della Rovere|Vittoria della Rovere]], they permitted it to be annexed by [[Pope Urban VIII]]. In 1626, they banned any Tuscan subject from being educated outside the Grand Duchy, a law later overturned, but resurrected by Maria Maddalena's grandson, [[Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo III]].<ref name=Acton192>Acton, p. 192.</ref> [[Harold Acton]], an Anglo-Italian historian, ascribed the decline of Tuscany to the ''Turtici'' regency.<ref name=Acton192/>

Grand Duke Ferdinado was obsessed with new technology, and had a variety of hygrometers, barometers, thermometers, and telescopes installed in the [[Palazzo Pitti]].<ref>Acton, p. 27.</ref> In 1657, [[Leopoldo de' Medici]], the Grand Duke's youngest brother, established the [[Accademia del Cimento]], organized to attract scientists to Florence from all over Tuscany for mutual study.<ref>Acton, p. 38.</ref>

Tuscany participated in the [[Wars of Castro]] (the last time Medicean Tuscany proper was involved in a conflict) and inflicted a defeat on the forces of Pope Urban VIII in 1643.<ref name=Hale180>Hale, p. 180.</ref> The war effort was costly and the treasury so empty because of it that when the Castro mercenaries were paid for, the state could no longer afford to pay interest on government bonds, with the result that the interest rate was lowered by 0.75%.<ref>Hale, p. 181.</ref> At that time, the economy was so decrepit that [[barter trade]] became prevalent in rural market places.<ref name=Hale180/>

Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 afflicted by [[apoplexy]] and [[dropsy]]. He was interred in the [[Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence|Basilica of San Lorenzo]], the Medici's necropolis.<ref>Acton, p. 108.</ref> At the time of his death, the population of the grand duchy was 730,594; the streets were lined with grass and the buildings on the verge of collapse in [[Pisa]].<ref>Acton, p. 112.</ref>

Ferdinando's marriage to Vittoria della Rovere produced two children: Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and [[Francesco Maria de' Medici, Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro]]. Upon Vittoria's death in 1694, her [[Allodial title|allodial]] possessions, the Duchies of Rovere and [[Montefeltro]], passed to her younger son.

===18th century: the fall of the dynasty===
[[File:Volterrano, Cosimo III de' Medici in grand ducal robes (Warsaw Royal Castle).jpg|thumb|Cosimo III, the Medicean grand duke, in grand ducal regalia]]
[[File:Antonio Bellucci 001.jpg|thumb|[[Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici]], the last of the grand ducal line, in ''Minerva, Merkur und Plutus huldigen der Kurfürstin Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici'' ({{langx|en|Minerva, Mercury and Pluto pay homage to the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici}}) after [[Antonio Bellucci]], 1706]]

Cosimo III married [[Marguerite Louise d'Orléans]], a granddaughter of [[Henry IV of France]] and Marie de' Medici. An exceedingly discontented pairing, this union produced three children, notably [[Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici|Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Electress Palatine]], and the last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany, [[Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Gian Gastone de' Medici]].

[[Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine]], Anna Maria Luisa's spouse, successfully requisitioned the dignity ''Royal Highness'' for the Grand Duke and his family in 1691, despite the fact that they had no claim to any kingdom.<ref>Acton, p. 182.</ref> Cosimo frequently paid the Holy Roman Emperor, his nominal feudal overlord, exorbitant dues,<ref>Acton, p. 243.</ref> and he sent munitions to the emperor during the [[Battle of Vienna]].

The Medici lacked male heirs, and by 1705, the grand ducal treasury was virtually bankrupt. In comparison to the 17th century, the population of Florence declined by 50%, and the population of the grand duchy as a whole declined by an estimated 40%.<ref>Strathern, p. 392.</ref> Cosimo desperately tried to reach a settlement with the European powers, but Tuscany's legal status was very complicated: the area of the grand duchy formerly comprising the [[Republic of Siena]] was technically a Spanish fief, while the territory of the old [[Republic of Florence]] was thought to be under imperial [[suzerainty]]. Upon the death of his first son, Cosimo contemplated restoring the Florentine republic, either upon Anna Maria Luisa's death, or on his own, if he predeceased her. The restoration of the republic would entail resigning Siena to the Holy Roman Empire, but, regardless, it was vehemently endorsed by his government. Europe largely ignored Cosimo's plan. Only Great Britain and the [[Dutch Republic]] gave any credence to it, and the plan ultimately died with Cosimo III in 1723.<ref>Hale, p. 191.</ref>

On 4 April 1718, Great Britain, France and the Dutch Republic (also later, Austria) selected [[Charles III of Spain|Don Carlos of Spain]], the elder child of [[Elisabeth Farnese]] and [[Philip V of Spain]], as the Tuscan heir. By 1722, the electress was not even acknowledged as heiress, and Cosimo was reduced to spectator at the conferences for Tuscany's future.<ref>Acton, p. 175.</ref> On 25 October 1723, six days before his death, Grand Duke Cosimo disseminated a final proclamation commanding that Tuscany stay independent: Anna Maria Luisa would succeed uninhibited to Tuscany after Gian Gastone, and the grand duke reserved the right to choose his successor. However, these portions of his proclamation were completely ignored, and he died a few days later.

Gian Gastone despised the electress for engineering his catastrophic marriage to [[Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg]]; while she abhorred her brother's liberal policies, he repealed all of his father's anti-Semitic statutes. Gian Gastone revelled in upsetting her.<ref>Acton, p. 280.</ref> On 25 October 1731, a Spanish detachment occupied Florence on behalf of Don Carlos, who disembarked in Tuscany in December of the same year.
The ''Ruspanti'', Gian Gastone's decrepit entourage, loathed the electress, and she them. Duchess [[Violante of Bavaria]], Gian Gastone's sister-in-law, tried to withdraw the grand duke from the sphere of influence of the ''Ruspanti'' by organising banquets. His conduct at the banquets was less than regal; he often vomited repeatedly into his napkin, belched, and regaled those present with socially inappropriate jokes.<ref>Acton, p. 188.</ref> Following a sprained ankle in 1731, he remained confined to his bed for the rest of his life. The bed, often smelling of [[feces|faeces]], was occasionally cleaned by Violante.

In 1736, following the [[War of the Polish Succession]], Don Carlos was disbarred from Tuscany, and [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis III of Lorraine]] was made heir in his stead.<ref>Acton, p. 301.</ref> In January 1737, the Spanish troops withdrew from Tuscany, and were replaced by Austrians.

Gian Gastone died on 9 July 1737, surrounded by prelates and his sister. Anna Maria Luisa was offered a nominal [[regent|regency]] by the Prince de Craon until the new grand duke could peregrinate to Tuscany, but declined.<ref>Acton, p. 304.</ref> Upon her brother's death, she received all the House of Medici's allodial possessions.

Anna Maria Luisa signed the ''Patto di Famiglia'' ("family pact") on 31 October 1737. In collaboration with the Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke Francis of Lorraine, she [[will (law)|willed]] all the personal property of the Medici to the Tuscan state, provided that nothing was ever removed from Florence.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.yourwaytoflorence.com/anna-maria-luisa-de-medici.htm|title=Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici – Electress Palatine|access-date= 3 September 2009}}</ref>

The "Lorrainers", as the occupying forces were called, were popularly loathed, but the regent, the Prince de Craon, allowed the electress to live unperturbed in the [[Palazzo Pitti]]. She occupied herself with financing and overseeing the construction of the [[Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence|Basilica of San Lorenzo]], started in 1604 by [[Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinando I]], at a cost to the state of 1,000 crowns per week.<ref>Acton, p. 209.</ref>

The electress donated much of her fortune to charity: £4,000 a month.<ref>Acton, p. 310.</ref> On 19 February 1743, she died, and the grand ducal line of the House of Medici died with her. The Florentines grieved her,<ref>Acton, p. 309.</ref> and she was interred in the crypt that she helped to complete, San Lorenzo.

The extinction of the main Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis Stephen]], [[Lorraine (province)|Duke of Lorraine]] and husband of [[Maria Theresa]] of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the [[Austria]]n crown. The line of the [[Princes of Ottajano]], an extant branch of the House of Medici who were eligible to inherit the grand duchy of Tuscany when the last male of the senior branch died in 1737, could have carried on as Medici sovereigns but for the intervention of Europe's major powers, which allocated the sovereignty of Florence elsewhere.

As a consequence, the grand duchy expired and the territory became a [[secundogeniture]] of the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg-Lorraine]] dynasty. The first grand duke of the new dynasty, Francis I, was a great-great-great-grandson of Francesco I de' Medici, thus he continued the Medicean Dynasty on the throne of Tuscany through the female line. The Habsburgs were deposed in favor of the [[House of Bourbon|House of Bourbon-Parma]] in 1801 (themselves deposed in 1807), but were later restored at the [[Congress of Vienna]]. Tuscany became a province of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861. However, several extant branches of the House of Medici survive, including the [[Princes of Ottajano]],<ref name=cinemaholic>{{cite news |url=https://thecinemaholic.com/is-the-medici-family-still-around-where-are-they-today/ |title=Is the Medici Family Still Around? Where are They Today? |author= Diksha Sundriyal |date=2022-09-01 |publisher=Cinemaholic }}</ref> the Medici Tornaquinci,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/04/world/florence-journal-where-the-bodies-are-buried-modern-day-medici-feud.html |title=Florence Journal; Where the Bodies Are Buried, Modern-Day Medici Feud, Alan Feuer, New York Times, May 4, 2004 |work=The New York Times |date=4 May 2004 |access-date=February 19, 2017 |archive-date=May 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529110619/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/04/world/florence-journal-where-the-bodies-are-buried-modern-day-medici-feud.html |url-status=live |last1=Feuer |first1=Alan }}</ref><ref name=cinemaholic /> and the Verona Medici Counts of Caprara and [[Gavardo]].<ref name=auto>Hibbert, p. 60.</ref> (see [[Medici family tree#The descendants line|Medici family tree]])

==Legacy==
As a preeminent and influential family, the Medici's attracted both considerable controversy and praise from their contemporaries and modern sources. [[Ferdinand Schevill]] described there being "an uncommonly wide range" of opinion about the Medici's, with more critical sources from native contemporaries giving way to a more favorable view of the family by nationalists in other countries in later centuries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schevill |first1=Ferdinand |date=March 1948 |title=The Controversial Medici |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/237177 |journal=Journal of Modern History |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=42-26 |issn=0022-2801  |doi=10.1086/237177 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Machiavelli]]'s ''[[The Prince]]'' was mixed with its opinions of the Medici, and ultimately came to be dedicated to [[Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino|Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici]]. Common criticisms of the family have described it as corrupt and with questionable virtues.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clarke |first=Michelle T. |date=15 March 2018 |title=Machiavelli's Florentine Republic |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/machiavellis-florentine-republic/questionable-virtues-of-the-medici/D4D6200FC20E4E9440E8371118640104 |chapter=The Questionable Virtues of the Medici |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=92-131 |isbn=9781316410776 |doi=10.1017/9781316410776}}</ref>

===Artistic patronage===
[[File:Sandro Botticelli 056.jpg|thumb|The family of [[Piero di Cosimo de' Medici|Piero de' Medici]] portrayed by [[Sandro Botticelli]] in the ''[[Madonna del Magnificat]]'' ({{Circa}} 1483–1485)]]
The greatest accomplishments of the Medici were in the sponsorship of [[art]] and [[architecture]], mainly [[Renaissance art|early]] and [[High Renaissance]] art and architecture. The Medici were responsible for a high proportion of the major Florentine works of art created during their period of rule. Their support was critical, since artists generally began work on their projects only after they had received commissions. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, the first patron of the arts in the family, aided [[Masaccio]] and commissioned [[Filippo Brunelleschi]] for the reconstruction of the [[Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence]] in 1419. Cosimo the Elder's notable artistic associates were [[Donatello]] and [[Fra Angelico]]. In later years the most significant [[protégé]] of the Medici family was [[Michelangelo|Michelangelo Buonarroti]] (1475–1564), who produced work for a number of family members, beginning with Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was said to be extremely fond of the young Michelangelo and invited him to study the family collection of antique sculpture.<ref>Howard Hibbard, ''Michelangelo'' (New York: Harper and Row, 1974), p. 21.</ref> Lorenzo also served as patron to [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (1452–1519) for seven years. Indeed, Lorenzo was an artist in his own right and an author of poetry and song; his support of the arts and letters is seen as a high point in Medici patronage.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

[[File:Gozzoli magi.jpg|thumb|Medici family members placed allegorically in the entourage of a king from the [[Biblical Magi|Three Wise Men]] in the Tuscan countryside in a [[Benozzo Gozzoli]] fresco (c. 1459)]]
After Lorenzo's death the puritanical Dominican friar [[Girolamo Savonarola]] rose to prominence, warning Florentines against excessive luxury. Under Savonarola's fanatical leadership many great works were "voluntarily" destroyed in the [[Bonfire of the Vanities]] (February 7, 1497). The following year, on 23 May 1498, Savonarola and two young supporters were burned at the stake in the Piazza della Signoria, the same location as his bonfire. In addition to commissions for art and architecture, the Medici were prolific collectors and today their acquisitions form the core of the Uffizi museum in Florence. In architecture, the Medici were responsible for some notable features of Florence, including the [[Uffizi|Uffizi Gallery]], the [[Boboli Gardens]], the [[Belvedere (fort)|Belvedere]], the [[Medici Chapels|Medici Chapel]] and the [[Palazzo Medici Riccardi|Palazzo Medici]].<ref>[http://www.florentine-society.ru/Medici_Chapel_Mysteries.htm Peter Barenboim, Sergey Shiyan, ''Michelangelo: Mysteries of Medici Chapel'', SLOVO, Moscow, 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704121633/http://www.florentine-society.ru/Medici_Chapel_Mysteries.htm |date=2017-07-04 }}. {{ISBN|5-85050-825-2}}</ref>

Later, in Rome, the Medici popes continued in the family tradition of patronizing artists in Rome. Pope Leo X would chiefly commission works from [[Raphael]], whereas Pope Clement VII commissioned Michelangelo to paint the altar wall of the [[Sistine Chapel]] just before the pontiff's death in 1534.<ref>Hibbard, p. 240.</ref> [[Eleanor of Toledo]], a princess of Spain and wife of Cosimo I the Great, purchased the Pitti Palace from [[Buonaccorso Pitti]] in 1550. Cosimo in turn patronized [[Giorgio Vasari|Vasari]], who erected the Uffizi Gallery in 1560 and founded the [[Accademia delle Arti del Disegno]] – ("Academy of the Arts of Drawing") in 1563.<ref>Official site of the ''Accademia delle Arti del Disegno'' of Florence, Brief History (it. leng.){{cite web |url=http://www.aadfi.it/index.htm |title=Accademia delle Arti del Disegno |access-date=2009-06-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603055318/http://www.aadfi.it/index.htm |archive-date=2009-06-03 }}</ref> [[Marie de' Medici]], widow of [[Henry IV of France]] and mother of [[Louis XIII]], is the subject of a commissioned cycle of paintings known as the [[Marie de' Medici cycle]], painted for the [[Luxembourg Palace]] by court painter [[Peter Paul Rubens]] in 1622–23.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Although none of the Medici themselves were scientists, the family is well known to have been the patrons of the famous [[Galileo Galilei]], who tutored multiple generations of Medici children and was an important figurehead for his patron's quest for power. Galileo's patronage was eventually abandoned by [[Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinando II]], when the [[Roman Inquisition|Inquisition]] accused Galileo of heresy. However, the Medici family did afford the scientist a safe haven for many years. Galileo named the [[Galilean moons|four largest moons]] of [[Jupiter]] after four Medici children he tutored, although the names Galileo used are not the names currently used.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

==Main genealogical table==
{{see also|Genealogical tables of the House of Medici}}

The table below shows the origins of the Medici:

<div align=center>

{{hidden|Medici Family Tree: Origins|{{tree chart/start|style=font-size:90%;line-height:110%;}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||||||||||||||||med
|med=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Medico di Potrone]]</span>'''<br />*1046 ? †1102</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||||||||||||||||||!|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||||||||||||||||bon
|bon=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bono di Potrone|Bono]]</span>'''<br />*1069 ? †1123</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||||||||||||||||||!|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||||||||||||||||ber
|ber=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bernardo di Potrone|Bernardo]]</span>'''<br />*1099 ? †1147</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||||||||||||||||||!|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||||||||||||||||gia
|gia=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giambuono de' Medici]]</span>'''<br />*1131 ? †1192</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||||||||||,|-|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||||||||||chi|||||||||||||bon
|chi=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Chiarissimo I de' Medici|Chiarissimo]]</span>'''<br />*1167 ? †1210</small>
|bon=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bonagiunta de' Medici|Bonagiunta]]</span>'''<br />*? †1226</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||||||||||!|||||||||||||,|-|^|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||||||||||fil|||||||||||ugo||gal
|fil=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Filippo di Chiarissimo I de' Medici|Filippo]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|ugo=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Ugo di Bonagiunta de' Medici|Ugo]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|gal=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Galgano di Bonagiunta de' Medici|Galgano]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||||,|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|.||||,|-|^|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||chi|||||ran|||||ave||sco||gal
|chi=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Chiarissimo II de' Medici|Chiarissimo]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1253</small>
|ran=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Ranieri de' Medici|Ranieri]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|ave=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Averardo I de' Medici|Averardo I]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1280</small>
|sco=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Scolaio di Ugo de' Medici|Scolaio]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1269</small>
|gal=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Galgano di Ugo de' Medici|Galgano]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1269</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||||||,|-|-|v|-|^|-|-|-|-|.|||||||||!||||||,|-|^|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0||||||fil|ugo|||||gia|||||||ave||||arr||bon
|fil=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Filippo di Chiarissimo II de' Medici|Filippo]]</span>'''<ref>Two more sons: [[Arrigo de' Medici|Arrigo]] (?–?), [[Giovanni di Filippo de' Medici|Giovanni]] (?–?)</ref><br />*? †1290</small>
|ugo=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Ugolino di Chiarissimo II de' Medici|Ugolino]]</span>'''<br />*? †1301</small>
|man=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Manno di Chiarissimo II de' Medici|Manno]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|gia=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giambuono di Chiarissimo II de' Medici|Giambuono]]</span>'''<br />*1260 †?</small>
|ave=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Averardo II de' Medici|Averardo II]]</span>'''<ref>Three more sons: [[Talento de' Medici|Talento]] (?–?), he had a son, [[Mario di Talento de' Medici|Mario]] died in 1369, Mario had few unremarkable later generations; [[Jacopo di Averardo de' Medici|Jacopo]] (?–1340) who had a son, [[Averardo di Jacopo de' Medici|Averardo]] ([[Floruit|fl.]] 1363); [[Francesco di Averardo de' Medici|Francesco]] (?–?), who had a son, [[Malatesta de' Medici|Malatesta]] died in 1367.</ref><br />*1270 †1319</small>
|arr=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Arrigo di Galgano de' Medici|Arrigo]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|bon=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bonagiunta di Galgano de' Medici|Bonagiunta]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1278</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||,|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|.|||,|-|^|-|.|||,|-|-|-|^|-|v|-|-|.|||,|-|^|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|arr|bon||cam|ala|ber||lap|giv||||con|sal|guc||ard
|arr=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Arrigo de' Medici|Arrigo]]</span>'''<ref>Four sons: [[Guccio di Arrigo de' Medici|Guccio]] (from which descended a line extinct in 1670 with Ottaviano), [[Filippo di Arrigo de' Medici|Filippo]] (?–?), [[Betto di Arrigo de' Medici|Betto]] ([[Floruit|fl.]] 1348), [[Ardinghello di Arrigo de' Medici|Ardinghello]] ([[Floruit|fl.]] 1345).</ref><br />*? †1348</small>
|bon=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bonino de' Medici|Bonino]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1312</small>
|cam=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Cambio de' Medici|Cambio]]</span>'''<ref>One more son: '''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giovanni di Cambio de' Medici|Giovanni]]</span>''' ([[Floruit|fl.]] 1383). Giovanni had a son, [[Antonio di Giovanni de' Medici|Antonio]] (?–1396) and a nephew, [[Felice di Antonio de' Medici|Felice]] (?–?).</ref><br />*? †~1356</small>
|ala=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Alamanno de' Medici|Alamanno]]</span>'''<br />*? †1355</small>
|ber=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bernardo di Giambuono de' Medici|Bernardo]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1322</small>
|lap=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Lippo de' Medici|Lippo]]</span>'''<ref>One son, [[Coppo di Lippo de' Medici|Coppo]], (?–?). Cfr. {{cite book|last1=Mecatti|first1= Giuseppe Maria|last2= Muratori|first2= Lodovico Antonio|year= 1755|title= Storia cronologica della città di Firenze|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5-Q_AAAAcAAJ|language=it|volume=Parte prima|location=Naples|publisher= Stamperia Simoniana|page=157|access-date= March 28, 2016}}</ref><br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1306</small>
|giv=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giovenco I de' Medici|Giovenco]]</span>'''<br />*? †1320</small>
|con=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Conte de' Medici|Conte]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1330</small>
|sal=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Salvestro detto Chiarissimo|Salvestro]]</span>'''<br />*? †1346</small>
|guc=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Guccio de' Medici|Guccio]]</span>'''<br />*1298 †1315</small>
|ard=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Ardingo de' Medici|Ardingo]]</span>'''<ref>Two more brothers unknown.</ref><br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1343</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||||Q||||!|||!|||Q|||,|-|-|-|^|-|-|.|||Q|||Q|||||||!|}}
{{tree chart|border=0||||bon||vie|sal|ber|frc|||||giu|con|ave|||||fra
|bon=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Genealogical tables of the House of Medici#Branch of Bonino di Filippo|Bonino<br />di Filippo]]<br />[[File:Octicons-arrow-small-down.svg|10px]]</span>'''</small>
|vie=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Vieri de' Medici|Vieri]]</span>'''<br />*1323 †1395</small>
|sal=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Salvestro de' Medici|Salvestro]]</span>'''<ref>Two more brothers: '''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Andrea di Alamanno de' Medici|Andrea]]</span>''' (*? †?), '''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bartolomeo di Alamanno de' Medici|Bartolomeo]]</span>''' (*? †?).</ref><br />*1331 ? †1388</small>
|ber=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Genealogical tables of the House of Medici#Branch of Bernardo di Giambuono|Bernardo<br />di Giambuono]]<br />[[File:Octicons-arrow-small-down.svg|10px]]</span>'''</small>
|frc=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Francesco di Giovenco I de' Medici|Francesco]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|giu=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giuliano I de' Medici|Giuliano I]]</span>'''<ref>One more brother: '''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Pietro di Giovenco I de' Medici|Pietro]]</span>''' (*? †?), line extinct.</ref><br />*? †1377</small>
|con=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Genealogical tables of the House of Medici#Branch of Conte di Averardo|Conte di Averardo]]</span>'''<br />[[File:Octicons-arrow-small-down.svg|10px]] </small>
|ave=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Genealogical tables of the House of Medici#Branch of Salvestro di Averardo|Salvestro di Averardo]]<br />[[File:Octicons-arrow-small-down.svg|10px]]</span>'''</small>
|fra=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Francesco di Ardingo de' Medici|Francesco]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||Q|||Q||||||Q|||,|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.|||||:|}}
{{tree chart|border=0||||||||vie|sal||||fra|ant||||||||||giu|||bon
|vie=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Genealogical tables of the House of Medici#Branch of Vieri di Cambio|Vieri di Cambio]]<br />[[File:Octicons-arrow-small-down.svg|10px]]</span>'''</small>
|sal=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Genealogical tables of the House of Medici#Branch of Salvestro di Alemanno|Salvestro di Alemanno]]<br />[[File:Octicons-arrow-small-down.svg|10px]]</span>'''</small>
|fra=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Genealogical tables of the House of Medici#Branch of Francesco di Giovenco|Francesco di Giovenco]]<br />[[File:Octicons-arrow-small-down.svg|10px]]</span>'''</small>
|giu=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giuliano II de' Medici|Giuliano II]]</span>'''<ref name="gioII">One more brother: '''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giovanni di Giuliano I de' Medici|Giovanni]]</span>''' (*? †?)</ref><br />*? †?</small>
|ant=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Antonio di Giovenco II de' Medici|Antonio]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|bon=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">?</span>'''</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||||,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|v|-|-|v|-|-|.|||Q|||||:|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|||gio|||||||||||||||ber|giu|pie|giv|cas|||fan
|gio=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giovenco di Antonio de' Medici|Giovenco]]</span>'''<br />*? †1447</small>
|ber=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bernardetto di Antonio de' Medici|Bernardetto]]</span>'''<br />*1393 †1465?</small>
|giu=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giuliano di Antonio de' Medici|Giuliano]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|pie=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Pietro di Antonio de' Medici|Pietro]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|giv=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giovanni di Antonio de' Medici|Giovanni]]</span>'''<br />*? †1475?</small>
|cas=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Genealogical tables of the House of Medici#Branch of Castellina Tornaquinci|Castellina Tornaquinci]]<br />[[File:Octicons-arrow-small-down.svg|10px]]</span>'''</small>
|fan=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Fantino de' Medici|Fantino]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1426</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||,|-|^|-|.||||,|-|-|v|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|.|||!|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|pie||gio||ant|dom|ave|||fra||||lor|giv
|pie=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Pierangelo di Giovenco de' Medici|Pierangelo]]</span>'''<br />*? †1464</small>
|gio=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giovenco di Giovenco de' Medici|Giovenco]]</span>'''<br />*? †1464?</small>
|ant=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Antonio di Bernardetto de' Medici|Antonio]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1493</small>
|dom=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Domenico di Bernardetto de' Medici|Domenico]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|ave=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Averardo di Bernardetto de' Medici|Averardo]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1513</small>
|fra=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Francesco di Bernardetto de' Medici|Francesco]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|lor=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Lorenzo di Bernardetto de' Medici|Lorenzo]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1490</small>
|giv=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giovenco di Bernardetto de' Medici|Giovenco]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||,|-|-|+|-|-|.|||,|-|-|-|^|-|-|.|||||,|-|-|+|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0||fra|brd|gio|raf|||||ber|||gal|frc|ott
|fra=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Francesco di Giovenco de' Medici|Francesco]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|brd=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bernardo di Giovenco de' Medici|Bernardo]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|gio=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giovanni di Giovenco de' Medici|Giovanni]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|raf=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Raffaele di Averardo de' Medici|Raffaele]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|ber=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bernardetto di Averardo de' Medici|Bernardetto]]</span>'''<ref>One more son: [[Francesco di Bernardetto de' Medici|Francesco]] (†1552?)</ref><br />*? †?</small>
|gal=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Galeotto di Lorenzo de' Medici|Galeotto]]</span>'''<br />*? †1528</small>
|frc=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Francesco di Lorenzo de' Medici|Francesco]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|ott=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Ottaviano de' Medici|Ottaviano]]</span>'''<br />*1482 †1546</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||,|-|^|-|.|||||!|||,|-|^|-|.||||Q|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||ave||gil|||nic|lor||fra||ott
|ave=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Averardo di Raffaele de' Medici|Averardo]]</span>'''<br />*1518 †1601</small>
|gil=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giulio di Raffaele de' Medici|Giulio]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|nic=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Nicolò di Bernardetto de' Medici|Nicolò]]</span>'''<ref>One more son [[Bernardo di Nicolò de' Medici|Bernardo]] (†1592?)</ref><br />* †1562</small>
|lor=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Lorenzo di Galeotto de' Medici|Lorenzo]]</span>'''<br />* †1568</small>
|fra=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Francesco di Galeotto de' Medici|Francesco]]</span>'''<br />*1519 †1584</small>
|ott=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Genealogical tables of the House of Medici#Branch of Ottajano|Ottajano]]<br />[[File:Octicons-arrow-small-down.svg|10px]]</span>'''</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||,|-|-|^|-|.|||!|||||,|-|^|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||otv|||giu|leo|||gal||cos
|otv=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Ottaviano di Giulio de' Medici|Ottaviano]]</span>'''<br />*1555 †1625</small>
|giu=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giulio di Giulio de' Medici|Giulio]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|leo=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Leone di Nicolò de' Medici|Leone]]</span>'''<br />* †1596</small>
|lor=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Lorenzo di Galeotto de' Medici|Lorenzo]]</span>'''<br />* †1568</small>
|cos=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Cosimo di Francesco de' Medici|Cosimo]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|gal=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Galeotto di Francesco de' Medici|Galeotto]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||,|-|^|-|.|||!||||||||||||!|}}
{{tree chart|border=0||||||||giu||raf|nic||||||||||fra
|giu=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giulio di Ottaviano de' Medici|Giulio]]</span>'''<br />*? †1626</small>
|raf=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Raffaele di Ottaviano de' Medici|Raffaele]]</span>'''<br />*? †1624</small>
|nic=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Nicolò di Giulio de' Medici|Nicolò]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|fra=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Francesco di Cosimo de' Medici (1585)|Francesco]]</span>'''<br />*1585 †1664</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||||,|-|-|+|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||||leo|ave|giu
|leo=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Leone di Nicolò de' Medici|Leone]]</span>'''<br />*? †1650</small>
|ave=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Averardo di Nicolò de' Medici|Averardo]]</span>'''<br />*? †1685</small>
|giu=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Giulio di Nicolò de' Medici|Giulio]]</span>'''<br />*? †1614</small>|
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||,|-|-|v|-|-|+|-|-|v|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||fil|fra|pie|frc|nig
|fil=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Filippo di Averardo de' Medici|Filippo]]</span>'''<br />*? †1749</small>
|fra=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Francesco di Averardo de' Medici (†1722)|Francesco]]</span>'''<br />*? †1722</small>
|pie=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Pierpaolo di Averardo de' Medici|Pierpaolo]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1737</small>
|frc=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Francesco di Averardo de' Medici (†1766)|Francesco]]</span>'''<br />*? †1766</small>
|nig=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Nicolò Giuseppe di Averardo de' Medici|Nicolò Giuseppe]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>|
}}

{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||||,|-|-|+|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||||leo|ave|fil
|leo=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Leone di Pierpaolo de' Medici|Leone]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1759</small>
|ave=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Averardo di Pierpaolo de' Medici|Averardo]]</span>'''<br />*? †1808</small>
|fil=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Filippo di Pierpaolo de' Medici|Filippo]]</span>'''<br />[[Floruit|fl.]] 1775</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||,|-|-|v|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||fil|nic|ann|r2|bin|pie
|fil=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Filippo di Averardo di Pierpaolo de' Medici|Filippo]]</span>'''<br />*? †1821</small>
|nic=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Nicola di Averardo di Pierpaolo de' Medici|Nicola]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
|ann=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Anna Maria Luisa di Averardo di Pierpaolo de' Medici|Anna Maria Luisa]]</span>'''<br />*1756 †1797</small>
|bin=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Bindo Simone Peruzzi]]</span>'''<br />*1729 †1794</small>
|pie=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Pierpaolo di Averardo di Pierpaolo de' Medici|Pierpaolo]]</span>'''<br />*? †?</small>
}}

{{tree chart|border=0||||||||||||||||||Q|}}
{{tree chart|border=0|||||||||||||||||per|
|per=<small>'''<span style="font-variant:small-caps">[[Genealogical tables of the House of Medici#Branch of Peruzzi de' Medici|Peruzzi de' Medici]]<br />[[File:Octicons-arrow-small-down.svg|10px]]</span>'''</small>
}}

{{tree chart/end}}
|headerstyle=background:#ccccff|bodystyle=text-align:center}}
</div>

This extract shows the branch that gave rise to the celebrated branch of the Medici descending from Giovanni "di Bicci", who founded the Medici fortunes:

{{Excerpt|Medici family tree|Root Medici Tree}}

This is the branch of Cosimo's brother, Lorenzo, called the "Popolano" Branch, which gave rise to the Grand-Dukes of Tuscany:

{{Excerpt|Medici family tree|Medici family tree (Grand Dukes of Tuscany)}}

==Titles==
===List of heads of the Medici===
{| width="94%" class="wikitable"
! style="width:auto;" | Portrait
! style="width:30%;" | Name
! style="width:16%;" | From
! style="width:16%;" | Until
! style="width:auto;" | Relationship with predecessor
|-
|[[File:Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici Portrait by Agnolo Bronzino.jpg|85px]]
|[[Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici]] 
|c. 1360
|February 1429
|Son of [[Averardo de' Medici]], founder of the [[Medici Bank]]
|-
|}

====''Signore'' in the Republic of Florence====
{| width="94%" class="wikitable"
! style="width:auto;" | Portrait
! style="width:30%;" | Name
! style="width:16%;" | From
! style="width:16%;" | Until
! style="width:auto;" | Relationship with predecessor
|-
|[[File:Cosimo di Medici (Bronzino).jpg|85px]]
|[[Cosimo de' Medici]] <br/>(''Pater Patriae'')
|1434
|1 August 1464
|Son of [[Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici]] who was not as prominently involved in Florentine politics, rather more involved in the financial area.
|-
|[[File:Piero di Cosimo de' Medici.jpg|85px]]
|[[Piero di Cosimo de' Medici|Piero I de' Medici]] <br/>(''Piero the Gouty'')
|1 August 1464
|2 December 1469
|Eldest son of Cosimo de' Medici.
|-
|[[File:Lorenzo de Medici.jpg|85px]]
|[[Lorenzo de' Medici|Lorenzo I de' Medici]]<br/>(''Lorenzo the Magnificent'')
|2 December 1469
|9 April 1492
|Eldest son of Piero I de' Medici.
|-
|[[File:501 Piero de Medici 02.JPG|85px]]
|[[Piero the Unfortunate|Piero II de' Medici]]<br/>(''Piero the Unfortunate'')
|9 April 1492
|8 November 1494
|Eldest son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Overthrown when [[Charles VIII of France]] invaded as a full republic was restored, first under the theocracy of [[Girolamo Savonarola]] and then statesman [[Piero Soderini]].
|-
|[[File:Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici.jpg|85px]]
|[[Pope Leo X|Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici]]
|31 August 1512
|9 March 1513
|Brother of Piero the Unfortunate, second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Elected to the Papacy, becoming Pope Leo X.
|-
|[[File:Raffaello, giuliano_de%27_medici.jpg|85px]]
|[[Giuliano de' Medici (1479-1516)|Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours]]
|9 March 1513
|17 March 1516
|Brother of Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, third son of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
|-
|[[File:Portrait of Lorenzo di Medici.jpg|85px]]
|[[Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino|Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino]]
|17 March 1516
|4 May 1519
|Nephew of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, son of Piero the Unfortunate. Father of [[Catherine de' Medici]], Queen consort of France.
|-
|[[File:Portrait of Giulio de Medici (1478 - 1534) Pope Clement VII.jpg|85px]]
|[[Pope Clement VII|Cardinal Giulio de' Medici]]
|4 May 1519
|19 November 1523
|Cousin of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, son of [[Giuliano de' Medici (1453-1478)|Giuliano de' Medici]] who was the brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Elected to the Papacy, becoming ''[[Pope Clement VII]]''.
|-
|[[File:Ippolito de' Medici.jpg|85px]]
|[[Ippolito de' Medici|Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici]]
|19 November 1523
|24 October 1529
|Cousin of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, illegitimate son of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours.
|-
|}

====Dukes of Florence====
{| width=94% class="wikitable"
! style="width:auto;" | Portrait
! style="width:30%;" | Name
! style="width:16%;" | From
! style="width:16%;" | Until
! style="width:auto;" | Relationship with predecessor
|-
|[[File:Alessandro-the-moor.jpg|85px]]
|[[Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence|Alessandro ''il Moro'']]
|24 October 1529
|6 January 1537
|Cousin of Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, illegitimate son of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino or Pope Clement VII. Acting ''signore'' during imperial [[Siege of Florence (1529–1530)|Siege of Florence]], made Duke in 1531.
|-
|[[File:Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici in armour, by Agnolo Bronzino (Uffizi Gallery, Florence).jpg|85px]]
|[[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo I]]
|6 January 1537
|21 April 1574
|Distant cousin of Alessandro de' Medici, Son of [[Giovanni dalle Bande Nere]]. ''dei Popolani'' line descended from [[Lorenzo the Elder]], Brother of Cosimo de' Medici; also great-grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent through his mother, Maria Salviati, and his grandmother, Lucrezia de' Medici. 1569, he was made Grand Duke of Tuscany.
|-
|}

====Grand Dukes of Tuscany====
{| width=94% class="wikitable"
! style="width:auto;" | Portrait
! style="width:30%;" | Name
! style="width:16%;" | From
! style="width:16%;" | Until
! style="width:auto;" | Relationship with predecessor
|-
|[[File:Agnolo Bronzino - Cosimo I de' Medici in armour - Google Art Project.jpg|110x110px]]
|[[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo I]]
|6 January 1569
|21 April 1574
|
|-
|[[File:Portrait of Francesco I de' Medici (by Alessandro Allori).jpg|111x111px]]
|[[Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Francesco I]]
|21 April 1574
|17 October 1587
|Eldest son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
|-
|[[File:Pulzone, Scipione - Ferdinando I de' Medici, granduca di Toscana - 1590.jpg|101x101px]]
|[[Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinando I]]
|17 October 1587
|17 February 1609
|Brother of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
|-
|[[File:Cristofano Allori - Cosimo II (1608-1618).jpg|85px]]
|[[Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo II]]
|17 February 1609
|28 February 1621
|Eldest son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
|-
|[[File:Sustermans, Justus - Official portrait of Ferdinando II de' Medici as Grand Duke of Tuscany.jpg|103x103px]]
|[[Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinando II]]
|28 February 1621
|23 May 1670
|Eldest son of Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
|-
|[[File:Grand Duke CosimoIII of Tuscany by van Douven.jpg|85px]]
|[[Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo III]]
|23 May 1670
|31 October 1723
|Eldest son of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
|-
|[[File:Richter, Ferdinando (copia da) - Gian Gastone de' Medici.jpg|115x115px]]
|[[Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Gian Gastone]]
|31 October 1723
|9 July 1737
|Second son of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
|}

==Coats of arms==
The origin of the Medici coat of arms is not recorded. One unproven story traces their ancestry to a knight of Charlemagne's, Averardo, who defeated a giant, Mugello. In reward, Charlemagne is said to have rewarded Averardo with the shield mauled by the giant, with the dents in the shape of balls, and the giant's lands in Mugello.

[[File:Stemmi delle Arti fiorentine, sec. XVIII - san dl SAN IMG-00003045.jpg|thumb|Florentine Guild Arms with the Moneychangers in top row 3rd]]

[[File:Blood_Orange_2.jpg|thumb|Here seen sliced in half, an art historian suggests that whole blood oranges could be the imagery in the Medici coats of arms.]]

The simplest, though also unproven, theory suggests that the balls represented coins copied from the coat of arms of the Guild of Moneychangers ([[:it:Arte del Cambio|Arte del Cambio]]) to which the Medici belonged. That shield was red strewn with Byzantine coins (bezants).<ref>{{cite book |last= de Roover |first= Raymond |title= The Medici Bank: Its Organization, Management, Operations, and Decline |publisher= Pickle Partners Publishing |year= 2017 |pages= note 1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last= Mackworth-Young |first= Rose |title= The Medici balls: Origins of the family's coat of arms |journal= The Florentine |issue= 160 |publisher= B'Gruppo Srl |location= Florence |date= 29 March 2012 |url= http://www.theflorentine.net/lifestyle/2012/03/the-medici-balls/ |access-date= 17 October 2017}}</ref> The number of balls also varied with time, as shown below. It has also been argued that these coins referenced the three coins or golden balls associated with [[St. Nicholas]], particularly as the saint was invoked by Italian bankers as they took oaths.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clare |first1=Edward G. |title=St. Nicholas: His Legends and Iconography |date=1985 |publisher=Leo S. Olschki |location=Florence |page=76}}</ref>

As an Italian vocabulary word, "medici" means "medical doctors" and identifications with the family members as physicians may be found among their names as early as the eleventh century. Fanciful stories depict the images as pills or cupping glasses, a late-medieval medical instrument used to draw blood. Pills did not exist until much later and bloodletting was not a common practice at the time of the first Medici coat of arms. Art historian Rocky Ruggiero suggests plausibly however, that the images may represent whole ripe [[blood oranges]] that typically are grown in Italy. Although knowledge of vitamins did not exist at the time, the benefit of oranges for certain diseases was recognized and their association with recommendations by medical doctors suggests to Ruggiero that this likely is the imagery intended in the coats of arms for the Medici family.<ref>Ruggiero, Rocky, Ph.D., ''[https://rockyruggiero.com/episode-93-florence-the-medici-dynasty/ Rebuilding The Renaissance, Episode 93 – Florence: The Medici Dynasty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829014209/https://rockyruggiero.com/episode-93-florence-the-medici-dynasty/ |date=2021-08-29 }}'', Making Art and History Come to Life, October 28, 2020, an audio file</ref>

Alternatively, it has been suggested that the Medici coat of arms was initially inspired by symbols drawn from Etruscan votive sculpture, examples of which feature an oval dome with balls (echoing the forms of the Medici shield), as well as six balls within a triangle (as found in the alternative, triangular version of the Medici emblem).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jelbert|first=Rebeca|date=2020|title=The Medici Coat of Arms and Etruscan Votive Sculpture|journal=The Coat of Arms |volume=3|pages=190–208}}</ref> This particular influence offers an explanation for the red hue of the Medici balls, the colour of the terracotta sculpture. It would also have reflected the family's interest in Etruscan art and culture.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gáldy|first=Andrea|title=Cosimo I de' Medici as Collector: Antiquities and Archaeology in Sixteenth-century Florence|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|date=2009|pages=46–47, 58}}</ref> In addition, the notion of Etruscan votive sculpture would have chimed with the participation of the Medici in the religious custom of offering up votive statues, a practice that recalled the ancient Etruscan convention of donating sculptures in the hope of, or gratitude for, divine favour.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Francis|title=Lorenzo de'Medici and the Art of Magnificence|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|date=2007|page=76}}</ref> Such favours would have included the wish for a strong and healthy family, both for the supplicant and their descendants.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Scopacasa|first=Rafael|date=2015|title=Moulding Cultural Change: A Contextual Approach to Anatomical Votive Terracottas in Central Italy, Fourth-Second Centuries BC|journal=Papers of the British School at Rome|volume=83|pages=1–27, 343–344|doi=10.1017/S0068246215000021 |s2cid=163129780 }}</ref>

<gallery class="center" style="font-size:88%; line-height:130%">
File:Stemma dell'arte del Cambio.svg|Arms of the Florentine Guild of Moneychangers ([[:it:Arte del Cambio|Arte del Cambio]])
File:Coat of arms of Cosimo il Vecchio (type 2).svg|Old coat of arms of the Medici used by Giovanni di Bicci and Cosimo the Elder
File:Coat of arms of the House of Medici (old) - type 2.svg|The intermediate coat of arms of the Medici, ''Or, six balls in orle gules''
File:Augmented Arms of Medici.svg|The "augmented coat of arms of the Medici, ''Or, five balls in orle gules, in chief a larger one of the arms of France'' (viz. ''Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or'') was granted by [[Louis XI]] in 1465.<ref name=Woodward162>John Woodward, ''A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry'', 1894, [https://archive.org/stream/atreatiseoneccl00woodgoog#page/n258/mode/2up p. 162]</ref>
File:Great coat of arms of the Medici di Ottajano.svg|Great coat of arms of Medici of Ottajano
File:Coat of Arms of the Grand duchy of Tuscany.svg|Coat of Arms of the Grand-Duke of Tuscany
File:Coat of arms of Medici popes.svg|Coat of arms of Medici popes
File:Coat Cardinal De Medici.svg|Coat of arms of the Medici Cardinals
File:Arms of Catherina de' Medici.svg|Coat of Arms of Catherine of Medici, as Queen of France
File:COA french queen Marie de Médicis.svg|Coat of Arms of Maria of Medici, as Queen of France
File:Coat of arms of the House of de' Medici.png|Achievement of the House of de' Medici
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Medici family tree]]
* [[List of popes from the Medici family]]
* [[Strozzi family]] (surviving), [[Pazzi conspiracy|Pazzi family]] (extinct) rivals of the Medici
* [[Castellini Baldissera|Castellini Baldissera family]] (relatives of the Medici)

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book |title=The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall |url=https://archive.org/details/houseofmediciits00hibb |url-access=registration |last= Hibbert |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Hibbert |year=1975 |publisher=Morrow |isbn=0-688-00339-7}} a highly readable, non-scholarly general history of the family
* Miles J. Unger, ''Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de Medici'', (Simon and Schuster 2008) is a vividly colorful biography of this true "renaissance man", the uncrowned ruler of Florence during its golden age
* [[Ferdinand Schevill]], ''History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance'' (Frederick Ungar, 1936) is the standard overall history of Florence
* [[Cecily Booth]], ''Cosimo I, Duke of Florence'', 1921, University Press
* [[Harold Acton]], ''The Last Medici'', Macmillan, London, 1980 [1932], {{ISBN|0-333-29315-0}}
* [[Paul Strathern]], ''The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance'' (Pimlico, 2005) is an informative and lively account of the Medici family, their finesse and foibles—extremely readable, though with a few factual and typographical errors.
* [[Lauro Martines]], ''April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici'' (Oxford University Press 2003) a detailed account of the Pazzi Conspiracy, the players, the politics of the day, and the fallout of the assassination plot. Though accurate in historic details, Martines writes with an anti-Medici tone.
* [http://www.franzarlinghaus.de/Arlinghaus%20ArtBookkeeping.pdf Accounting in Italy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620090612/http://www.franzarlinghaus.de/Arlinghaus%20ArtBookkeeping.pdf |date=2006-06-20 }}
* [[Herbert Millingchamp Vaughan]], [https://archive.org/details/medicipopesleoxc00vauguoft ''The Medici Popes'']. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1908.
* [[Jonathan Zophy]], ''A Short History of Renaissance and Reformation Europe, Dances over Fire and Water''. 1996. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Jean Lucas-Dubreton|Lucas-Dubreton, Jean]] (1961). ''Daily Life in Florence in the Time of the Medici.'' New York City: [[Macmillan Publishers]].
* [[Tim Parks|Parks, Tim]] (2005). ''Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics, and Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence.'' New York City: [[W. W. Norton & Company]]. {{ISBN|978-0393058277}}.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|House of Medici}}
* [http://www.medici.org/ The Medici Archive Project]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/04/world/florence-journal-where-the-bodies-are-buried-modern-day-medici-feud.html/ Prince Ottaviano de' Medici: Solving a 417-year-old murder mystery (May 4, 2004)]
* [http://www.florentine-society.ru/index_en.htm The Moscow Florentine Society]
* [http://beckydaroff.com/arthistory/medici/ Medici Family Tree, featuring portraits and bios of key members of the Medici Dynasty, 1400–1737]
* ''The Medici Family'', History Channel. Retrieved 8 April 2016. [http://www.history.com/topics/medici-family The Medici Family]
* [https://www.florenceinferno.com/the-medici-family/ The Medici Family of Florence]
* [https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2021/medici-portraits-and-politics The Medici: Portraits & Politics, 1512-1570] 2021 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; catalog by Keith Christiansen and Carlo Falciani {{ISBN|978-1-588-39730-0}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou | House of Medici |name='''[[Royal house]]'''}}
{{s-new}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Dynasty|Ruling house]] of the [[Duchy of Florence]] | years=1533–69 }}
{{s-non | reason=Elevated to Grand Dukes {{nowrap|of Tuscany}} }}
{{s-new | reason=Elevated from Duchy of Florence }}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Dynasty|Ruling house]] of the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]] | years=1569–1737 }}
{{s-aft | after=[[House of Lorraine]] }}
{{s-end}}

{{Medici}}
{{Catherine de' Medici}}
{{Royal houses of Italy}}
{{Banking families}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:House of Medici}}
[[Category:House of Medici| ]]
[[Category:Italian noble families|Medici]]
[[Category:Families of Florence|Medic]]
[[Category:Papal families|Medici]]
[[Category:Banking families|Medici]]
[[Category:Heads of state of Florence]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic families]]
[[Category:People from the Republic of Florence|Medici]]