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[[File:916vWFgtTnL. SY445 .jpg|thumb|left|250px|TV Poster]]__NOTOC__The series <i>Medici: Master of Florence </i> is a family drama of the famous Medici household that shaped the Italian Renaissance in the 15th century and continued continues to be influential long after. The series begins with the death of the household patriarch, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici who may have died of poisoning, and the subsequent control of the family business by Cosimo de' Medici, who then led the household along with his brother Lorenzo de' Medici. This article examines the historical accuracy of the first season of the series.

====What story does the show tell?Key Plot====The series begins with the poisoning of Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici and Cosimo Cosomo de' Medici , his son, taking over the by then well -known and established Medici bank. By this time, the business was flourishing and among the largest in Europe with branches in many cities. The family also had close connections with the papacy, as they were responsible for the finances of the Pope. Throughout the series, flashbacks show Giovanni training his children, Cosimo and Lorenzo, in the family banking business. Giovanni was also obsessed with and being very controlling his childrens' of their lives, including who they could marry. Cosimo was influenced to marry Contessina de' Bardi, which ended up being a sometimes strained marriage, although Contessina was loyal to Cosimo. Lorenzo also had great tension with his father, also involving his love life.

Two key plots play throughout the first season. First, Cosimo was elected to an important seat in the Signoria of Florence, which was effectively its government. His election to the Signoria This caused great jealousy among his rivals, namely Rinaldo degli Albizzi, who headed the Albizzi family. Second, The second key plot was the murder of Cosimo's father was murdered and it that was investigated by Marco Bella, a close family associate. The rising power of Cosimo creates a power struggle great jealousy among some of the Signoria, with Rinaldo eventually successfully accusing Cosimo of usury. While Although they fail to have Cosimo avoids being sentenced to death -, he was is exiled to Venice.

After some time, Cosimo returns to Florence as things turned poorly for the city, where it was in financial difficulty and mercenaries were causing trouble, leading them to invite back Cosimo to the Signoria. In his return, Cosimo eventually is successful in exiling his Albizzi rival, who had taken control of the government in Florence. Tensions in the investigation of Cosimo's father 's murder boil over as first Lorenzo and then Marco are accusedby an increasingly distrustful Cosimo.  Meanwhile, Albizzi himself is and his son are murdered as he tries by mercenaries during their journey into exile. Rumors swirl that Cosimo was the one who ordered the killings in order to begin revenge himself against his rival whilst still appearing magnanimous by publicly calling for exile, which implicates rather than execution. Adding to this suspicion is the fact that Cosimo since he was seen as his main rivalhad recently met with the mercenaries to pay them off so that they might leave Florence. However Cosimo, though, tells the Pope that it was a plot by likely Jacopo de' Pazzi, another a rival banker, who contracted the mercenaries so that he might take over the Papal banking accounts from a Medici family now tainted by accusations of murder. Cosimo funds an army to retake Rome and reinstall the displaced Pope there in an attempt to keep control of the accounts, but the Pope continues to maintain that the Papal banker cannot be a murderer. To this, Cosimo produces a letter from Pazzi implicating him in the murder of a member of the Signoria and prominent family head showing him to be in Florenceleague with their enemies. He had Albizzi killed The pope then has little choice but to try to frame Cosimo so he could take keep the banking account of accounts with the PapacyMedici. This failed when  Although the Medici have become Florence's premier family, it has not come without a letter is uncovered that implicated Pazzicost. Lorenzo, Cosimo's brother, however, was has been killed after he and Marco captured a in the mission to find proof of Pazzi assassin. Nevertheless, 's involvement in the Medici family gains prominence again as they regain murder of the Pope's favor and ultimately Signoria member. And Marco has left Florence's, seemingly for good, in response to Cosimo having suspected him of killing his father Giovanni.  The mystery of that murder of Giovanni is finally uncovered revealed when Ugo, the Medici's close banking associate who kept recordsbank's long-serving functionary, Ugo, confessed remembers to murdering Giovanni because himself how he was ordered chose to kill a lover of LorenzoGiovanni when he could longer stomach his disregard for other people, including those loved by his children. The straw that broke the proverbial camel's that back came when Ugo was ordered to take away the woman pregnant with Lorenzo's child. His regret in this led him to kill Giovannia home for unwed mothers where she and the baby ended up perishing.

[[File:1200px-Florence Duomo from Michelangelo hill.jpg|thumbthumbnail|left|250px|Figure 1. The dome was designed and built by Brunelleschi, who was supported by Cosimo.]]Cosimo de' Medici (1389-1464): The series depicts him as a wise and cunning head of the Medici family who also began the tradition of patronizing the arts that the Medici family became known for in the Renaissance. Historically, this was certainly the case and he was often seen as the first great head of the Medici family in the Renaissance period, although his father Giovanni helped to establish the Medici bank. The series shows Cosimo learning much from his father, but family tension also created a sometimes strained relationship.  In particular, Giovanni was keen on having his sons, in particular, Cosimo, marry women that provided greater power to their family. Cosimo's love of the arts was shown early on, although his father was seen as someone who discouraged such pursuits. Cosimo is historically known to have commissioned Donatello's David, which was a controversial piece for its time. He is shown as supporting Filippo Brunelleschi in his work in completing the great dome of Florence's cathedral. While Cosimo's support is accurate, others in Florence also support Brunelleschi in his masterpiece (Figure 1).<ref>For more on Cosimo, see: Kent, D. V. (2000). <i>Cosimo de’ Medici and the Florentine Renaissance: the patron’s oeuvre</i>. New Haven: Yale University Press.</ref>

The series has a mixed record in depicting historical events. Many of the buildings, for instance, the famous Florence Duomo, was shown, but the facade depicted was not built until the 19th century. The series takes liberty with some important historical facts, such as how characters, including Lorenzo, Giovanni, and Albizzi died, but in reality, all of them died a natural deathdeaths. Cosimo's wife probably was not as involved in politics as depicted, given that society was very patriarchal at this time, although she may have used some indirect influence. The Albizzi was shown as being against the type of art the Medici tried to promote and actively tried to stop work on the dome in the cathedral, but we know little about this.<ref>For more on the Medici family history and Florence's history, see: Hale, J. R. (2001). <i>Florence and the Medici</i> (New ed). London: Phoenix.</ref>

Other facts are at least partially accurate, such as the exile of Cosimo, the decision to exile AbruzziAlbizzi, and the war with Milan shown. Venice was, in fact, where Cosimo did go into exile. Furthermore, this likely was the main reason why Cosimo was invited back to Florence, as Cosimo had withdrawn his banking activities from Florence, helping to enrich Venice as capital began to flow there. The slave Cosimo obtains as a gift from Venice, Maddalena, did exist and he did, in fact, father a son with her, who did later become an important priest supported by the Medici family despite being illegitimate.<ref>For more on Cosimo's family history, see: Ewart, K. D. (2006). <i>Cosimo De’ Medici</i>. New York: Cosimo Classics.</ref>