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[[File:Medici Three.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|Cosimo De Medici]]
What were the contributions of the de Medici family to the Renaissance in Italy during the fifteenth century? The de Medicis were the effective rulers of the Florentine Republic in the 15th century, and they later became the ruling house of Florence in the 16th and 17th century. The family, especially in the fifteenth century made a decisive contribution to the Renaissance in Italy.
This contribution was through their patronage of the arts in their native Florence and their policies that favored peace and stability in Italy. The de Medicis made a real and telling contribution to the arts, politics, and stability of Italy and encouraged the intellectual and cultural flourishing that became known as the Renaissance.
However, the De Medici business fortunes began to falter, and this ultimately weakened their hold on Florence. Lorenzo and the Medici survived a plot to kill them and seize power in 1474.<ref>Schevill, p. 115</ref> After Lorenzo died, his son became head of Florence but he was incompetent, and he provoked a popular uprising against the family, and this led to their expulsion from Florence from 1494-1512. The Family was restored to Florence in 1512, and they eventually became the Dukes of Florence. However, the glory days were gone, the later de Medici was not as powerful or as rich as their predecessors, and Florence became a political and cultural backwater.<ref>Paul Strathern, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1844130983/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1844130983&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a398a7e529dca0fff02bd3e08ca6b25a The Medici—Godfathers of the Renaissance]</i> (London, Pimlico, 2005), p. 213</ref>
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====de Medici and Florence====
In the 15th century when the de Medici was at the height of their powers, they dominated Florence.<ref> Lauro Martines, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019517609X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=019517609X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=654c7c84b58e8d9216a561104ef011e1 April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici]</i> (Oxford, Oxford University Press 2003, p. 114)</ref> However, they were eager to appear as first among equals, they went to great lengths to allow the other noble and wealthy families to secure many of the offices in the City-Republic’s government.<ref> Schevill, p. 115</ref> This reconciled many of them to the domination of their Republic by one family. The de Medici were fabulously wealthy at least until the 1480s, and their wealth was able to smooth out any difficulties that they had experienced and the City of Florence experienced a period of peace and stability because of the de Medici's wealth. This period of tranquility was unique in the city’s history that well-known for its political turbulence. The de Medici brought stability to the city and this allowed trade to flourish and also the arts. The stability that the de Medici provided allowed Florence to become a cultural center.
====De Medici as Patrons====
[[File:Medici Two.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|Lorenzo the Magnificent]]
All of the de Medici had an interest in the arts in the fifteenth century and art was used to legitimize the family's rule of Florence. The works commissioned by the family often sought to raise the status of the family in the city. They used art to fortify their position in Florentine Society. However, the family was also genuinely fond of art, architecture, and literature. Cosimo was very knowledgeable about architecture and Lorenzo the Magnificent was a connoisseur of paintings and sculptures.
The Medici’s used their lavish wealth to patronize many of the greatest artists of the time. The family was directly responsible for some of the greatest works in the Renaissance. Cosimo the Elder was the patron of the great architect Bruneschelli, and it was under De Medici orders that he built the great Medici Sacristy in the Church of San Lorenzo. It was Cosimo who ordered the building of the great De Medici Palace with its magnificent paintings by Uccello. It was Cosimo who also commissioned Donatello's, Bronze of David, one of the most influential pieces of sculpture in the period.<ref> Hibbert, p. 134</ref>
Lorenzo was equally lavish in his patronage of artists and the commissioning of great works of art. He is widely seen as perhaps the greatest patron of the arts in Renaissance Italy, but this view has been challenged in recent decades. He also commissioned works from great artists such as Botticelli, Perugino, Ghirlandaio, and Verrocchio. Moreover, Lorenzo established a sculpture garden at San Marco, where he encouraged the young Michelangelo to study works from the Classical Period. Michelangelo produced his first significant works under the patronage of Lorenzo.<ref>Miles, p 145</ref> Michelangelo formed part of Lorenzo’s household, and he treated artists as the equals of humanist scholars and poets.
Lorenzo's treatment of articles was unprecedented in Republican Florence, where painters and sculptors had only been ranked as mere tradesmen or common craftsmen.'<ref> Miles, 117</ref> This treatment raised the status of the artists in the eyes of Florentine society and this was to produce an environment where they had more freedom of expression, and this enabled them to produce many great artworks.<ref>Strathern, p 65</ref> Lorenzo not only patronized these great artists but they also patronized many humanists and writers and they all helped to make Florence a leading intellectual center. Ironically, it has been suggested that the de Medici’s lavish expenditure on the arts and buildings led to their financial difficulties from the 1480s onwards, which contributed to their ‘expulsion from the city in 1494.<ref>Miles, p 134 </ref>
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====Related Articles====
*[[What was the Borgias contribution to Renaissance Italy?]]
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====Conclusion====
The de Medici during their rule of Florence in the fifteen century did much to influence the Renaissance and to enable the great artists, humanists, and writers, to produce their works that have been so influential down the centuries. The family brought stability and peace to the city of Florence. This was crucial in the cultural flourishing in the city in the fifteenth century. The de Medici largely peaceful rule did much to promote the Renaissance in the city. They also in their relations with the other city-states did much to bring peace to North Italy. Then the de Medici was very instrumental in the growing interest in Greek culture and history.
Cosimo de Medici and his policies promoted, unintentionally, the study of the works of the Greeks. This was to move the Renaissance in new directions, especially under the influence of Neoplatonism. Then there was the patronage of the de Medici; the family directly helped many great artists to produce many new and great works of art. Lorenzo the Magnificent especially helped to raise the status of the artists in Florentine society. By the time of their expulsion in 1494, the family had made a significant contribution to the development of the Renaissance, which has been crucial in the evolution of the modern world.
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====References====
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