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Patricians and
Nobles of the Italian
Renaissance
Chapter One
Perhaps no family offers a better example of the wealth and power
wielded by the upper class of the Italian Renaissance than the Medicis
of Florence. Members of the Medici family could trace their roots to the
early 1200s, but it was under Cosimo de’ Medici, born in 1389, that
the Medicis emerged among the richest and most politically powerful
families in Europe.
e Medicis were a banking family. e family’s fortunes grew after
Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici moved his small family bank from Rome
to Florence in 1397. e Medicis were savvy bankers and soon garnered
great wealth and influence in Florence. Giovanni died in 1428; his son,
Cosimo—then thirty-nine years old—took over the bank, soon expand-
ing the family’s interests into farming and trade. Medici-owned busi-
nesses exported silk and woolen goods to Russia, Spain, Scotland, and
Syria. e Medicis also imported goods for sale in European cities, deal-
ing in such commodities as almonds, spices, and sugar.
To maintain his power and fortune, Cosimo was willing to resort to
strong-arm tactics. In 1441, when a political rival, Baldaccio d’Anghiari,
was believed to be planning a conspiracy against Cosimo, the Medici pa-
triarch had his enemy tossed out of a very high window. Just to make sure
Baldaccio did not survive the fall, Cosimo’s henchmen chopped off his
head. Says historian Will Durant, “Cosimo used his power with shrewd
moderation, tempered with occasional violence.”
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