Family In The Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance was a time when people prospered, in which artists, Inventors, and scientists founded the concepts that helped create the modern world as we know it. Although, behind the great minds of the Renaissance were powerful families, in Florence, and Rome. One family helped fuel the Renaissance with their power and wealth, and another corrupt and power hungry. The Medici’s were one of the most powerful and wealthiest family in Florence due to the Medici Bank. They would lend money to many people, such as foreign princes, The Church, and Florence itself. The leader at the height of their rule was Lorenzo de Medici. He came to power after his father died in 1464, and the people of Florence chose him to take over. They were not mistaken, as “Lorenzo brought traditions of learning and and artistic patronage to a new level.” (Walker) This ultimately gave him the title of Lorenzo il Magnifico which means Lorenzo the Magnificent. Although, tragedy struck in 1478, when a Florentine family, the Pazzi’s, entered a conspiracy with Pope Sixtus IV to overthrow the Medici family. On Easter Sunday of that year, at the Santa Maria del Fiore, the famous Duomo of Florence, the Pazzi struck, and the priest stabbed Lorenzo’s brother Giuliano and a member of the Pazzi Family finished the kill with 18 stabs with a dagger. Lorenzo would survive this, and the people of Florence, outraged, hung the conspirators. However, in 1482, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned by Lorenzo to create a silver lyre and “[...] bring it as a peace gesture to Ludovico Sforza, who ruled Milan as its regent.” (Wilde)
Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452. He had a lengthy
The Italian Renaissance. New York: Facts on File, 1995. Print.
"Leonardo da Vinci." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 17 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
Wilde, Robert. "Who Were the Borgias and Why are they Perfect TV Show Material?" ThoughtCo. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr.