If it were not for the Medici family, some of the most famous artists may not have flourished and their artworks created nor protected.
The Medici family were successful bankers, in todays money they would be worth $129 billion. The Medici were patrons of Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Machiavelli, Galileo and Francesco Redi among many others in the arts and sciences.
The Medici financed the construction of Saint Peter's Basilica and Santa Maria del Fiore and it is also claimed they funded the invention of the piano and opera.
The family produced 4 popes, 2 Queens of France and 3 French Kings. They were crowned Grand Dukes of Tuscany.
The last Medici heir, Anna Maria Luisa Medici willed all the personal property of the Medici to the Tuscan state providing nothing was to be removed from Florence. Three centuries of art, palaces and treasures collected by the Medici form a large inventory in all the Museums of Florence along with the buildings of the Uffizi Gallery and Pitti Palace themselves
A nice series that highlights the Medici and gives an introduction to Florentine history - Season 1 Medici Masters of Florence, Series 2&3 The magnificent






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