Florence and the Medici
Florence was in the Renaissance a very stable and developed city. In fact, it became the cultural center of the western world. It was the center of wool trade in Europe, while the political power was led by wealthy merchants. These merchants built many buildings that were known for their beauty at that time.The family Medici were one of these people who contributed their wealth to the city. The Medici moved from the Mugello Valley into Florence in 1150 AD. In 1397 Giovanni de Medici established the headquarters of Florence. This founded on the wealth of the Medici. The Medici were merchants, cardinals, popes, and bankers. They even had their own bank, the Medici bank. When Giovanni died, his son Cosimo took over the
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However, Cosimo was not only a businessman. He loved books and opened his own library to public. He supported scholars and arts as well by buying their arts and manuscripts and in return they promised him with aids. Cosimo had two sons; the first one, Piero ruled the city as well, but concentrated more on the financial business. His son Lorenzo had the greatest impact on Florence. He was not yet twenty years old, he ruled already Florence because Piero died early. He faced many problems such as the cities Milan, Naples and Venice who maintained strong and gained for more power. Lorenzo created a balance of power between those cities and this ensured Florence´s establishment. However, he faced another problem, which was the Pope. Pope Sixtus IV had his own ally like the Pazzi family who were strong business conquerors of the Medici. With the help of the Pazzi´s, Pope Sixtus IV bought a court near Florence and tried to put one of his archbishops on the court. Lorenzo, was enraged by this akt and he mandated to kill the archbishop immediately. He soon brought Pope Sixtus IV up against him which meant that Sixtus sent Naples Ruler to eliminate Lorenzo and the city. Lorenzo managed to disarm this and soon, Naples and