BIOGRAPHIES: THE HOUSE OF MEDICI

A family of #bankers, #merchants and #politicians that dominated the Florentine scene from the 1430s to 1737.

Its members included Cosimo the Elder, Lorenzo the Magnificent and Duke Alessandro (Tuscany). With two #Popes in the family (Leo X and Clement VI), coinciding with such interesting and turbulent periods in Europe as the reign of Charles V, the disputes between the Catholic and Protestant #Churches or the advice of Machiavelli himself, it was one of the most influential families in the history of Europe, even reaching the thrones of #France and #Spain through marriage agreements (Catalina, Maria and Isabel).

Patrons of the fine arts, literature and architecture, they were patrons of, among others, #Leonardo da Vinci, #Michelangelo and #Botticelli.