“All those things have given me the greatest satisfaction and contentment because they are not only for the honour of God but are likewise for my own remembrance,” – Cosimo de’ Medici

The Medicis were a rich, powerful family who governed Florence as it became the intellectual and artistic powerhouse of the Italian Renaissance. Rulers rather than monarchs, the House of Medici became the largest of its kind in Europe, and over a span of three hundred years Medici power grew through a combination of banking wealth and political manoeuvring.

Despite producing four popes, the Medicis are frequently regarded as the godfathers of the Renaissance. They governed  ruthlessly, often using corruption to achieve political ends. But violence breeds violence and in 1478 Lorenzo di Medici’s brother Giuliano was assassinated in front of 10,000 people at an Easter church service at the Duomo of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore.

Famous for both financing and fostering the arts, work the Medicis commissioned included that of Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, and the architect Brunelleschi. They also supported scientists such as Galileo who dedicated four of the moons of Jupiter he discovered to Medici children. Over the course of the Renaissance the House of Medici transformed both the Florentine city-state and the world of art forever. If you want dynastic intrigue the Medicis are it!