The Medici's were rulers of which region of Italy from 1569 to 1739?
"letter to their father on Anna's behalf requesting him to come and visit her before she died, Anna died that same day aged only fourteen. Anna de' Medici Anna de' Medici (31 December 1569 – 19 February 1584) was the third child of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Joanna of Austria. She was a member of the famous House of Medici. Anna was the third child of Grand Duke Francesco and Archduchess Joanna. She had two surviving sisters, Eleanor, Duchess of Mantua, and Marie, Queen of France. Francesco betrothed Anna in 1578 to Charles, Margrave of"
"on April 14, 1544. However the French failed to penetrate further into Lombardy. On January 6, 1537, Alessandro de Medici, the Duke of Florence, was assassinated by his distant cousin, Lorenzino de' Medici. Alessandro had the support of the Holy Roman Empire as he was married to Charles V's daughter, Margaret. With the Duke of Florence removed, some citizens of Florence attempted to establish a republic in the city, while other pro-Medici citizens sought to install the seventeen-year-old Cosimo de' Medici as the new Duke. The republican faction raised an army under the command of Piero Strozzi. The pro-Medici faction"
"de' Medici as the first formally hereditary ruler. The Sienese commune was not incorporated into Tuscany until 1555, and during the 15th century Siena enjoyed a cultural 'Sienese Renaissance' with its own more conservative character. Lucca remained an independent Republic until 1847 when it became part of Grand Duchy of Tuscany by the will of its people. Piombino was another minor independent state, under both Spanish and Tuscan influence. For most of the 16th century the Medici ruled Florence and Tuscany quite successfully, expanding the state's territory greatly by acquiring Siena. The Medici were patrons of science and the arts"
"freedom of religion. The ducal family moved into the Palazzo Pitti in 1560. Cosimo commissioned the architect Vasari to build the Uffizi as offices for the Medici bank. Finally, Cosimo was elevated to The Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569 by Pope Saint Pius V. This effectively ended the Duchy of Florence, which became subordinate to the more elevated grand ducal title. The de' Medici continued to rule over Florence and Tuscany until their extinction in 1737 after the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici, who had no children. Alessandro de' Medici Cosimo de' Medici Duke of Florence Il Duca"
"of the city. Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re-established a republic on 16 May 1527. Restored twice with the support of both Emperor Charles V and Pope Clement VII (Giulio de Medici), the Medici in 1532 became hereditary dukes of Florence, and in 1569 Grand Dukes of Tuscany, ruling for two centuries. In all Tuscany, only the Republic of Lucca (later a Duchy) and the Principality of Piombino were independent from Florence. The extinction of the Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen, duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa of"
"Duchy of Tuscany until 1737. Florence had been under informal Medici control since 1434. During the War of the League of Cognac, the Florentines rebelled against the Medici, then represented by Ippolito de' Medici, and restored the freedom of their republic. Following the Republic's surrender in the Siege of Florence, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor issued a proclamation explicitly stating that he and he alone could determine the government of Florence. On 12 August 1530, the Emperor created the Medici hereditary rulers (""capo"") of the ""Republic"" of Florence. Pope Clement VII intended his relative Alessandro de' Medici to be the"
"III de' Medici (r. 1670-1723). The Medicis' wealth and influence was initially derived from the textile trade guided by the wool guild of Florence, the ""Arte della Lana"". Like other families ruling in Italian , the Medicis dominated their city's government, were able to bring Florence under their family's power, and created an environment in which art and humanism flourished. They and other families of Italy inspired the Italian Renaissance, such as the Visconti and Sforza in Milan, the Este in Ferrara, and the Gonzaga in Mantua. The Medici Bank, from when it was created in 1397 to its fall"
"a linguistic, cultural and geographic conception, rather than a political reality, in the 15th century, Florence extended dominion in Tuscany through the annexion of Arezzo in 1384, the purchase of Pisa in 1405 and the suppression of a local resistance there (1406). Livorno was bought in 1421 and become the harbour of Florence. In the leading city of Florence, the republic was from 1434 onward dominated by the increasingly monarchical Medici family. Initially, under Cosimo, Piero the Gouty, Lorenzo and Piero the Unfortunate, the forms of the republic were retained and the Medici ruled without a title, usually without even"
"daughter, Giulia, married firstly to Francesco Cantelmo, the Duke of Popoli, and then to Bernadetto de' Medici, the Prince of Ottajano. Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence Alessandro de' Medici (22 July 1510 – 6 January 1537) called ""il Moro"" (""the Moor"") due to his dark complexion, Duke of Penne and also Duke of Florence (from 1532), was ruler of Florence from 1531 to his death in 1537. The first Medici to rule Florence as a hereditary monarch, Alessandro was also the last Medici from the senior line of the family to lead the city. His assassination at the hands"
"Giovanni de' Medici and great-grandson, Lorenzo de' Medici. The Medici controlled the Medici Bank—then Europe's largest bank—and an array of other enterprises in Florence and elsewhere. In 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled. The next year, however, a pro-Medici Signoria (civic government) led by Tommaso Soderini, Oddo Altoviti and Lucca Pitti was elected and Cosimo returned. The Medici became the city's leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Florence remained a republic until 1537, traditionally marking the end of the High Renaissance in Florence, but the instruments of republican government were firmly under"
"generations of the Medici — Cosimo, Piero, and Lorenzo — ruled over Florence through the greater part of the 15th century. They clearly dominated Florentine representative government without abolishing it altogether. These three members of the Medici family had great skills in the management of so ""restive and independent a city"" as Florence. When Lorenzo died in 1492, however, his son Piero proved quite incapable of responding successfully to challenges caused by the French invasion of Italy in 1492, and within two years, he and his supporters were forced into exile and replaced with a republican government. Piero de' Medici"
"would hold for the next forty years, and Venice's unquestioned hegemony over the sea also led to unprecedented peace for much of the rest of the 15th century. In the beginning of the 15th century, adventurer and traders such as Niccolò Da Conti (1395–1469) traveled as far as Southeast Asia and back, bringing fresh knowledge on the state of the world, presaging further European voyages of exploration in the years to come. Until the late 14th century, prior to the Medici, Florence's leading family were the House of Albizzi. In 1293 the Ordinances of Justice were enacted which effectively became"
"a loggia, kitchens and stables. The house was inherited by a famed ""condottiere,"" or mercenary soldier, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and his wife, Maria Salviati, the parents of Cosimo, who was born in 1519, and lived in the house as a child. In 1537, the 26-year-old Duke of Florence, Alessandro de' Medici, was assassinated, and Cosimo, though he was only seventeen and a relatively unknown member of the Medici family, was elected by the influential men of Florence to replace him. They were under the impression that they could control him, but they were mistaken. In 1537, the young Cosimo"
"the overthrow of the Medici's power in 1494, and the tyrannical and puritanical rule of Girolamo Savonarola. Retaining some limited power and influence the family continued to reside at the Palazzo Pitti until finally in 1549 failing fortunes compelled Pitti's descendant Buonaccorso Pitti to sell the palazzo to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, wife of Grand Duke Cosimo I who re-enforced, the restored but hitherto wavering, power of the Medici in Florence in 1537. Luca Pitti Luca Pitti (1398–1472) was a Florentine banker during the period of the republic presided over by Cosimo de' Medici. He was a loyal friend"
"the rank of Grand Duke of Tuscany by Pope Pius V. The Medici would continue to rule in Tuscany as grand dukes until 1737. After the Battle of Marciano in 1554, the city's historical rival Siena was conquered and the only remaining territory in Tuscany not ruled from Florence was the Republic of Lucca (later a Duchy). During Renaissance Florence, mobs were both common and influential. Families were pitted against each other in a constant struggle for power. Politically, double-crossings and betrayals were not uncommon, sometimes even within families. Despite political violence, factionalism and corruption, Renaissance Florence did experiment with"
"Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (, ) was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. Tuscany was nominally a state of the Holy Roman Empire until the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Initially, Tuscany was ruled by the House of Medici until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. While not as internationally renowned as the old republic, the grand duchy thrived under the Medici and it bore witness to unprecedented economic and military success under Cosimo I"
"were also protagonists of the counter-reformation, from the beginning of the reformation through the Council of Trent and the French wars of religion. The Medici family came from the agricultural Mugello region north of Florence, and they are first mentioned in a document of 1230. The origin of the name is uncertain. ""Medici"" is the plural of ""medico"", meaning ""medical doctor"". The dynasty began with the founding of the Medici Bank in Florence in 1397. For most of the 13th century, the leading banking center in Italy was Siena. But in 1298, one of the leading banking families of Europe,"
"constituted the tiny State of the ""Presidi"" under Spanish control. In the 16th century, the Medicis, rulers of Florence, annexed the Republic of Siena, creating the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The Medici family became extinct in 1737 with the death of Gian Gastone, and Tuscany was transferred to Francis, Duke of Lorraine and husband of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, who let the country be ruled by his son. The dynasty of the Lorena ruled Tuscany until 1860, with the exception of the Napoleonic period, when most of the country was annexed to the French Empire. After the Second Italian War"
"in Ulm, Germany, and later in Rouen, France). Each time Piero the Unfortunate bailed them out. In 1500, both returned to Italy and concentrated their efforts on re-establishing their family in Florence. Only in 1512, with the assistance of Pope Julius II and the Spanish troops of Ferdinand of Aragon did the Medici retake control of the city. In 1510, while the Medici were living near Rome, a black servant in their household — identified in documents as Simonetta da Collevecchio — became pregnant, ultimately giving birth to a son, Alessandro de Medici. Nicknamed “il Moro” (“the Moor”) due to"
"Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), (12 September 1492 – 4 May 1519) was the ruler of Florence from 1516 until his death in 1519. He was also Duke of Urbino during the same period. His daughter Catherine de' Medici became Queen Consort of France, while his illegitimate son, Alessandro de' Medici, became the first Duke of Florence. Lorenzo was born in Florence on 12 September 1492, a son of Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici and Alfonsina Orsini. His paternal grandparents were Lorenzo the Magnificent and Clarice Orsini. His maternal grandparents were Roberto Orsini,"
"Lorraine through Claude of Valois. In 1534, following a lengthy illness, Pope Clement VII died - and with him the stability of the Medici's ""senior"" branch. In 1535, Ippolito Cardinal de' Medici died under mysterious circumstances. In 1536, Alessandro de' Medici married Charles V's daughter, Margaret of Austria; however, the following year he was assassinated by a resentful cousin, Lorenzino de' Medici. The deaths of Alessandro and Ippolito enabled the Medici's ""junior"" branch to lead Florence. The outstanding figure of the 16th-century Medici family was Cosimo I, who rose from relatively modest beginnings in the Mugello to attain supremacy over"
"threatened to expose the true nature of their power base and they wished to discredit him. The 10-month Siege of Florence (1529–1530) by the Spanish ended the Republic of Florence and Alessandro de' Medici became the ruler of the city. The siege brought the destruction of its suburbs, the ruin of its export business and the confiscation of its citizens' wealth. Alessandro, who ruled from 1531 to 1537, was the first Medici to use the style Duke of Florence, a title arranged for him in 1532 by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. In 1569, Duke Cosimi I was elevated to"
"elsewhere. In 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled. The next year, however, saw a pro-Medici Signoria elected and Cosimo returned. The Medici became the town's leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Florence remained a republic until 1537, traditionally marking the end of the High Renaissance in Florence, but the instruments of republican government were firmly under the control of the Medici and their allies, save during the intervals after 1494 and 1527. Cosimo and Lorenzo rarely held official posts, but were the unquestioned leaders. Cosimo de' Medici was highly popular among the"
"in Naples after 1576. His son Alessandro (died 1606) was Lord of Ottaiano and General of the Papal States. His descendants unsuccessfully claimed the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany after the extinction of the main branch of the Medici family. Bernadetto de' Medici Bernadetto de' Medici (died after 1576) was an Italian patrician who moved from Florence to Naples. A member of a cadet branch of the Medici family (the one later called the Princes of Ottajano), he was the son of Ottaviano de' Medici and Bartholomea Giugni. In 1559, he married Giulia de' Medici, the illegitimate daughter of"
"grandson Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1737. Her only granddaughter Electress Palatine Anna Maria Luisa willed the contents of the Medici properties to the Tuscan state in 1743. The so-called ""Family Pact"" ensured that Medicean art and treasures spanning over nearly three centuries would remain in Florence along with what was once Rovere's inheritance. Vittoria della Rovere Vittoria della Rovere (7 February 1622 – 5 March 1694) was Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. She had four children with her husband, two of whom would survive infancy: the future Cosimo"
"those descended from Cosimo the Elder — were able to rule until the assassination of Alessandro de' Medici, first Duke of Florence, in 1537. This century-long rule was interrupted only on two occasions (between 1494–1512 and 1527–1530), when anti-Medici factions took control of Florence. Following the assassination of Duke Alessandro, power passed to the ""junior"" Medici branch — those descended from Lorenzo the Elder, the youngest son of Giovanni di Bicci, starting with his great-great-grandson Cosimo I ""the Great."" Cosimo and his father started the Medici foundations in banking and manufacturing – including a form of franchises. The family's influence"
"since 1434 when Cosimo ""Il Vecchio"" de Medici (also known by his supporters as ""Pater Patriae"", or ""Father of his country""), returned to the city from his short-lived exile in the Republic of Venice by the Alberti and Strozzi families who were also political rivals of the Medici family. The duchy would bolster de' Medici power and influence in the region, which had just a few years prior been restored by Emperor Charles V after political upheaval against the de' Medici pope and de' Medici rulers of Florence in 1527. Alessandro is also believed by historians to have been the"
"spread by enemies of the Medici. Various paintings are extant, by Alessandro Allori (see above). Another painting with a right profile, also attributed to Allori, is owned by the Carnegie Museum of Art and has been uncovered and refurbished in 2014, having had a Victorian era face painted over. Isabella de' Medici Isabella Romola de' Medici (31 August 1542 – 16 July 1576) was the daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleonora di Toledo. She was raised and educated in a humanist manner with her siblings, including Francesco de' Medici who succeeded their father"
"Gian Giacomo Medici Gian Giacomo Medici (25 January 1498 – 8 November 1555) was an Italian condottiero, Duke of Marignano and Marquess of Musso and Lecco in Lombardy. Gian Giacomo Medici was the brother of Giovanni Angelo Medici, who was later to be elected Pope as Pius IV. They were scions of an impoverished though patrician family of Milan not connected with the Medici of Florence, in spite of the Medici heraldic ""palle"" appearing in the contemporary engraving (""illustration""): thus the nickname ""Il Medeghino"", the ""little Medici"". Gian Giacomo, the eldest of fourteen children, was banished from Milan after a"
"Pietro de' Medici Don Pietro de' Medici (3 June 1554 – 25 April 1604) was the youngest son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora di Toledo. Early in 1571 he went to Rome and in the spring of 1575 he went to Venice. In 1571 he married his first cousin Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo, whom he accused of adultery and strangled with a dog leash in July 1576 at the Villa Medici at Cafaggiolo. He also had her supposed lover Bernardino Antinori imprisoned and killed. At the end of 1577, he went for the"
"9 July 1737, ending almost 300 years of Medici rule over Florence. For the latter part of his reign, Gian Gastone chose to remain confined in his bed, tended by his entourage, the ""Ruspanti"". On 24 May 1671, the first anniversary of his grandfather Ferdinando II's death, Giovanni Battista Gastone de' Medici was born in Florence to Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans. He derived his baptismal name, Giovanni Battista Gastone, from his maternal grandfather, Gaston, Duke of Orléans. Cosimo and Marguerite Louise frequently quarreled. As a result, four years after his birth, Marguerite Louise returned home to"
"Bernardetto who bought from Gonzaga in 1567 the fiefdom of Ottaviano, located near Naples. Over the centuries, this remaining House of Medici has reached a leading position in the aristocracy of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Among the members of the dynasty are leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, ambassadors, cardinals (Francesco de' Medici Ottaiano), a pope, and Don Luigi de' Medici, representative of the Kingdom of Naples at the Congress of Vienna. In his book ""The History of My Dynasty,"" Ottaviano de' Medici points to Vatican law at the time and claims that either the Medici Princes of Ottaiano"
"now at the National Gallery, London. Work by Donatello was also displayed in the Palazzo, namely the statues ""David"", displayed in the courtyard, and ""Judith and Holofernes"", displayed in the garden. Palazzo Medici Riccardi The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi after the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy. It is the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence and a museum. The palace was designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo de' Medici, head of the Medici banking family, and was built between 1444 and 1484. It was"