Florence, Italy
Visited July 2011
For a change of pace this post goes back a-ways in time to
consider one of the great figures of the fifteenth century – Lorenzo de
Medici. Also known in his time by the less
than humble nickname ‘Lorenzo the Magnificent’, this banker, statesman and
patron of the arts was the quintessential ‘Renaissance Man’. In fact, Lorenzo the Magnificent straddles
the intersection of the Italian Renaissance, the dawn of the Age of Exploration
and the Protestant Reformation in a remarkably unique way.
By the time Lorenzo de Medici was born in January 1449, the
Medici’s were already the dominant family in the Tuscan region of central Italy. Under the Medici clan, Florence became one of
the great cultural and economic centers in Europe, rivaling Rome for power and
influence. The Medici family dynasty had
begun under Lorenzo’s grandfather Cosimo, who parlayed a banking fortune into
political influence and governing control.
The Italian peninsula of the Middle Ages was divided into regional
feudal states vying for economic power.
Under Cosimo ‘The Great’, Florence gained ascendency through trade,
amassing great wealth in the process.
The Medici were essentially the personal bankers for the Pope, which
gave them outsized influence in and beyond their region.
Lorenzo’s father, Piero ‘the Gouty’, parlayed the family
fortunes into an investment in the arts at just about the same time that a great
renewal of interest in classical arts and literature was taking place. This investment established Florence as a
creative center for the emerging Renaissance that would eventually sweep across
Europe. Lorenzo was the gifted son of
five children and took over primary control of the family concerns at age 20
upon the death of his father.
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| Me and my daughter Kelsey overlooking Florence |
Lorenzo had a long and eventful ride as head of the Medici
empire. As effective Lord over Florence,
he ruled the city in his early years with strong arm. These early years were also characterized by
international political intrigue and civil war as Lorenzo sought to consolidate
his power over other clans and expand his influence beyond his region. The darkest period of Lorenzo’s career
occurred in the 1480’s when a falling out with the Vatican led to his
excommunication from the church and a siege of Florence by Papal forces. Lorenzo was able to extract his city from the
crisis through negotiation, which led to his return to the church and relative
security for Florence. The latter years
of Lorenzo’s political career were a marked contrast to his aggressive youth,
where he used his influence relationships to maintain stability and rebuild the
economic prominence of the Florentine regime.
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| Basilica of San Lorenzo |
As remarkable as his political career was, it was through
his patronage of the arts that he made his true mark. As naturally adept in politics as his career
displays, Lorenzo also had an artistic side.
He dabbled in painting but became somewhat known for his poetry. His devotion to the contemplative arts led to
his nickname ‘Lorenzo the Thoughtful’. Lorenzo
took personal interest in promoting the careers of Botticelli, Da Vinci, Donatello
and numerous other artists – even having Michelangelo living with him for five
years. Lorenzo was primarily responsible
for getting Michelangelo the commission to paint the Sistine Chapel. He also used is resources to collect books
and manuscripts which in time were collected in the Laurentian Library of the
Church of San Lorenzo (designed by Michelangelo) which is one of the world’s
great libraries not only for its architecture but for its collection of
classical and early Christian literature.
It can fairly be said there is no Italian Renaissance without the
intentional vision, underwriting and encouragement of Lorenzo the
Magnificent.
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| Painting by Ghirlandaio depicting the Confirmation of the Rule of St Francis, (1485) at Santa Trinita Sassetti Chapel in Florence. The Medici family are prominent in the painting - Lorenzo to the far right. |
One of the more fascinating aspects of Lorenzo’s later years
was his dealing with the Italian religious reformer Savonarola. Even though the message of this
self-proclaimed prophet attacked the types of autocratic rule that the Medici’s
had developed into an art form, Lorenzo sought spiritual counsel from Savonarola
throughout the latter part of his life. Savonarola
was with Lorenzo at the time of his death.
However, he fell out of favor with Lorenzo’s son and heir Piero (‘the
Unfortunate’) and was eventually branded at heretic of the church and burned in
the Florence Square.
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| Savonarola preaching |
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| Lorenzo's crypt in Basilica San Lorenzo. Photos are not allowed so this is a stock image. |
As we’ve seen, Lorenzo de Medici was at the center of the
Renaissance. His passing coincided with
the beginning of the Age of Exploration that led to a radical redefinition of
the political and economic landscape of Europe.
And his ties to the Reformation are also intriguing. In addition to his association with the proto-reformer
Savonarola, Lorenzo indirectly contributed to the emergence of
Protestantism. Through political intrigue,
his son Giovanni was elevated to the papacy in 1513 and is generally considered
to have been a disastrous and corrupt pope.
In his devotion to artistic splendor and extravagance, he pressed
forward the grand design of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. However, being short of funds for the work he
decreed the sale of indulgences by which people could buy themselves and others
out of purgatory for a price paid to Rome.
It was this practice of purchasing salvation that so troubled a devote
monk in Germany that he began a campaign to reform it. The 95 Theses nailed to the door of Wittenberg
Cathedral by Martin Luther began as a protest and ended as the
Reformation.
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| Michelangelo's statue of Lorenzo 'the Thoughtful' on his crypt |
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| View of the Medici Chapel from our hotel in Florence |
My encounter with Lorenzo’s tomb was somewhat unexpected. On a trip to Florence with my daughter Kelsey, her friend, and my brother we stayed at a little hotel not too far from the Duomo. Outside our window was a multi-story octagonal structure connected to a large but not particularly ornate Basilica. It was somewhat underwhelming by Florentine standards. On the second of two days of touring we decided to try to get in and see what was there. We walked around the entire building until we finally found an entrance to what looked like a small museum. Paying a small fee, we went in to check it out and were mildly impressed by some of the artifacts from the Medici family.
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| Interior of the Medici Chapel |
We were about to leave when I noticed a sign that pointed the direction to the ‘chapel’. Out of curiosity, we followed the sign and found ourselves in the octagonal structure we’d seen outside our window. Inside it was a breathtakingly magnificent chapel (the Chapel of the Princes) adorned with semi-precious stones inlaid in marble of various colors. Full-scale statuary by Michelangelo and others fill every wall but the entrance and the altar area. Reading about the chapel later it turns out that original plan was to buy or steal the Holy Sepulcher from Jerusalem and put it in the center of the floor, but that plan never worked. Leaving this beautiful space, we discovered another small hallway that led unexpectedly to the ‘New Sacristy’. It is here where Lorenzo and his brother Guiliano are buried in marble crypts designed and carved by Michelangelo. It truly is a must see on any tour of Florence.
In recent times there has been considerable talk about the ‘Medici Effect’ based on the popular business and leadership book, The Medici Effect by Frans Johanssen. The book’s title derives from Lorenzo’s gift for creating an environment multi-disciplinary creativity for the flourishing of innovation in arts and sciences.
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| Lorenzo (left) in virtual combat in the video game 'Assassin's Creed'. For a nice graphic depiction of Lorenzo's world check out this short video from the game dealing with the Medici Cape |
