The Medici rose from an obscure clan of suckups to become the dominant family in Florence, pulling the strings and becoming secret dictators of the Banker’s Republic. Guile, cunning, a little bit of luck, and a lot of finance shenanigans. They were sponsors of the Renaissance, or so they claimed…

But not every heir is a winner. When the bank starts falling apart, the family will go down with it. Can the Republic be saved??

This is a long one, buckle up.

we cover:

Giovanni Di Bicci de’Medici

Cosimo the Elder

Lorenzo the Magnificent

Piero the Loser

AND Griolamo Savonarola’s Dominican radicalism.

notes:

De Re Uxoria

https://www.itergateway.org/sites/default/files/OV42extract.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Barbaro_(politician)

The Family Medici by Mary Hollingsworth

http://pegasusbooks.com/books/the-family-medici-9781681776484-hardcover

The Guilds are strong, but not equal. The merchants are bringing great wealth to the city, but not everyone benefits. The politics are glamorous, but not everyone takes part. The situation is ripe for an uprising.

This episode is so beefy.

1350-1390

The city encounters problems stemming from its own ambition and a foreigner is invited to take temporary control, but he exacerbates a growing class divide, sparking uprisings, all under the shadow of the Pestilence. Meanwhile the bankers turn the crisis to their advantage.

1300-1350