Cosimo di Medici, "il vecchio"

1389 - 1464  (75 years)    Has 27 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Cosimo di Medici
  Suffix	"il vecchio"
  Birth	10 Apr 1389
  Gender	Male
  Death	1 Aug 1464	Villa Carreggi
  Siblings	1 Sibling
  + 1. Cosimo di Medici, "il vecchio",   b. 10 Apr 1389   d. 1 Aug 1464, Villa Carreggi  (Age 75 years) ▻ Contessina Bardi,  m. 1416-1417 ;   + 2. Lorenzo di Medici, "Popolano",   b. 1395   d. 23 Sep 1440, Carregi nr Firenze  (Age 45 years) ▻ Ginevra Cavalcanti,  m. 1416
  Person ID	I53013	Geneagraphie
  Last Modified	29 Aug 2000

  
  

  Father	Giovanni di Averado di Medici,   b. 1360   d. 20 Feb 1429 (Age 69 years)
  Mother	Piccarda Bueri   d. 1432
  Marriage	1386
  Family ID	F21618	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Contessina Bardi   d. 1473
  Marriage	1416-1417
  Children	+ 1. Pietro di Medici, 'il Gottoso',   b. 1416, Firenze, Toscana, Italia d. 3 Dec 1469, Firenze, Toscana, Italia (Age 53 years) + 2. Giovanni di Medici,   b. 3 Jun 1421   d. 2 Nov 1463 (Age 42 years)
  Family ID	F21623	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	29 Aug 2000

  
  

  Children	1. Carlo di Medici,   b. 1459-1466   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F66090	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	29 Aug 2000

  
  

• Photos

  Photos (Log in)

  
  

• Notes

  Cafaggiolo branch Cosimo possessed his father's simplicity, patience and modesty. Nervertheless he was determineted not to be just a rich banker with some political influence: his objectives included the conquest of political power. In just a few years Cosimo dei Medici absorbed the majority of the thirty-nine Florentine banks, which had begun to disappear in 1425, while Giovanni was still alive. He placed this immense economic power at the service of his political ambitions, and naturally his conduct immediately made the other merchant bankers - the Strozzi, the Pazzi, the Acciaioli and above all the Albizzi - his enemies. In 1434 Cosimo, who had came to a more and more prominent position in the political life of Florence, was exiled by his opposants, being accused of having attacked florentine freedom. He was called back one year later, his position was consolidated and he governed for thirty years without ever receiving an official title. Cosimo's court was like that of his immediate successors a gathering of artists and scholars, whose works were among the most prized possessions of the family and the city - figures of stature of Donatello, Brunelleschi, Domenico Veneziano; or of Poliziano, Vespasiano da Bisticci, Platina, and Pico della Mirandola. Cosimo was also an eminent book-lover. Indeed, for his library, which had become virtually public, he invested considerable amounts of money and patience collecting incunaboli, illuminated codices, manuscripts, and parchments of immense value. With a farsighted vision of greatness for his city, in 1439 Cosimo arranged for Florence to host the ecumenical council that had been working vainly for years to reconcile the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The pope, the patriarch of Constantinople, and the emperor of Constantinople, John VIII Paleologus, were guests of Florence and of the Medici. Cosimo's successor was Piero, later called Piero the Gouty, a shy reserved man given to study, meditation and the cultivation of beauty in its most intelligent forms. When the Cafaggiolo's fortune turned against them, and members of the family were persecuted and exiled, the Popolani rose to prominence on a platform of democratic reform, establishing a popular reputation as free citizens in a free city.