The Medici Family: A Florentine Dynasty

This course traces the rich and varied history of the Medici family, whose name has become almost synonymous with the history of Renaissance Florence itself. Beginning with the rise of the Medici bank under the astute and mindful Cosimo the Elder in the early fifteenth century, and concluding with the death of Giangastone de'Medici and the opulent luxuries of his princely palace in 1737, this course examines the Medici as bankers, statesmen, patrons of the arts, entrepreneurs and, ultimately, as absolute rulers of the state of Tuscany. The role of the family's women will also be examined, especially in relation to their dynastic marriages which linked the Medici to leading European political powers. Visits to key Medici historic sites (palaces and villas) will form part of the course.