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His full name is Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici. He was born on the 1st of January, 1449 in Florence, Italy. He died on the 9th of April, 1492, at the age of forty-three, in Villa Medici at Careggi, Florence, Italy. Lorenzo died suffering from intolerable stomach pains. He is buried in the Medici Chapel in Florence. He married Clarice Orsini in 1469. They had six children together. These were Pope Leo X, Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, Piero the Unfortunate, Madalena de Medici and Lucrezia de' Medici. His parents were Piero di Cosimo de' Medici and Lucrezia Tornabuoni. He took a keen interest in the arts and loved art and books, music and poetry. When he was younger, he studied music and Latin manuscripts, and he became an accomplished athlete.
Florence was a bustling and noisy city with a population of over 100,000, in the fifteenth century. Florence was ruled by the Medici for most of the century. They loaned money to rulers in Italy and other countries in Europe.
From 1469 to 1478, Lorenzo de' Medici was a Florentine statesman, ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance, patron of artists, scholars and poets, a politician and a diplomat. He became the ruler of Florence at the age of twenty-one. His death marked the end of the Golden Age of Florence. The peace he helped maintain between the various Italian states collapsed with his death. He was known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. Lorenzo de’ Medici ruled Florence with his brother Giuliano. After the latter's assassination, the crowd stood by the Medici and tore the assassins limb from limb. Lorenzo ruled from 1478 to 1492. Lorenzo’s patronage of the arts was renowned.
As patron of the arts, he collected many ancient manuscripts and had a large private library. He established the Platonic Academy - a group of scholars who discussed the writings of Greek and Roman authors. He became a personal friend of the artists he sponsored. Some of these artists are Botticelli, a painter, Vercocchio, a painter and sculptor, and Leonardo Da Vinci. He opened a school of sculpture. One of his pupils was Michelangelo, who was treated like a member of the family. Lorenzo paid artists to produce paintings and sculptures, and to design buildings, such as the Medici church and tombs.
Towards the end of his life, he added up what the Medici family had spent on art over many years. He found that they had spent an unbelievable amount of money, yet he said, "I think that our patronage was the great splendour of our rule and, in my opinion, the money was well spent."
Lorenzo's grandfather, Cosimo de Medici, was the first member of the Medici family to combine running the Medici bank with leading the Republic. Cosimo was one of the wealthiest men in Europe. He spent a very large portion of his fortune in government and philanthropy. He was a patron of the arts and funded public works. Lorenzo's father, Piero 'the Gouty' de Medici, was also at the center of Florentine life, active as an art patron and collector.
Florence was a bustling and noisy city with a population of over 100,000, in the fifteenth century. Florence was ruled by the Medici for most of the century. They loaned money to rulers in Italy and other countries in Europe.
From 1469 to 1478, Lorenzo de' Medici was a Florentine statesman, ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance, patron of artists, scholars and poets, a politician and a diplomat. He became the ruler of Florence at the age of twenty-one. His death marked the end of the Golden Age of Florence. The peace he helped maintain between the various Italian states collapsed with his death. He was known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. Lorenzo de’ Medici ruled Florence with his brother Giuliano. After the latter's assassination, the crowd stood by the Medici and tore the assassins limb from limb. Lorenzo ruled from 1478 to 1492. Lorenzo’s patronage of the arts was renowned.
As patron of the arts, he collected many ancient manuscripts and had a large private library. He established the Platonic Academy - a group of scholars who discussed the writings of Greek and Roman authors. He became a personal friend of the artists he sponsored. Some of these artists are Botticelli, a painter, Vercocchio, a painter and sculptor, and Leonardo Da Vinci. He opened a school of sculpture. One of his pupils was Michelangelo, who was treated like a member of the family. Lorenzo paid artists to produce paintings and sculptures, and to design buildings, such as the Medici church and tombs.
Towards the end of his life, he added up what the Medici family had spent on art over many years. He found that they had spent an unbelievable amount of money, yet he said, "I think that our patronage was the great splendour of our rule and, in my opinion, the money was well spent."
Lorenzo's grandfather, Cosimo de Medici, was the first member of the Medici family to combine running the Medici bank with leading the Republic. Cosimo was one of the wealthiest men in Europe. He spent a very large portion of his fortune in government and philanthropy. He was a patron of the arts and funded public works. Lorenzo's father, Piero 'the Gouty' de Medici, was also at the center of Florentine life, active as an art patron and collector.