Renaissance city-states
Italy, 1400–1559.
Italy was a patchwork of city-states, duchies and the Papal States. Bankers and princes competed through art and architecture, and Florence led a rebirth of classical learning.
Seat of power: Florence
Rulers
Cosimo de' Medici
De facto ruler of Florence, 1434–1464
Never held a royal title. He ruled from behind the scenes through the Medici bank's money and allies placed in the republic's councils, and spent heavily on churches, libraries and artists.
Portrait of Cosimo de' Medici: Workshop of Bronzino, Public domain, file
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Lorenzo de' Medici
De facto ruler of Florence, 1469–1492
Known as 'the Magnificent'. He survived the Pazzi conspiracy of 1478, kept the peace between Italian states through diplomacy and supported artists, including the young Michelangelo.
Portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici: Workshop of Bronzino, Public domain, file
Culture
- Brunelleschi completes the dome of Florence Cathedral in 1436.
- Botticelli paints The Birth of Venus for Florentine patrons in the 1480s.
- Michelangelo carves his David (1504) and paints the Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508 to 1512).
Picture
Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, painted in Florence in the 1480s.
Image: Sandro Botticelli, Public domain, file
