MEDICI, med'e-che or mi'de-che, a Flor entine family who rose to wealth through com merce, became prominent in the affairs of the state, gained supreme power and were in gen eral known as patrons of literature and art. GIOVANNI (1360-1429) rendered important serv ice to Florence and became gonfalonier in 1421. His son, CosMo, the Elder (1389-1464), was called ePater Patrice,' gained vast wealth, was a munificent patron of art and letters and com bined statecraft with commercial enterprise. He was for 34 years the sole arbitrator of the republic and the adviser of the sovereign houses of Italy. His grandson, LORENZO THE MAG NIFICENT (1449-92) governed the state in con junction with his brother GIULIANO (1453-78) till the latter was assassinated by the Pazzi, a rival Florentine family. Escaping from this massacre he conducted a war with Ferdinand of Naples, with whom he signed a definitive peace in 1480. The rest of Lorenzo's reign was passed in peace and in those acts of profuse liberality and magnificent patronage of arts and sciences, in which he rivaled or excelled his grandfather. He left three sons—PIE-rim (1471-1503), Gm VANNI (afterward Pope Leo X), and Giu LIANO, Duke of Nemours. Pietro succeeded his father, but was deprived of his estates when the French invaded Italy in 1494. He finished his career in the service of France. His eldest son Lorenzo came to power by the abdication of his uncle Giuliano, who became Duke of Urbino. He died in 1519, leaving a daughter, the famous Catharine de' Medici (q.v.), queen of France. After several reverses in the family, Alessandro, an illegitimate son of the last-named Lorenzo, was restored to Florence by the troops of Charles V, and by an imperial decree was declared head of the repub lic, and afterward Duke of Florence. The
next name of importance in the family is that of CosMo ((the Great" (1519-74), in 1537 pro claimed Duke of Florence and afterward Grand Duke of Tuscany. A learned man him self, he was a great patron of learning and art, a collector of paintings and antiquities. FRAN CISCO MARIA I, his son, obtained from the Em peror Maximilian II, whose daughter Joanna he had married, the confirmation of his title of grand duke in 1575, which continued in his family until it became extinct in 1737 on the death of Giovanni Gasto, who was succeeded by Francis, Duke of Lorraine. MARIE DE MEDICIS (q.v.) (1573-1642), queen of France, was daughter of Francisco I. See FLORENCE; ITALY — HISTORY • LEO X, and consult Arm strong, Edward,
de' Medici) (London 1896) • (Cambridge Modern History> (Vols. I and II, New York 1903-04) ; Fabroni, Angelo, (Magni Cosmi Medicei Vita) (Pisa 1789) ; Heyck, Eduard,
(Bielefeld 1897) ; Hyett, F. A.,
(London 1903) ; Horsburgh, E. L. S.,