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Medici, Italian family

(Encyclopedia)Medici mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], Italian family that directed the destinies of Florence from the 15th cent. until 1737. Of obscure origin, they rose to immense wealth as merchants and ba...

Medici, Piero de', 1416–69, Italian merchant prince

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Piero de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1416–69, Italian merchant prince. He succeeded his father, Cosimo de' Medici, as head of the Medici family and as leader of the Florent...

Medici, Giovanni de', 1498–1526, Italian condottiere

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Giovanni de', or Giovanni delle Bande Nere jōvänˈnē dĕlˈlā bänˈdā nāˈrā [key] [Ital.,=of the black bands], 1498–1526, Italian condottiere; great-grandson of Lorenzo de' Medici (...

Medici, Lorenzo de', 1449–92, Italian merchant prince

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Lorenzo de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1449–92, Italian merchant prince, called Lorenzo il Magnifico [the magnificent]. He succeeded (1469) his father, Piero de' Medici, as...

Medici, Piero de', 1471–1503, Italian merchant prince

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Piero de', 1471–1503, Italian merchant prince. He succeeded his father, Lorenzo de' Medici (Lorenzo il Magnifico), as head of the Medici family and as leader of the Florentine state. In 1494...

Medici, Cosimo de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Cosimo de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1389–1464, Italian merchant prince, first of the Medici family to rule Florence. He is often called Cosimo the Elder. After the death ...

Medici, Alessandro de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Alessandro de' mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1510?–37, duke of Florence (1532–37); probably an illegitimate son of Lorenzo de' Medici, duke of Urbino. His prominence began when ...

Medici, Lorenzino de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Lorenzino de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1515–47, member of the cadet branch of the Medici family. A boon companion of Alessandro de' Medici, he secretly plotted the duke's...

Medici, Giuliano de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Giuliano de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1479–1516, duke of Nemours (1515–16); younger son of Lorenzo de' Medici (Lorenzo il Magnifico) and brother of Pope Leo X. He enter...

Medici, Ippolito de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Ippolito de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1511–35, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church; an illegitimate son of Giuliano de' Medici, duke of Nemours. Pope Clement VII, head ...