The Italian Renaissance | The Monarchy of Cosimo I (Lecture 32)

Lecture 32: When 19-year-old Cosimo de’Medici (1519−1574) was installed as prince in 1537, many assumed that the architect of his victory, Guicciardini, would be the chief advisor to the inexperienced young prince. But as soon as he was installed, Cosimo decided to rule personally and dismissed the influential politician. A revolt led by patrician exiles followed but was brutally suppressed after the Battle of Montemurlo in 1537. Cementing his regime by allying with the Habsburg emperor Charles V, Cosimo married Eleonora of Toledo (d. 1562), daughter of the rich and influential Spanish viceroy of Naples.

He enlarged the Florentine state through the conquest of Siena with Spanish help in 1557. And, in 1569, he was invested with the title of grand duke of Tuscany by the pope. Cosimo’s intention was to build a centralized, despotic monarchy on the ruins of the republic. The patrician families were offered titles and attached to his court; he created orders of knighthood; and he initially turned the symbol of republican government, the Palazzo della Signoria, into his palace, before moving into the Palazzo Pitti to house his large family and increasingly elaborate court. He provided patronage to artists, including Giorgio Vasari (1511−1574), who designed the Uffizi; Bernardo Buontalenti (c. 1531−1608), and Bartolommeo Ammanati (1511−1592). The Florentines had lost their freedom but had achieved stability in return.

Secondary Sources:
Christopher Hibbert, The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall.
Michael Levey, Painting at Court.

Supplementary Reading:
Eric Cochrane, Florence in the Forgotten Centuries, 1527−1800.

Lecture 33: https://rumble.com/v4yw98k-the-italian-renaissance-guicciardini-and-the-history-of-italy-lecture-33.html