House of Medici

The House of Medici was the de facto ruling family of the Italian city-state of Florence for a significant part of the Renaissance. They later established themselves as the Dukes of Florence and eventually, Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

Lorenzo de' Medici was the head of the house in the late 15th century and was a close ally to the House of Auditore's Assassin members. Due to their control of the Florentine government during this period, they were subject to attacks from the House of Pazzi's Templar members.

History

Origin

The Medici family came from the agricultural Mugello region, north of Florence, being mentioned for the first time in 1230. The earliest known probable ancestor of the family lived in the mid-to-late 11th century; a man named Medico (literally "doctor") who served as castellan of Potrone (where later Medici continued to patronize the local church until at least the late 14th century) under the Ubaldini family, who were the feudal lords of the Mugello at the time.

Successful generations

Throughout a great part of the 15th century, Cosimo de' Medici, his son Piero, and his own son Lorenzo ruled over Florence. Cosimo's power stemmed from his vast wealth and he ruled over Florence until his death in 1464, at which point Piero succeeded him.

Piero's reign was short, spanning only five years before he succumbed to gout. After Piero, his sons Lorenzo and Giuliano became the Medici family's joint heads. Like his grandfather and father, Lorenzo ruled Florence through surrogates in the city councils, threats, payoffs, and strategic marriages. The Medici under Lorenzo were great patrons of arts and culture, and with his rule, Florence became the center of culture and innovation.

The Pazzi Conspiracy

Francesco de' Pazzi and Bernardo Baroncelli attacking Giuliano

In 1478, while Lorenzo and Giuliano attended High Mass at the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, the Pazzi family and their allies attacked them in an event that would later be known as the Pazzi Conspiracy. Although the conspirators managed to kill Giuliano, Lorenzo was saved by Ezio Auditore, who then escorted Lorenzo to safety at the Basilica di San Lorenzo. Once there, Lorenzo instructed Ezio to kill the main conspirator, Francesco de' Pazzi.

After Ezio assassinated Francesco, he met with Lorenzo at the Ponte Vecchio. Once there, Lorenzo gifted Ezio a codex page as well as the names of Francesco's co-conspirators. After the meeting, Ezio left for the Tuscan countryside to pursue the Pazzi family patriarch, Francesco's uncle Jacopo, and his remaining co-conspirators.

Once Ezio had killed all those who played a part in the conspiracy, he returned to Lorenzo, who presented him with the Medici cape as a symbol of faith and trust, and the two parted ways, although Lorenzo continued to give Ezio assignments across Italy via courier pigeon at least until the late 1480s.

Savonarola's takeover

After Lorenzo's death in 1492, his son Piero took control of the house. Unfortunately, Piero let Florence fall into the hands of Girolamo Savonarola, who bewitched the citizens with a Piece of Eden. Ezio returned to Florence in 1497, only to find that Savonarola had taken control over the city from the Medici. Throughout the year, Ezio worked to liberate Florence and retrieve Savonarola's Piece of Eden, culminating in the assassination of Savonarola in 1498.

Despite Savonarola's fall, the Medici were unable to reclaim Florence, and the power vacuum was filled by one of Piero's former favorites, Piero Soderini, whom the Medici eventually exiled when they returned in 1512, along with Niccolò Machiavelli, who had been a senior figure in Soderini's administration.

Family tree

Cosimo de' Medici

Piero di Cosimo de' Medici

Lucrezia Tornabuoni

Giuliano de' Medici

Fioretta Gorini

Lorenzo de' Medici

Giulio de' Medici

Piero de' Medici

Giovanni de' Medici

Trivia

• The Auditore and Medici families' friendship began when Giovanni Auditore rescued a six-year-old Lorenzo from drowning in the river Arno. Although there are records of Cosimo de' Medici appointing a friend of his named Ilario Auditore as gonfaloniere before 1442, it is unclear if he was related to Giovanni in any way.

Gallery

• 
  Lorenzo de' Medici
• 
  Giuliano de' Medici
• 
  Portrait of Giuliano de' Medici by Sandro Botticelli
• 
  Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici
• 
  Portrait of Pope Leo X by Raffaello Sanzio
• 
  Database image of the House of Medici in Assassin's Creed: Identity

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Lineage (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed II
  • Bonfire of the Vanities (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Renaissance
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel
• Assassin's Creed: Unity (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Identity (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)