Medici family archivos

Lorenzo the Magnificent from the Workshop of Bronzino

On this day: The death of Lorenzo the Magnificent

April 8, 2026April 9, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

8 April 1492 — Lorenzo the Magnificent, the man who made Florence the centre of the Renaissance world, took his last breath at the villa of Careggi, aged just 43.

possibly Maria de' Medici cropped. By Bronzino - Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1226976

On this day: birth of Maria de’ Medici

April 3, 2026April 3, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Born with every gift Florence could bestow, Cosimo I’s brilliant eldest daughter, Maria de’ Medici, was dead at seventeen. Her story casts a long shadow over one of history’s most powerful families.

Francesco I Grand Duke of Tuscany By Alessandro Allori - [2], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99729525

On this day: birth of Francesco I, Grand Duke of Tuscany

March 25, 2026March 25, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Born in Florence on 25 March 1541, the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco I, left behind a legacy of art, alchemy, political ambiguity, and a death that has puzzled historians for more than four centuries.