Lorenzo de Medici was the grandson of Cosimo de Medici, and he took the reigns of control over Florence from Cosimo in 1469. (Rabb and Marshall, 1993, p. 28). While Cosimo had taken a low profile approach to governing Florence, Lorenzo was not afraid of confrontation, and he took a more prominent position in Florence society. Shortly after his inheritance of his grandfather’s position, his father also passed and left him with a sizable fortune. Newly married to Clarice Orsini, Lorenzo had the support of two powerful families behind him. (Durant, 1953, pp. 110-111). Young and inexperienced in bureaucracy, this transition in power could have been the perfect time for another power source to take over the city. However this was not the case, as his family, friends, debtors, and associates of the Medici were so numerous, that the young man had plenty of support and guidance in his rule.

He was still highly criticized for being young, so Lorenzo hired the best minds in the area to act as political and financial councilors to him. (Durant, 1953, p. 111). While Lorenzo maintained this council throughout his career, he soon developed his own good judgement that their input was not needed very often. In 1471 Lorenzo renewed the Medici’s connection to the Papacy, and was granted management rights over the Papacy finances once again. However, upon his return to Florence Lorenzo’s success in Rome was met with his first major crisis of his rule.

A dispute between an Alum Mine operators and the citizens in the district of Volterra forced Lorenzo to intercede. The local residents felt they deserved a portion of the wealth that was being mined from the land, however the mine owners felt that they had no obligation to give any of their profits to the locals. The problem was compounded when the dispute was taken to the Florentine Signory who said the profits should go to the entire state of Florence and not just to the district of Volterra. Of course this caused the residents of Volterra to declare their independence from Florence, and put to death any citizen that disagreed with their decree of independence. Lorenzo’s solution to this situation was to stop the cessation actions of Volterra with force. This was a mistake, as the Florentine mercenaries soon sacked Volterra. Lorenzo then had to rush to the area to work out a peaceful solution. (Durant, 1953, p. 112).

Lorenzo was forgiven of his mistake, as the people celebrated his quick action and involvement in the restoration of the peace. Lorenzo went on to make arrangements that increased grain imports that helped to stave off the effects of a famine that hit the city in 1472 (Durant, 1953, pp. 112-113), and his continued the family tradition of patronning the arts and enshrining the Medici name throughout Florence.

References

Durant, Will. (1953). The Renaissance: A History of Civilization in Italy from 1304-1576 A.D. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Rabb, Theodore K. & Marshall, Sherrin. (1993). Origins of the Modern West: Essays and Sources in Renaissance & Early Modern European History. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.