the return of Cosimo and the exile of Rinaldo degli Albizzi,
Rodolfo Peruzzi, Niccolò Barbadori, and others, in spite of the
feeble attempt of Eugenius to protect them. On the 6th of
October 1434 Cosimo returned to Florence, and for the next
three centuries the history of the city is identified with that of
the house of Medici.[1]
Cosimo succeeded in dominating the republic while remaining nominally a private citizen. He exiled those who opposed him, and governed by means of the balìe, which, re-elected every five years, appointed all the magistrates and acted according to his orders. In 1437 Florence and Cosimo’s rule. Venice were again at war with the Visconti, whose chief captain, Niccolò Piccinino (q.v.), on entering Tuscany with many Florentine exiles in his train, was signally defeated at Anghiari by the Florentines under Francesco Sforza (1440); peace was made the following year. The system of the catasto, which led to abuses, was abolished, and a progressive income-tax (decima scalata) was introduced with the object of lightening the burdens of the poor, who were as a rule Medicean, at the expense of the rich; but as it was frequently increased the whole community came to be oppressed by it in the end. Cosimo increased his own authority and that of the republic by aiding Francesco Sforza to become duke of Milan (1450), and he sided with him in the war against Venice (1452–1454). In 1452 the emperor Frederick III. passed through Florence on his way to be crowned in Rome, and was received as a friend. During the last years of Cosimo’s life, affairs were less under his control, and the gonfaloniere Luca Pitti, a vain and ambitious man, introduced many changes, such as the abasement of the authority of the podestà and of the capitano, which Cosimo desired but was glad to attribute to others.
In 1464 Cosimo died and was succeeded, not without some
opposition, by his son Piero, who was very infirm and gouty.
Various plots against him were hatched, the anti-Medicean
faction being called the Del Poggio party
because the house of its leader Luca Pitti was on a hill,
Piero de’ Medici (the Gouty).
Lorenzo the Magnificent.
while the Mediceans were called the Del Piano party
because Piero’s house was in the town below; the other opposition
leaders were Dietisalvi Neroni and Agnolo Acciaiuoli. But
Piero’s unexpected energy upset the schemes of his enemies.
The death of Sforza led to a war for the succession of Milan,
and the Venetians, instigated by Florentine exiles, invaded
Tuscany. The war ended, after many indecisive engagements,
in 1468, through the intervention of Pope Paul II. Piero died
in 1469, leaving two sons, Lorenzo (1449–1492) and
Giuliano (1453–1478). The former at once assumed
the reins of government and became ruler of Florence
in a way neither Cosimo nor Piero had ever attempted;
he established his domination by means of balìe consisting of the
signory, the accoppiatori, and 240 other members, all Mediceans,
to be renewed every five years (1471). In 1472 a quarrel having
arisen with Volterra on account of a dispute concerning the alum
mines, Lorenzo sent an expedition against the city, which was
sacked and many of the inhabitants massacred. Owing to a
variety of causes an enmity arose between Lorenzo and Pope
Sixtus IV., and the latter, if not an accomplice, at all events
had knowledge of the Pazzi conspiracy against the Medici (1478).
The result of the plot was that, although Giuliano was murdered,
Lorenzo strengthened his position, and put to death or exiled
numbers of his enemies. He was excommunicated by Sixtus,
who, together with King Ferdinand of Naples, waged war against
him; no great successes were registered on either side at first, but
eventually the Florentines were defeated at Poggio Imperiale
(near Poggibonsi) and the city itself was in danger. Lorenzo’s
position was critical, but by his boldness in going to Naples he
succeeded in concluding a peace with the king, which led to a
reconciliation with the pope (1479–1480). He was received with
enthusiasm on returning to Florence and became absolute master
of the situation. In April 1480 a balìa was formed, and its most
important act was the creation at Lorenzo’s instance of the
Council of Seventy; it was constituted for five years, but it became
permanent, and all its members were Lorenzo’s friends.
From that time until his death the city was free from party strife
under a de facto despotism, but after the Rinuccini conspiracy
of that year the Council of Seventy passed a law declaring
attempts on Lorenzo’s life to be high treason. Owing to his
political activity Lorenzo had neglected the business interests
of his firm, and in order to make good certain heavy losses he
seems to have appropriated public funds. His foreign policy,
which was magnificent but expensive, rendered further forced
loans necessary, and he also laid hands on the Monte delle Doti,
an insurance institution to provide dowries for girls.
An attempt by the Venetians to seize Ferrara led to a general Italian war, in which Florence also took part on the side hostile to Venice, and when peace was made in 1484 the republic gained some advantages. The following year a revolt of the Neapolitan barons against King Ferdinand broke out, actively supported by Pope Innocent VIII.; Lorenzo remained neutral at first, but true to his policy of maintaining the balance of power and not wishing to see Ferdinand completely crushed, he ended by giving him assistance in spite of the king’s unpopularity in Florence. Peace was made when the pope agreed to come to terms in 1486, and in 1487 Lorenzo regained Sarzana, which Genoa had taken from Florence nine years previously. The general disorders and ceaseless intrigues all over Italy required Lorenzo’s constant attention, and he succeeded in making Florence “the Savonarola. needle of the balance of power in Italy.” At this time the Dominican Fra Girolamo Savonarola (q.v.) was in Florence and aroused the whole city by his denunciations of ecclesiastical corruption and also of that of the Florentines. He opposed Lorenzo’s government as the source of the immorality of the people, and to some extent influenced public opinion against him. Ill-health now gained on Lorenzo, and Savonarola, whom he had summoned to his bedside, refused to give absolution to the destroyer of Florentine liberties. Lorenzo, during whose rule Florence had become one of the greatest centres of art and literature in Europe, died in 1492.
He was succeeded by his son Piero, who had none of his father’s
capacity and made a number of political blunders. When
Charles VIII. of France came to Italy to conquer Naples
Piero decided to assist the latter kingdom, although the
traditional sympathies of the people were for the French
Piero de’ Medici.
king, and when Charles entered Florentine territory and captured
Sarzana, Piero went to his camp and asked pardon for opposing
him. The king demanded the cession of Pisa, Leghorn and
other towns, which Piero granted, but on returning to Florence
on the 8th of November 1494 he found the opposition greatly
strengthened and his popularity forfeited, especially when the
news of his disgraceful cessions to Charles became known. He
was refused admittance to the palace, and the people began to
shout “Popolo e libertà!” in opposition to the Medicean cry of
“Palle, Palle!” (from the Medici arms). With a small escort
he fled from the city, followed soon after by his brother Giovanni.
Expulsion of the Medici (1494).
Charles VIII. in Florence.
That same day Pisa rose in revolt against the Florentines,
and was occupied by Charles. The expulsion of
the Medici produced some disorder, but Piero Capponi
(q.v.) and other prominent citizens succeeded in
keeping the peace. Ambassadors, one of whom was Savonarola,
were sent to treat with the French king, but no agreement was
arrived at until Charles entered Florence on the 17th
of November at the head of 12,000 men. In spite of
their French sympathies the citizens were indignant at
the seizure of Sarzana, and while they gave the king
a splendid welcome, they did not like his attitude of conqueror.
Charles was impressed with the wealth and refinement of the
citizens, and above all with the solid fortress-like appearance of
their palaces. The signory appointed Piero Capponi, a man of
great ability and patriotism, and experienced in diplomacy,
the gonfaloniere Francesco Valori, the Dominican Giorgio
Vespucci, and the jurisconsult and diplomatist Domenico Bonsi,
