Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/400

2Q2 General History of Europe 490. The Medici; Lo- renzo the Magnificent. By the middle of the fifteenth century Florence had come under the control of the great family of the Medici, whose members played the role of very enlightened political bosses. By quietly watching the elections and secretly controlling the choice of city officials they governed with- out letting it be suspected that the people had lost their power. The most distin- guished member of the house of Medici was Lorenzo the Magnificent (d. 1492 ) ; under his rule Florence reached the height of its glory in art and literature. As one wanders about Flor- ence today he is impressed with the contradictions of the Renaissance period. The streets are lined with the palaces of the noble families to whose rivalries much of the continual disturbance was due. The lower stories of these buildings are con- structed of great stones, like fortresses, and their windows are barred like those of a prison ; yet within they were often furnished with the greatest taste and luxury. For in spite of the disorder, against which the CATHEDRAL AND BELL TOWER AT FLORENCE The church was begun in 1296 and completed in 1436. The great dome built by the architect Brunelleschi has made his name famous. It is three hundred feet high. The facade is mod- ern but after an old design. The bell tower, or campanile, was begun by the celebrated painter Giotto about 1335 and completed about fifty years later. It is richly adorned with sculpture and colored marbles and is considered the finest structure of the kind in the world