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What were the contributions of the de Medici family to the Renaissance in Italy during the fifteenth century? The de Medicis were the effective rulers of the Florentine Republic in the 15th century, and they later became the ruling house of Florence in the 16th and 17th century. The family, especially in the fifteenth century made a decisive contribution to the Renaissance in Italy.

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[[File: De Medici One.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|Michaelangelo – whose patrons were the De Medici]]

The Renaissance was inspired by the Classical World of Ancient Greece and Rome. However, until the fifteenth century, the Italian humanists only knew of Ancient Greece and the great works of Plato and the other great Greeks through the Romans. Cosimo the Elder helped to introduce Ancient Greek manuscripts and culture into Italy. Cosimo the Elder sought to end the schism in the Christian Church. He helped to negotiate the union of the Catholic and the Orthodox Church that was formalized at the Council of Florence in 1439. This Union ultimately failed, but it was to have a profound impact on the development of the Renaissance.

The Byzantine Emperor visited Florence in 1493 to ratify the Union, and he was attended by several hundred followers among them the great Neoplatonist philosopher George Gemistos Plethon.<ref> Miles, p. 123</ref> Cosimo had failed to achieve a lasting union between the eastern and the western Church. However, he inspired renewed interest in the works of the Greeks as he patronized several Greek scholars from Byzantium and appeared to have secured some manuscripts that were previously unknown in Florence. In the Byzantine Empire, there were many great works from the Greek past that were unknown in Italy. The city of Florence soon became the center for the study of Ancient Greek culture and Neoplatonism, became very influential.<ref>Hibbert, p. 134</ref> The increasing interest in Greek culture was to direct the Renaissance in new directions and inspired a new generation of writers and philosophers such as Pico Della Mirandola.

[[File:Medici Two.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|Lorenzo the Magnificent]]

All of the de Medici had an interest in the arts in the fifteenth century and art was used to legitimize the family's rule of Florence. The works commissioned by the family often sought to raise the status of the family in the city. They used art to fortify their position in Florentine Society. However, the family was also genuinely fond of art, architecture, and literature. Cosimo was very knowledgeable about architecture and Lorenzo the Magnificent was a connoisseur of paintings and sculptures.

Lorenzo's treatment of articles was unprecedented in Republican Florence, where painters and sculptors had only been ranked as mere tradesmen or common craftsmen.'<ref> Miles, 117</ref> This treatment raised the status of the artists in the eyes of Florentine society and this was to produce an environment where they had more freedom of expression, and this enabled them to produce many great artworks.<ref>Strathern, p 65</ref> Lorenzo not only patronized these great artists but they also patronized many humanists and writers and they all helped to make Florence a leading intellectual center. Ironically, it has been suggested that the de Medici’s lavish expenditure on the arts and buildings led to their financial difficulties from the 1480s onwards, which contributed to their ‘expulsion from the city in 1494.<ref>Miles, p 134 </ref>

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*[[Why did the Italian Renaissance End?]]

*[[What was the Borgias contribution to Renaissance Italy?]]

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