Patronage: A Brief History Of The Medici Church

History of patronage

A consideration of patronage obviously introduces questions about money. One of the defining characteristics of Florentine society throughout the centuries was a deeply-rooted system of patronage networks. Patronage was practiced as a social institution throughout early modern Europe, peeking in importance between the 14th and 17th centuries. The Medici family controlled Florence throughout much of the Renaissance and played a large part in the patronage of the arts and the political development of the city. As a wealthy and influential family, Medici had virtually no choice but to participate in public life which left its traces on buildings in Florence. As Biagioli describes it, patronage was not an "option." It was the

Ambrose consecrated the site as the city’s cathedral, which is the earliest documented religious building in Florence. The cathedral stood outside of the city walls. In the romanesque period in 1059 the site was re-consecrated until in 1418 the Medici decided to rebuild it entirely and entrusted the project to Filippo Brunelleschi, who in 1421 designed the “old” sacristy and the whole church, completed by Antonio Manetti in 1461. The history of the church’s construction is closely linked to the patronage of the Medici family, who paid most of the construction spends. the story of its construction witnesses and testifies to the fortunate rise of the Medici

Matteo Dolfini who was the Prior of the San Lorenzo obtained a permission and “inaugurated the works in a solemn ceremony on 10 August 1421, but he was only able to supervise them for a short while, because he died at the end of the year.” In the meantime, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici had joined those sponsoring the construction of the new transept, making a considerable financial contribution. And it was Giovanni who entrusted the design of the Old Sacristy to Brunelleschi and after Dolfini’s death the design of the entire basilica was passed to Brunelleschi. The construction was proceeded slowly and in 1429 when Giovanni di Bicci died Old Sacristy was completed. in 1433 Giovanni Medici’s son Cosimo was recorded in a document as one of the six Operai Provveditori of the basilica. in 1434 Cosimo was in exile because his power over Florence started to look like a threat to the anti-Medici party, which included such figures like Palla Strozzi and Rinaldo degli Albizzi. Cosimo was accused in failing to conquest the province of Lucca and was imprisoned, but using his diplomacy skills his jail term was turned into one of exile. So, Cosimo took his bank along with him and went to Padua and then to Venice. However, Cosimo’s power and his money made others follow him and the ban of exile had