May 10th - The Medici's

• The Patsy family had a much more noble lineage than the Medici
• They were knights and noblemen, but the Medici were never any of that
• Then, Lorenzo Medici took over power in Florence
• The Patsy decided to take out the Medici brothers
• Sunday, April 26, 1478 - Easter. The Medici and many others are honoring it in church.
• The Patsy planned to kill the Medici's during mass.
• Guliano was stabbed and died instantly, but Lorenzo could not be found
• He had survived, but was wounded - he showed himself to the crowd to show that the Medici's were still in power
• The Patsy were not supported and were killed
• The pope had ordered troops to go out and end the Medici power
• Lorenzo left alone to seek his enemies
• He traveled for nearly a month and docked at Naples just before Christmas
• He cut a deal with his enemies which angered the Pope
• The enemy troops were called off and because of his money, charm, and skill saved Florence
• He adopted the illegitimate son of his dead brother to continue the Medici dynasty
• Leonardo DaVinci was a growing apprentice for a wealthy painter in Florence.
• His work was so good, the man gave up
• Leonardo was competing with Bonicelli for Lorenzo's employment
• Florence's freedom was in threat
• A Dominican monk believed Lorenzo was leading Florence to destruction
• July 29, 1487 - Lorenzo's wife suddenly died of tuberculosis
• Lorenzo found solace in art
• In 1488, he established the first art school using classical sculptures from his own collection to study
• One student there, Michaelangelo, was the first to start working with marble
• Lorenzo brought Michaelangelo into his family and gave him room in the Medici palace
• Michaelangelo worked very hard for Lorenzo's approval
• Michaelangelo was drawn toward the classical legends he heard at the Medici dinner table from other nobleman
• Florence was split between the peole that thought the monk was right and society had gone off the track, while the others wanted a more classical time
• Lorenzo was losing his grip on the family business
• The banks were starting to close and the family network was falling apart
• Lorenzo fell ill in 1492, he turned towards the church
• Lorenzo knew he was dying and needed to repent
• At 43, he died still fearing hell
• The monk, Savonarola seized the chance
• He came up with new rules which were enforced by gangs of militant youth
• Wigs, cosmetics, jewelry, and other things of Lorenzo's renaissance were burned, even Bonicelli joined them in burning things
• This fire became known as the Bonfire of the Vanities