The Palazzo Medici-Riccardi . . .

. . . was commissioned in 1444 by Cosimo the Elder, Contessina's husband, and completed in 1460.  Above is my photo of the ground floor Courtyard.  This was the first truly Renaissance palazzo, and today it is used for city offices and special exhibitions.  When Contessina and Cosimo moved in, which they did in 1454 even though the third story was not yet finished, they had already been married nearly 40 years and had two adult sons, Piero and Giovanni.

Cosimo died in 1464, and was awarded by the Signoria, the governing body, the title of "Pater Patriae," or Father of the Country.  While he lived, Cosimo governed from behind the scenes.  Aeneas Sylvius, Bishop of Siena and later Pope Pius II, said: "Political questions are settled in [Cosimo's] house. The man he chooses holds office...He it is who decides peace and war...He is king in all but name." Quoted by C. Hibbert in The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici, 1974.