Meanwhile, and elsewhere in Italy, there were other interesting and influential Renaissance Women . . .

 . . . including Eleanora of Aragon d'Este, Duchess of Ferrara.  Daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples and Isabella of Clermont, Eleanora (1450-1493) was married first into the Sforza family and then, at age 23,  to Ercole I d'Este, duke of Ferrara.  She was known for her bravery and leadership skills, and in 1485 when Ercole's nephew Niccolo` attempted a coup d'etat, she escaped the besieged palace with her children Isabella, Beatrice, and Alfonso, who was only a few weeks old.

     Eleanora was also known for commissioning a number of artworks and building projects (see post of Jan 22, 2013), and as we shall see, for inspiring her daughters to become powerful women in their own rights.

     Recently I visited the Castello Estense in Ferrara, where I was gratified to see Eleanora remembered for the contributions she made to the Court.  She used her considerable dowry monies to refurbish not only her own apartments, connecting staircases and terraces, but also a hanging garden.  Through the years it was enlarged and eventually became the Garden of the Oranges, a tribute to her Neapolitan roots. (source, a placard in the Castello Estense)

Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici

Giovanni took up residence in Rome in 1500, where he lived a lavish lifestyle, surrounded by friends and relatives, including his cousin Guilio, illegitimate son of the Guiliano who had been murdered by the Pazzi, and his youngest brother, also named Guiliano.  According to Christopher Hibbert, in "The House of the Medici," Giovanni played the role of the generous host to the extent that he was frequently in debt.  The days of the great Medici Bank, established by Giovanni's great-great-grandfather were over.  Church benefices and later, the sale of indulgences, would fund the lives of the Medici cardinals and popes.

In 1503 a new pope was elected:  Cardinal Guilano della Rovere became Julius II.  Known as the "Warrior Pope" for expanding the Papal States by warfare, he was also known for his ambitious building projects and his patronage of the arts.  Julius II commissioned the destruction and reconstruction of St. Peter's Basilica, and also later commissioned the decoration by Michelangelo of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The cardinals, including Giovanni, accompanied Julius II in battle, aided by the Spanish, and as it happened, Giovanni was taken prisoner near Bologna by the French in 1512, but later escaped and made his way to Mantua.  There a plot was in the works to bring the Medici back to power in Florence, which had been suffering a lack of leadership after the exile of the Medici.   The Spanish Army then marched on into Tuscany, where the engagement that was later called "The Sack of Prato" convinced the Florentines to lay down arms.   The Medici Family was now back in power in Florence!!

The Legacy of Lorenzo and Clarice

Why not have it all?  Control of both Church and State!  Although this may have been their plan, control of both Church and State at the same time would prove difficult for the Medici Family.

After Lorenzo's death, the head of the family was Piero, the eldest son.  Unfortunately, he was not the diplomat his father was.  In brief, he allowed the French king to march his army through Florence in 1494, after which the Florentines exiled the Medici.

The hopes of the family were then pinned on the future of Giovanni 1475-1521), second son of Lorenzo and Clarice.  From an early age, he had been destined for the Church.  He was tonsured at age seven or eight and made a cardinal at the age of 13.  He was not allowed to wear the robes until three years later, but as his father lay dying in Florence in 1492 he was already being welcomed in Rome (see Lives of the Early Medici, as told by their correspondence, translated by Janet Ross).

After being exiled from Florence, because there was a price on his head, Giovanni traveled in Germany, the Netherlands and France, returning to Rome in 1500, where he was welcomed by the Borgia Pope, Alexander VI.

The fresco above, Ghirlandaio's "Confirmation of the Franciscan Rule," in the Sassetti Chapel of Santa Trinita in Florence, is widely believed to be portraits of the young children of Lorenzo and Clarice.  According to "The Medici, the Golden Age of Collecting," by Massimo Winspeare, proceeding up the staircase is the children's tutor, Agnolo Poliziano, with Guilio (son of the murdered Guiliano, see post of 9/23/12) followed by Piero and Giovanni.  Bringing up the rear are the poet Luigi Pulci and the canon Matteo Franco.  Hint:  there are two future Medici popes in this fresco!

And then Lorenzo died . . .

. . . at his villa at Careggi on April 9, 1492.  He was 43 years old, and had been suffering from the same disease that had affected many other members of the family, gout.  He had taken the last sacrament already, but according to some accounts, called for Fr. Savanarola, who had repeatedly preached against the power and might of the Medici, to hear his confession.

     Of course, we will never know if Lorenzo actually confessed to the sin of misappropriating state and trust funds, specifically the Monte di Doti, but the evidence seems to indicate that near the end of his life, Lorenzo did line his own pockets through a scheme of reducing the interest paid (see Alfred von Raumont's account in Lorenzo De' Medici:  the Magnificent, Volume 2).

     Lorenzo's "dark side" is symbolized for me by the above image, the reverse of the Desco da Porto (birth tray, see blog entry of 2/14/12), which was once resplendent in silver decoration that has now oxidized, and which is embellished with Piero de' Medici's emblem, a diamond ring, three feathers, and a banderole inscribed with the motto "Semper" or "Always."  The birth tray was hanging on the wall of Lorenzo's bedroom at Careggi, and was included in the inventory done at his death.  These inventories, while done at the time for tax purposes, have served history well in that we have  documentation from the time and place.