All language subtitles for Lorenzo Il Magnifico. The Renaissance in Florence. Subtitles- ITALIANO - ENGLISH

He is the best known member of the Medici,
the great Florentine dynasty.

Better known than his grandfather Cosimo the Elder,
revered by Florentines as "Father of the Country",…

…who was the creator
of the family's wealth and power.

Better known than Cosimo I, whose conquest of Siena
elevated the Signoria to the rank of Grand Duchy.

Better known than Giovanni, his fourth son,
who became Pope Leo X in 1513.

Or than Giulio, his nephew, son of his brother Giuliano:
another Pope, Clement VII.

Even better known than Caterina de' Medici,
who married the King of France, Henry II,…

…and has gone down in history as co–responsible
– at the very least – for the terrible massacre of the Huguenots.

And also than Maria de' Medici,
another Queen of France,…

…and lover of the Arts, as shown
by this sumptuous portrait, painted by Rubens.

Lorenzo was Lord [Signor] of Florence
for 23 years,…

…embodying in the most accomplished manner
the ideal type of the humanist Prince,…

…skilled statesman, protector of artists,
patron of the arts.

For these extraordinary
political and cultural gifts,…

…Lorenzo earned the nickname
"the Magnificent".

"How beautiful is youth,
which, however, flees away."

"Let everyone be joyful,
there is no certainty about tomorrow."

Because of these verses,
which Italians know by heart,…

…Lorenzo the Magnificent
is in the ranks of the famous.

Those verses are not an occasional literary exercise
of a rich Florentine gentleman.

They are the first of 15 stanzas
of a song by Bacchus,…

…a part of a poetic activity
that Lorenzo cultivated from a very young age,…

…and until his last days:
"I Canti carnascialeschi" – "The Carnival Songs".

Was then Lorenzo the Magnificent a poet?

So it seems.

And his repertoire
was as vast as it was varied,…

…from mythology to satire,
from playful poetry to philosophical tercets,…

…from realism to classicism.

An eclecticism that allowed him to move,
in the same year,…

…from the hedonism of the famous verses
that we just recalled,…

…to a sacred poem,
"The Play of Saint John and Saint Paul".

The song of Bacchus is from 1490.

Lorenzo was 41 years old;
he would die only 2 years later.

And he had started writing poetry
when he was 15.

In Italian, not in the Latin employed by men of letters,
although he did know Greek and Latin,…

…had studied Homer
with the Greek humanist Giovanni Argiropoulo,…

…Virgil and Horace
with Cristoforo Landino,…

…and neoplatonic philosophy
with Marsilio Ficino.

He chose the vernacular, the Florentine, the language
of Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, and of the common people.

A cultural choice,
but also a political one.

He wanted to spread the Florentine dialect, not only
as a popular language, but also as a cultured one,…

…and even as the language
of all Italians.

Lorenzo's life turned around poetry, therefore,
but always for pleasure,…

…"per otium", as the humanists used to say
at the time: to rest the weary soul.

He didn't shirk hard work.

Poetry had to coexist
with political commitment.

He was Lord [Signor] of Florence, presided the family business
– the Medici bank was the largest in Europe –,…

And he was fully engaged
in patronage of the Arts.

Poet, therefore;
but first politician, banker, patron of the Arts.

We will try to recompose the personality
of this multifaceted genius.

But, in the meantime,
let's get to know him, see him up close…

…and, first of all,
understand where he came from.

To do this, let's enter
the Uffizi Gallery,…

…and stand in front of the "Adoration of the Magi",
by Sandro Botticelli.

Who are the Magi?

Three members of the Medici family.

The closest to the Virgin with Child
is Cosimo, founder of the dynasty,…

…who has already placed his gift
at Jesus's feet.

Giorgio Vasari, who describes the painting
in his biography of Botticelli,…

…sees a great affection in the figure of Cosimo,
who, kissing our Lord's foot,…

… is consumed with tenderness.

In the foreground, in the center of the composition,
Cosimo's two sons are kneeling: …

Piero, known as "the Gouty",
and Giovanni.

Piero wears a red cloak,
lined with ermine.

John has a rich white coat.

There are also Piero's sons:…

…on the right, Giuliano,
in black and red clothes;…

…on the left, in a great white coat,
there is Lorenzo, "the Magnificent".

Botticelli painted this panel in 1475.

Lorenzo was then 26 years old, and for 6 years he had been
Lord of Florence, and owner of the family bank.

The grandfather, Cosimo,
died in 1464,…

…but the year before he had had the pain
of seeing his son Giovanni die.

In 1469 – after a long illness –,
died Piero, Lorenzo's father.

Thus, Lorenzo took power
when he was only 20.

The picture shows then the Holy Family
and 3 Medici generations – but not only that.

Together with them, there are friends and allies,
leading exponents of Florentine society.

A Strozzi, a Tornabuoni,
with a long feather on his light blue hat.

And some of Lorenzo's
intellectual friends:…

…the poet and philologist Agnolo Poliziano;
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, with a black cape.

Next to him, behind Lorenzo,
Luigi Pulci.

There is also, on the other side, one of Lorenzo's tutors,
the Greek Argiropoulo, with a thick black beard.

And the author of the painting is not missing:
Lorenzo's friend Botticelli, 30 years old,…

…who looks us straight in the eye,
wrapped in an orange cloak.

A painting that says much about the power of the Medici,
because it was not Lorenzo who commissioned it,…

…but a broker
in the Florentine Exchange Guild,…

…who wanted to pay homage to the family with a work
destined for his own chapel in Santa Maria Novella.

A courtier's homage.

By asking Botticelli to populate the scene
with Medici portraits,…

…he was expressing his gratitude
to the family that dominated Florence.

But what is the origin of the power
that Lorenzo finds in his hands at just 20 years old?

How did the family
amass a huge financial fortune,…?

…a patrimony of 180,000 gold florins,…?

…through the "Banco" [Bank], whose profits
were at most 10,000 florins per year?

The Medici did not belong
to the feudal nobility.

They belonged to the common people,
were members of the Wool Guild.

They came from an impoverished area
near Florence, the Mugello.

The Castle of Cafaggiolo, which Cosimo
transformed into a fortress, is one of the first Medici villas.

But, within a few generations,
their Banco became the largest in Europe,…

…with branches in Rome, Milan, Venice,
Geneva, Avignon, Paris, London, Bruges.

Financial agent and Lender to the Papacy,
the King of England, and the main European courts.

On the basis of the family Bank
inherited from his father, Giovanni,…

…Cosimo, Lorenzo's grandfather, multiplied his fortune,
and managed to elevate his family to the rank of Signoria.

Or rather a "crypto–Signoria",
as historians define it,…

...a "masked" Signoria,
because it didn't occupy any public office.

In short: a "de facto" Lordship.

Cosimo conquered it through a carefully woven network
of relationships, alliances, clientelism,…

…and also by corruption.

Never flaunting his wealth,
leading a very austere life,…

…keeping away from the oligarchy of the great families
that theoretically dominated Florence,…

…managing to obtain popular favor as well.

The "crypto–Lordship"
is an institutional system, within which…

…the persons or authorities who actually take the decisions,
are different from those who formally issue them.

Cosimo, in particular,
managed to exercise his power behind the scenes,…

…almost never having institutional duties.
He was "Gonfaloniere di Giustizia"…

…for only 6 months, in the span
of more than 20 years during which he is in power.

And,… the turning point, for him,
in his rise to power, takes place,…

…first in 1429,
when his father dies,…

…– the actual founder of the dinasty,
Giovanni di Bicci –,…

…and then, subsequently, in 1433.

Paradoxically, just when he is
sentenced to exile, imprisoned,…

…and risks being sentenced
to capital punishment,…

…Cosimo manages to show
how powerful he really is.

When he was exiled to Venice,…

…albeit staying away from Florence,
he managed to show,…

…to all of Italy, and above all to the Florentines,
and to the anti–Medici opposition that existed in Florence,…

…how deep his power was rooted,
both outside and inside Florence.

Cosimo the Elder, after being exiled,
returned triumphantly to the city in 1434,…

…and established, for the first time,
an effective pre–eminence of the family.

The Medici acted as a lobby.

They were, in fact,
"primi inter pares",…

…even if they had no official role
within the Signoria of Florence,…

…ehh,… which formally remained a Republic.
However, in fact,…

…the elections of officers, and all political decisions,
were made elsewhere.

And therefore, the façade remained…
let's say, "clean"; but, behind it, the Medici,…

…for 3 successive generations,
controlled the Republic of Florence.

The years of the Medici Lordship
were the years of the artistic revolution…

…which exploded in Florence in the early 15th century,
and which would decisively change Western civilisation: …

…the Renaissance.

A revolution that the Medici
will accompany, support, protect,…

…and in which they have invested,
in order to increase their power and popular approval.

An investment that spans generations.

This can be understood
by looking at the Basilica of San Lorenzo,…

…one of the oldest churches in Florence.

An entirely Medici church.

When the priests decided
to expand it, in 1421,…

… the work was financed by Lorenzo's great–grandfather:
Giovanni, the founder of the family Bank.

He chose as architect
Filippo Brunelleschi,…

…who was just then beginning
his work on the Cathedral's dome,…

…and had just completed the "Ospedale degli Innocenti",
also financed by Giovanni himself.

Its portico, with its thin arches,
already announces the beginning of the Arte Nuova.

The Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo
is one of the symbolic places of the Early Renaissance.

Giovanni makes it the family chapel.

The architect is Brunelleschi, but there is also
another architect of the Florentine revolution: Donatello.

He created the polychrome stuccos, the roundels,
the "aedicola" [frames] above the doors,…

…which decorate the geometric perfection
of the walls designed by Brunelleschi.

Donatello intervenes
after Giovanni de' Medici's death.

His client was Cosimo the Elder,
and he completed the church.

A church that remains Medici
as time goes on.

Many years later, the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent
– Giovanni, Pope Leo X –,…

…wanted to give it a worthy facade.

We are in 1518.

A competition is announced, in which great artists participate,
including Raphael and Giuliano da Sangallo.

Michelangelo is the winner,
with a project of which a wooden model still exists,…

…presently kept in Florence,
in the Buonarroti house.

A project only, because the it was never carried out:
too expensive, too complex.

The facade of San Lorenzo remains rustic,
but Leo X does not renounce to Michelangelo.

He chooses him for another creation:
a new family chapel, the New Sacristy,…

…which will be one of the greatest expressions
of Renaissance art: …

…the triumph of the interaction
between architecture and sculpture.

Two monumental tombs: …

…that of another one of Lorenzo's sons,
a brother of Leo X:…

…Giuliano, Duke of Nemours,
who died at the age of 37; …

…and that of a nephew, Lorenzino, Duke of Urbino,
who died at the age of 27.

With the famous allegories of Time: …

…on the Sepulchre of Giuliano,
the statues of Day and Night;…

…on the tomb of Lorenzino,
Dawn and Sunset.

And, on the altar,
a Madonna and Child.

We know that Lorenzo the Magnificent
and his brother Giuliano also rest in this place.

But they have
no monumental tomb.

Michelangelo remains a reference
for the Medici family.

Giuliano's natural son is Clement VII,
the Pope who suffered the Sack of Rome in 1527.

But he is also the commissioner
of the "Last Judgment", in the Sistine Chapel.

He asked Buonarroti to design a library,…

…which was to house the immense book collection that Cosimo
had already opened to the public in the mid–15th–century,…

…and which had been enriched over time
with thousands of manuscripts.

Greek and Roman classics,…

…texts by the Fathers of the Church,…

…works by poets and humanists,…

…papyri, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula.

An undertaking that Michelangelo
plans in every detail,…

…even the wooden stalls,…

…and which engages him for decades,
from 1519, the year of the commission,…

…until 1559,…

…when he delivers the design of the monumental staircase
in the vestibule, to Grand Duke Cosimo I.

Brunelleschi, Donatello, Michelangelo!

The Laurentian Library, San Lorenzo Church,
the Old and New Sacristy!

And the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore,…

…which would not have existed
without the financial support of the Medici.

These are not merely beautiful or important works,
but real cornerstones of Western art.

ALL of them carry the Medici logo.

As also does the Neoplatonic Academy,
decisive for Renaissance thought.

It can be said that patronage,
at the highest level, is in the family's DNA.

They are not just buyers: they have a direct relationship
with the artists, men of letters, poets, philosophers.

Today, we call it "cultural policy".

Many of the buildings and works of art
from Florence's Golden Age…

…are linked to the Medici name.

The Dominican convent of San Marco.

It was Cosimo who financed its construction in 1437,
with a enormous amount: over 40,000 florins.

From Michelozzo di Bartolomeo,
whom he chooses as architect,…

…he requests a simple, functional, modern project,
according to Brunelleschi's teachings.

One of the great painters of the time,
Beato Angelico, a monk in the convent,…

…is charged by Cosimo to fresco the walls of the cloister,
the chapter house, and the monk cells.

The frescoes are still there.

We can still see in San Marco
the marvelous "Annunciation", at the top of a staircase.

Cosimo and Lorenzo
are two extraordinary characters,…

…they are unquestionably the two protagonists
of 15th century Florence.

They are art patrons.

Cosimo is what we could define
as a "builder",…

…but not in a derogatory sense
of the term.

Cosimo builds palaces and churches,…

…thus making his artistic production
accessible to the people.

Lorenzo is more oriented
towards individual works of art,…

…also because his financial condition
does not allow him to build palaces anymore.

Among the many artists
of whom he is a friend and protector,…

…it is to Donatello
that Cosimo remains particularly attached.

Vasari talks about "love":
let's read his work.

"And the love that Cosimo had for Donato's excellency
was so great, that he made him work continuously."

"And Donato
felt so much love for Cosimo…"

"…that at his every slightest nod,
he guessed everything he wanted…"

"…and always obeyed him."

In the room of the Bargello Museum
dedicated to Donatello,…

…there is one of the pieces
Cosimo was most fond of: …

…the bronze David, the first nude
of the Renaissance, created around 1440.

It was located in the courtyard of Palazzo Medici,
on a base 3 meters high.

Donatello wanted the sculpture to be seen from below;
"from the abyss", as they used to say.

Another bronze by Donatello,
sculpted twenty years after the David,…

…is today in the Sala dei Gigli
in Palazzo Vecchio,…

…but initially it was also in the Palazzo Medici;
in the garden, crowning a fountain.

I refer to group of Judith and Holofernes,
which was confiscated in 1495,…

…when the Medici
were expelled from Florence,…

…and placed in front of Palazzo Vecchio,
as a warning against tyranny.

Lorenzo had been dead for 3 years.

But it was he
who built the power…

…which was reviled by the republicans
and by Savonarola,…

…whom Lorenzo himself
had brought to Florence.

The figure of Donatello's David,…

…its adolescent finesse and elegance,
was specifically chosen…

…by Cosimo and Donatello,…

…to exalt, in fact,
Florentine finesse…

…against the roughness of Florence's enemies.
And therefore,…

…there is a… double, I would say,… message,…
of rejection of external violence,…

…and the ability to control, – by means of civilization,
shall we say –, 2 contrary movements.

Eehh,… however, there is also
an internal message to the city,…

Eehh,… to say, "Well, we are the ones
who can afford to make these statues".

The statues, not surprisingly,
when the Medici are driven out of Florence,…

…are, ahh,… removed from the Medici Palace,
and taken to the Palazzo della Signoria.

The palace where David and Judith once stood
is near Piazza San Marco,…

…in what used to be called via Larga,
and which today is via Cavour.

Palazzo Medici, commissioned by Cosimo,
and family residence until the mid–16th century.

An imposing building,
with a classical courtyard and garden.

Michelozzo built it in about 10 years,
starting in 1444.

But Cosimo had first asked Brunelleschi.

A story told by Vasari.

"He made for Cosimo
a very beautiful large model for his palace,…" "

…where Filippo's skill was such,…"

…that it appeared to Cosimo
too sumptuous and large,…"

…so that, in order to avoid popular envy,
rather than reduce the expense,…"

…– therefore, it wasn't a money problem –,…

"…he stopped the construction."

Brunelleschi was disappointed,…

…and Vasari says that when Cosimo let him know
that work was going to be stopped,… …

…"He, with indignation,
tore the designs into a thousand pieces."

A political choice.

Cosimo was very careful
not to show off.

His characteristic feature was "Prudence",
according to Guicciardini.

It was no coincidence that he had chosen, as a motto,
an oxymoron much liked by Emperor Augustus,…

…"Festina lente": Make haste slowly.
Practice boldness and prudence together.

It was prudence that ensured
that Cosimo retained power for 30 years,…

…and then could hand it down
to his children and grandchildren.

Cosimo is the "Pater Patriae".

Cosimo is essentially
a "self–made–man".

He is a man who made himself. Of course, he inherited
the family Bank from his father Giovanni di Bicci,…

…but he had the power and ability
to transform the economic power into political power.

Guicciardini, in addition to prudence,
also attributes wealth and magnificence to him.

Such as splendidly staged
by Benozzo Gozzoli in a 1459 fresco,…

… "The Procession of the Magi",
painted for the palace chapel,…

…where Cosimo and his son,
Piero "the Gouty", are represented,…

…followed by their humanist friends.

Dominating the scene, on a white horse,
is a handsome boy with curly hair.

He is Lorenzo,
Cosimo's favorite nephew.

One special place binds
grandfather and grandson.

It is the villa of Careggi,
on the outskirts of Florence.

It is in the Unesco world heritage,
– like all the Medici villas, by the way.

Built by Michelozzo, it was the favorite residence
of both Cosimo and Lorenzo.

Here, the grandfather died;
here, the nephew was born and died.

Here met the Neoplatonic Academy,
founded by Cosimo with Marsilio Ficino.

The grandfather brought here his adolescent nephew,
to follow the lessons of philosophers and men of letters…

…who gave life to a movement that marked
European culture: "Florentine Humanism".

Careggi was for Cosimo,
and then for Lorenzo, the place of "otium",…

…of conversations,
of intellectual reflections.

Business was transacted
in the building in via Larga,…

…where Cosimo, like Lorenzo, discussed,
within a small circle of trusted friends,…

…about business
and the government of the city.

Real power resided in the Palazzo Medici.
Palazzo Vecchio housed "formal" power.

Under Arnolfo's tower, government was in the hands
of men chosen by Cosimo,…

…who took care not to upset the republican institutions,
to which the Florentines were much attached.

Machiavelli saw in this
a sign of Cosimo's greatness,…

…and one of the factors
in the fortune of the Medici.

Lorenzo will follow
his grandfather's lessons.

Cosimo the Elder is a banker,…

…he is a… a businessman,
very skilled in dealing with the people,… …

ahh,… who knows how to handle
complex situations,…

…ehh,… and,… let's say,…
he amassed the fabled family fortune.

Lorenzo, who came two generations later,
had other kind of problems.

However, he was brought up in privilege,…

…and he found himself, at the age of only 20
– because his father died very early –,…

…ahh,… having to manage this great machine,
set in motion by previous generations.

Lorenzo inherited a power, an empire,
which had been created by others,…

…and he had the ability
– not at all negligible –, to preserve it,…

…to know how to enhance it,…

…to know how to also institutionalize it,
through a series of decisive steps,…

…through matrimonial policies,…

…through… ehh,… institutional reforms,…

…through a series of moves
that demonstrate his great political prowess,…

…such as obtaining a cardinalate
for his son Giovanni.

The beauty of Italian cities, large and small,
is that they are like palimpsests of history.

Just by walking in them,
you are always coming across signs of the past.

The story of the Medici
is told by Florence itself.

If we enter Santa Maria Novella,
the church of Giotto's Crucifix, and Masaccio's Trinity,…

…there is a chapel that says much
about the Medici and Lorenzo.

It is the Cappella Maggiore, commissioned by one
of the most illustrious Florentine families, the Tornabuoni,…

…the family of Lorenzo's mother, Lucrezia,…

…who appears in the imposing cycle of frescoes
painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio between 1488 and 1490.

In the scene of the birth of the Baptist,
on the right, in the group of 3 women.

Lucrezia was a cultured woman,
who followed closely the education of her children.

If Lorenzo became a poet, it is also due to her,
a poetess and friend of Luigi Pulci,…

…who dedicated to her "Il Morgante", one of
the greatest Italian poetic compositions of the 15th century.

The kneeling man,
as befits the patron of a sacred work,…

…is Lucrezia's brother,
Giovanni Tornabuoni.

He managed a strategic branch of Banco Medici:
the Rome branch.

If we go back to the Bargello,
the marvelous museum of Florentine sculpture,…

…where we find Donatello's David,…

…we also meet Lorenzo's father, Piero,…

…in a half–bust by Mino da Fiesole of around 1455,
when Piero was approaching 40 years old.

Piero "the Gouty", Lorenzo's father, ehh,…
as his epithet says, ehh,… …

…he had this illness, which was indeed
a hereditary family disease.

Lorenzo will also die
of a form of… of gout.

And,… he was a very ???? man, ehh,…

…and perhaps not cut out for political leadership,
as his father had been, and as his son will be.

But his mother, a Tornabuoni,
was a very pious woman, a lover of religious poetry;…

…a tough woman, ehh,…
if necessary, ehh,…

…but also extremely affectionate
towards her children,…

…ehh,… and of these two boys,
Lorenzo and Giuliano.

Piero who succeeds Cosimo.

He follows in his father's footsteps
in Bank management, politics, and patronage,…

…but leads the family
for only 5 years.

Nailed to his bed by gout, he will end his days
– as I said –, in 1469, little more than 50 years old.

He knew he was going to die.

He had said to his son,
"Consider growing up before the time,..."

"...because it will be necessary."

Upon his death, the destiny of the Medici
passes into the hands of Lorenzo,…

…who wants his beloved brother Giuliano by his side,
even if he is only 16 years old.

Lorenzo follows
in his grandfather's footsteps.

He arbitrates between rival families,
consolidates alliances;…

…strengthens the "Council of 100", i.e. the Legislative Assembly,
guaranteeing himself a trusted majority.

He is an intellectual seconded to politics:
energetic, tough, and resolute.

It is the spring of 1470.

Lorenzo has been in power
for a few months.

In Prato, a city
under the dominion of Florence,…

…a group of anti–Medici exiles
occupies "La Fortezza", the town hall,…

…and takes the Podestà prisoner.

But the sedition fails.

The Podestà is delivered,
and the leader of the exiles is brought back to Florence.

Lorenzo orders his head cut off.

Two years later, in 1472, Volterra rebelled.

Lorenzo, who has been in power for more than 2 years,
decides to close an age–old quarrel…

…with the definitive submission of the city.

Also in his sights:
the control of the recently discovered alum mines.

He has the Council of 100
vote on a military intervention,…

…and entrusts the enterprise to a very respected mercenary:
Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino,…

…who does not retreat before anything.

Siege, looting, and bloodshed:
Volterra passes under the dominion of Florence.

And Lorenzo orders the construction of the fortress;
not to protect the city, but to enforce his dominion.

Listen to what Machiavelli writes: …

…"Lorenzo rose to a very great reputation."

"The news of this victory
was received by the Florentines with great joy."

Lorenzo must extricate himself
from the tangle of unstable Italian politics.

The traditional alliance with the Duchy of Milan, which seems to be
in crisis, after the murder of Galeazzo Maria Sforza;…

…the complicated relations with Venice;…

…the Pope's intentions on the territories
surrounding the Florentine Republic.

The problems arise
when one makes powerful enemies.

Like the Pope.
Especially when the Pope is Sixtus IV.

We see him in a detached fresco,
which is kept in the Vatican Museums.

The author, Melozzo da Forlì, expresses all his passion
for the symmetry and purity of classical forms: …

…the pillars, the arches, the coffered ceiling,
the Corinthian capital at the center of the composition.

The fresco shows the appointment of Bartolomeo Sacchi,
known as "Il Platina", as Prefect of the Vatican Library.

But the painting is not just a manifesto
of the humanistic culture of Sixtus IV.

It is also a representation of his nepotism.

The characters around him
are all his relatives.

The young man in the blue robe, Girolamo Riario,
is the son of a sister of the Pope.

When Melozzo portrays him – it is 1477 –,
Girolamo is 34 years old,…

…and is preparing himself
to become Lord of Florence.

Yes, you heard it right!

He is preparing himself
to take Lorenzo's place! But how?

It should be borne in mind
that Florence was not a hereditary dynasty.

And therefore, Lorenzo's rise to power,
after Piero's death in 1469,…

…was not as automatic
as one might be tempted to think.

There were a number of powers,
internal and external, in the city,…

…that want to intervene, to take advantage
of this moment of weakness.

And… there are foreign powers
who naturally want to weaken Florence;…

…there are opponents in the Florentine origachy,
anti–Medici opponents,…

…who want to take over from these "self–made lords",
who have improvised themselves within the republic.

And, finally, it should be borne in mind that,
even among those who support Lorenzo…

…there are people who actually act
in order to weaken the Medici,…

…in the belief that, because Lorenzo is only 20 years old,
it will be possible to manipulate him.

But, of course, history will prove
that their calculations were wrong.

Fiesole, 1478.

A banquet to celebrate the nomination as Cardinal
of Raffaele Riario, another nephew of Sixtus IV,…

…who is just 18 years old.

The villa is crowded with nobles and notables;
friends, and also enemies, of the Medici.

There is Girolamo Riario,
cousin of the newly created Cardinal.

And there is Jacopo dei Pazzi,
whose family is a Medici rival,…

…despite the recent marriage
of Lorenzo's sister, Bianca, to a Pazzi member.

Jacopo and Girolamo are there
with a very definite task: …

…to poison Lorenzo and Giuliano,
and to install Girolamo in the Signoria of Florence.

But the plan fails,
due to an unforeseen and trivial circumstance: ...

...an ailment prevents Giuliano
from participating in the banquet.

But,…! Why did they want to eliminate the Medici
and take power in Florence?

The story is complicated,
and has 2 protagonists.

In 1473, the Pope appointed his nephew,
Girolamo Riario, Lord of Imola.

He wants to prevent Lorenzo's plans
on that territory, which borders Florence.

The Imola enterprise
had cost the Pope 30,000 ducats,…

…which had been lent to him
by the Pazzi, the Medici's rivals.

The Medici have several disputes
with the Pope.

The non–appointment of Giuliano as Cardinal,
which Lorenzo has been requesting for years;…

…the appointment of an enemy of the Medici,
Francesco Salviati, as Archbishop of Pisa,…

…and the Pope, moreover,
wants to transfer him to Florence itself.

Therefore Lorenzo
refuses a loan to the Pope,…

…and asks the other Florentine bankers
to do the same.

Sixtus IV breaks the relationship with the Medici Bank,
and transfers the Vatican accounts to the Pazzi.

He becomes the secret leader
of the conspiracy.

The conspirators meet
in Santa Maria del Fiore.

It is April 26, 1478.

And that's where the double plan starts: …

…2 groups of assassins
will separately kill the Medici brothers.

In Giuliano's case, the murder takes place
in an "excessive" manner, with 19 stab wounds,…

…and he dies lying on the ground,
in a pool of blood.

In Lorenzo's case,
the person who was to carry out the murder…

…refuses to proceed
– at the very last minute.

Two other persons replace him.
They are less experienced with weapons. And these two…

…fail to accomplish their task,
and Lorenzo manages to escape, and take refuge…

…behind the door of the cathedral sacristy,
where no one can attain him anymore.

Jacopo de' Pazzi runs into Piazza della Signoria,
shouting "Liberty!".

But then he realizes that, not only he is not acclaimed,
but he is chased by the crowd,…

…and manages to escape unharmed.

The conspiracy failed.

The Pope's troops,
led by Federico di Montefeltro,…

…positioned around Florence,
ready to occupy the city, are forced to retreat.

On the city square,
everyone is for Lorenzo.

Francesco de' Pazzi and the Archbishop of Pisa
are hanged from the windows of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Jacopo ends up in the same manner.

Beheadings, hangings, lynchings.

We have a drawing by Leonardo
of that bloodbath: …

…the portrait of the last hanged man,
Giuliano's stabber, Bernardo Bandini.

Leonardo describes, next to the drawing,
his clothes: …

…"Cap, black satin doublet,..."

"...lined blue jacket, black stockings."

One of the mysteries of the Pazzi conspiracy
concerns the identity…

…of the intended assassin
of Lorenzo de' Medici,…

…the first one, designated – by the Pope himself –,
to kill the Magnificent.

Aahh,… This man is called
Giovanbattista da Montesecco,…

…and he made a full confession…

…about the conspiracy,
revealing the background of the Vatican's involvement…

…in this complex plot.

The discovery that I happened to make is that,
in effect, the Pope had promised – personally –,…

…to give Montesecco a fiefdom and a wife,
on ecclesiastical territory,…

…ehh,… if he completed
his assassination mission.

The rather Incredible thing is,
that when Montesecco…

…met Lorenzo in person –,
the person he was supposed to kill –,…

…he was fascinated by this man,
and so much,…

…that he then refused
to proceed to the end of this mission,…

…excusing himself on the grounds
that he was ready, yes,…

…to commit a murder, BUT NOT a sacrilege, because the murder
would have taken place, in fact, in a church.

The story of Montesecco shows
how much Lorenzo could, shall we say, "seduce",…

…even people who were potentially his enemies,
or even his murderers.

The Pazzi conspiracy
is one of the most sensational episodes…

…in history, not only in the Renaissance,
but in Italian history.

We can say that the conspiracy doesn't change anything,
but also changes everything.

Nothing changes, because the Medici
were in power, and the Medici remain in power.

But everything changes,
because the failure of the conspiracy allows Lorenzo…

…to overturn a series of power relationships
that existed inside and outside the State.

He manages to increase his power
within the State,…

…because he takes advantage
of what had happened…

…to carry out a ruthless, particularly cruel repression,
of which perhaps not even his enemies…

…believed him capable at the time .

In addition to repression,
he also manages to implement institutional reforms,…

…which would never have been granted,
had it not been for the conspiracy,…

…giving the Medici a margin of power,
of control over the city's institutions,…

… much higher than it was previously.

He also increases his power within the family,
because Giuliano is gone,…

…and he naturally increases his power
within the Italian political arena.

Lorenzo has the city on his side.

When Sixtus IV asks the Florentines
to hand him over,…

…he hears the answer:
"You call him Tyrant; we call him Defender".

The Pope excommunicates him, accusing him
of the killing of the Archbishop and several priests.

He closes a Holy Alliance with the Kingdom of Naples,
and wages war against Florence .

The war will be a failure.

But for 2 years, until 1480, Tuscany was the scene
of military occupations, including bloody ones.

Peace was signed in 1480,
with the lifting of the excommunication.

Within the Italian political arena,
Lorenzo managed to implement…

…a sort of reversal of alliances,…

…when, in a brilliant move,
he goes to Naples,…

…and manages to consolidate an alliance
with Ferdinand I, King of Naples, who, until then, had…

…established a very solid common front
with Pope Sixtus IV,…

…sidelinining – paradoxically – the Pope,
who until then had been in a position of strength.

From that moment on, a Lorenzo de' Medici
who had been almost without allies,…

…– because he had received very little support,
either from Venice or from Milan –,… …

…found himself in an absolutely dominating position
within the Italian political balance.

Lorenzo comes out well.

Cosimo had been acclaimed as "Father of the Fatherland",
but he is the "Savior of the Fatherland".

Even the Sistine Chapel is part of this story,
and says many things about Lorenzo.

Because, under Michelangelo's great vault,…

…there are frescoes
with the stories of Christ and Moses,…

…painted 30 years earlier by Sandro Botticelli,
Cosimo Rosselli, Domenico Ghirlandaio.

A group of Florentine painters
that Lorenzo sends to Rome in the autumn of 1480,…

…as a sign of reconciliation with the Pope,
who had built the chapel, and wanted to decorate it.

A political gesture,
but also an act of promotion of Florentine art.

And it won't be the only one.

Lorenzo sends Leonardo to Milan,
to Ludovico il Moro,…

…where he paints the "Virgin of the Rocks",
and then the "Last Supper".

Verrocchio goes to Venice,
for the equestrian monument to Bartolomeo Colleoni.

On the other hand, Giuliano da Sangallo
went to Naples, with Rossellino and Giuliano da Maiano.

Andrea Sansovino
works for the King of Portugal.

In Rome, Filippino Lippi frescoed the Carafa chapel,
in the Church of the Minerva.

Lorenzo makes politics
with the prestige of his artists.

It kicks off that exaltation of Tuscan art
beyond the Florentine borders,…

…which, in the mid–16th century,…

…Vasari will consecrate with the "Lives",
dedicated precisely to a Medici, the Grand Duke Cosimo I.

Many historians observe that, in this manner,
Florence ended up depriving itself of its best artists.

Many of them, in fact, will not return,
like Verrocchio or Leonardo.

But, in Lorenzo's patronage,
this dispersion was intentional.

It was a price to pay for the success of the city,
the prestige of the country.

We should now return to the Tornabuoni chapel
of Santa Maria Novella,…

…to read an inscription which appears in the scene
of the "Annunciation to Zaccaria",…

…one of the most beautiful in the cycle.

The inscription on the arch
was dictated by Poliziano,…

…and it says, in Latin: … …

"When the very beautiful city, noble in power,
victories, arts, and buildings,…"

...enjoyed abundance, well-being, and peace."

Italy, in the 15th century,
was also the cradle of Humanism, of the Renaissance.

Florence in particular,
but Italy in general.

And it must be kept in mind,
to understand Lorenzo's character,…

…that, if it is true that Lorenzo contributed
to make the Renaissance great,…

…it is also true that the Renaissance contributed
to make Lorenzo great.

The decade 1480 – 90 is in fact
the Golden Decade of Florence. And of Lorenzo.

The Magnificent has no problems:
the Florentine oligarchy is now on his side,…

…popular favor is skyrocketing,
and power is firmly in his hands.

He moves quickly and shrewdly,
bold and controlled.

Moderator, mediator;
at home, and abroad.

Employing strategies aimed at maintaining
a difficult balance between the states,…

…and at diminishing the danger
of intervention by foreign powers.

The myth of Lorenzo is born:
defender of the independence of the peninsula.

He is the needle in the scale of Italian politics,
according to Francesco Guicciardini.

In 1482, Ferrara had been attacked
by the Venetians and the Pope,…

…after a reversal of alliances,
because in this case…

…the Pope fought
against the Kingdom of Naples.

Lorenzo manages
to play a mediating role,…

…and helps to ensure, after 2 years of war,
the integrity of the Duchy of Ferrara.

In that year, 1484,
Sixtus IV della Rovere dies.

The new Pope is Giovanbattista Cibo,
with the name of Innocent VIII.

Relations between Florence and Rome
calmed down.

It was Innocent who made Cardinal
the 13–year–old Giovanni de' Medici, Lorenzo's son,…

…who would in turn
become Pope in 1513.

The experience of the Pazzi war
made Lorenzo understand…

…that it is always better
NOT to have the Church as an enemy.

Therefore, when, upon the death of Sixtus IV,
Innocent VIII was elected,…

…ahh,… Lorenzo immediately activated
all possible diplomatic, and even financial, channels… …

…in order to become
a friend of the new Pope.

He succeeded very well,
because the Pope…

… ehh,… agrees to marry his nephew
– in fact, his son –, Franceschetto Cibo,…

…to one of Lorenzo's daughters, Maddalena.
And this marriage brought about a rather solid alliance,…

…thanks to which, among other things,
the Pope names…

…first secretly,
and then officially,…

…ahh,… Lorenzo's second son, Giovanni,…

…to the dignity of Cardinal,
at the very young age of 13.

The publication will then take place
when he is 17.

Lorenzo is betting on the future of the family
within the Church.

A bet that, in fact,
will be successful, because,…

…not only Giovanni
will become Pope Leo X, but,…

…his cousin, Giulio, son of that Giuliano
who was massacred in the Cathedral of Florence,… …

will later become Pope Clement VII.

It is worth emphasizing that both Maddalena
and Giovanni were only 13 years old…

…at the time they became, respectively,
wife of Franceschetto Cibo, and Cardinal "in pectore".

This shows us that even an enlightened Prince,
like Lorenzo the Magnificent,…

…didn't hesitate to use his children,
even condemning them to unhappiness,…

…as was the case, certainly,
of Maddalena,…

…in order to achieve his goals
within a "Realpolitik",…

…in which the political stakes
were certainly much bigger.

In the eighties, Lorenzo expanded the borders
of the Republic, towards the sea,…

…with the capture
of Pietrasanta and Sarzana.

But the management of the family Bank
is not as successful.

Historians use the term "decline".

The branches in Lyon, Bruges,
and London are liquidated.

Lorenzo is an extraordinary intellectual,
but he didn't have a real financial or economic education.

And this will cause
quite a few problems, when Lorenzo…

…starts confusing
private and public finances.

When he diverts funds
from the state coffers…

…to fill the gaps that have been created
within the family Bank.

The role of banker
was not in his comfort zone;…

…or, rather, he uses the Bank,
above all, for political purposes,…

…and patronage is extremely costly,…

…because Lorenzo is the Prince
of Renaissance patronage.

Guicciardini compares him with his grandfather Cosimo,
analyzing their differences.

"Cosimo's patronage," says Guicciardini,
"was public."

"Lorenzo's was private."

In fact, Lorenzo does not commission
any major architectural works in Florence.

No building, church, or palace
are due to Lorenzo,…

…while Cosimo had built San Lorenzo,
San Marco, the Badia Fiesolana.

No great sculptures or paintings
are commissioned by Lorenzo,…

…while Cosimo had commissioned
Benozzo Gozzoli's frescoes in the palace chapel,…

…and Beato Angelico's paintings
in San Marco,…

…and had filled his house
with bronzes by Donatello.

The only public work
that Lorenzo projected…

…– but was not carried outt -,…

…was a façade
for the cathedral of Florence.

A competition was announced,
but nothing came of it.

The present façade of Santa Maria del Fiore
will not be carried out until the mid–19th century.

Guicciardini informs us of Lorenzo's predilection
"for music," – so he writes –,…

"…for architecture,
for painting, for sculpture,…"

"…and for all the intellectual arts,
so that the city was very abundant in all these gentlenesses."

That's it:
Florence, full of "gentlenesses".

A beautiful word to describe the numerous
expressions of art that made the city a gentle one.

And Guicciardini adds: …

…"These gentlenesses
emerged all the more..."

"...when he gave judgment,..." "

...in such a form that everyone, to please him
all the more, competed with each other."

Thus Lorenzo, not as a commissioner
of works for the city,…

…but committed
to making the arts flourish,…

…in a sort of competition,
with himself as the arbiter of taste.

At the Uffizi there are some of the paintings
that he kept at home,…

…such as Paolo Uccello's
"Battle of San Romano",…

…one of the great works
of Florentine painting of the 15th century.

Today, in Florence, there is only one
of the 3 panels of the work.

To see the other 2, you need to go to the Louvre
and the National Gallery in London.

The 3 panels, almost 2 meters in height,
have an overall length of over 9 meters,…

…and were displayed in the large room,
on the ground floor of Palazzo Medici,…

…as recorded by the documents of the time.

There were also 2 small paintings by Pollaiuolo,
with 2 labors of Hercules: …

…"The fight with the Giant Antaeus"
and "The Killing of the Lernaean hydra",…

…subjects taken from classical mythology,
so dear to the Neoplatonic Academy.

Hercules and Antaeus: we find them again
in the Bargello, in a small bronze, also by Pollaiuolo.

A work commissioned by Lorenzo
when he was 26 years old.

Lorenzo was an avid collector,
like many Renaissance princes.

In 1483, he went to Mantua,
to meet Andrea Mantegna.

His paintings were expensive,
and hard to get.

Various princes had tried – in vain –,
and even the Pope.

Lorenzo managed to obtain two:
he paid for the first one, the second was given to him.

We know the subjects:
a "San Sebastiano" and a "Judith".

No trace remains of the first one.

The "Judith", a small panel,
is now in the National Gallery in Washington.

Another painting by Lorenzo, which no longer exists
– destroyed in a fire in Berlin in 1945 –,…

…is "L'Educazione di Pan", by Luca Signorelli.

It can give a certain emotion
to find it quoted by Vasari: …

…"He painted some naked gods
for Lorenzo de' Medici."

And concerning Lorenzo, he writes: …

…"He never wanted to be defeated by anyone
in liberality and magnificence."

Lorenzo also collected ancient gems,
such as the "Seal of Nero", from the 1st century,…

…and today
in the Archaeological Museum of Naples.

We see it around the neck of a young woman,
in a painting by Botticelli.

She is Simonetta Vespucci,
the ideal love of his brother Giuliano.

"He took great delight in the carvings of ancient cameos,
and collected large quantities of them."

"Very rare carved stones,
engraved in diverse patterns."

So Vasari tells us
about Lorenzo's passion for gems.

The Magnificent buys
the collection of Pietro Barbo, Pope Paul II,…

…and manages to win the largest and most beautiful
cameo in the world, the so–called "Tazza Farnese".

A dish, made perhaps in Alexandria,
between the 3rd and 2nd century BC,…

…and perhaps brought to Rome by Augustus,
on his return from Egypt.

Frederick II had been its owner.

Lorenzo had bought it in Rome in 1471.

He was 22 years old.

He had gone there
for a negotiation with Sisto IV,…

…but he had also seen the "Mirabilia Urbis",
the marvels of Rome,…

…in the company of Leon Battista Alberti.

And he returned from Rome
with his first purchases.

"I brought," he writes in a memoir,
"the 2 ancient marble heads, which Pope Sixtus gave me."

"And, on top of that,
I brought the bowl."

Of the 2 heads, nothing is known at present;
the "bowl" is the Farnese cup.

"Rare things, things for gentlemen."

So does Leonardo describe
Lorenzo's collection of antiquities.

And he adds:
"Very dear things".

"Dear" in the sense of "lovable",
but also because they are very expensive.

Sandro Botticelli is perhaps
the artist who is closest to the Medici family.

In the "Adoration of the Magi", he portrays
virtually all family members, in one form or another.

And also himself, looking out from the canvas,
inviting everyone to admire the beauty of the scene,…

…and, in particular,
the elegance of his patrons.

But,… it was after Giuliano's death that Botticelli
showed even more his affection for the family,…

…because not only did he paint
this posthumous portrait of Giuliano,…

…in which Giuliano looks down,
to signal he was already dead,…

…and his soul has flown away,
like the little bird seen at his side;…

…later, ehh,…
in "The Spring",…

…he painted also a complex allegory,
which has been interpreted in many ways,…

…ahh,… and enacts, ahh,… a sort of dynastic war
between the Pazzi and Medici,…

… which has a series of symbolic meanings,
both political, and also – in a certain sense – of revenge.

We must not forget that Botticelli is one
of the 3 Florentine artists who were summoned…

…to decorate the walls of the Sistine Chapel,
then just built by Pope Sixtus IV,…

…– the same Pope who had, in some way,
conspired in the killing of Giuliano –,…

…and it can be argued that,… in particular
in one of the scenes, the "Punishment of Core",…

…even though Botticelli
was forced to execute this painting…

…under the instructions of the Pope, …

…he managed to slip in elements…

…that are in fact a criticism
of the Pope's highhandedness,…

…and of… ehh,…
it's a secret celebration…

…of the immortality
of the Republic of Florence…

…against all attempts to destroy it.

While cultivating his jewels,
Lorenzo pursues a policy of centralization of power,…

…ending up
by actually depriving the city magistrates,…

…in favor of organs
under his direct control.

Thanks to commercial agreements,
such as the one with Henry VII of England,…

…Florence reaches a role in maritime trade
that it had never had before.

Also for this reason, the Magnificent favors
the rebirth of Pisa, where the ancient university reopens.

The love of study and culture
was what was closest to his heart.

In Florence,
in a place dear to grandfather Cosimo,…

…he invented something truly new:
the garden of San Marco.

There, in 1469, he had celebrated
his marriage to Clarice Orsini,…

…a marriage arranged by his mother,…

…who had gone to Rome in search of a girl
from a noble and wealthy family.

Perhaps she is the woman portrayed
in Botticelli's painting, now in Palazzo Pitti.

Clarice, who died in 1488,…

…had given Lorenzo 10 children,…

…but their marriage, it seems,
was not a happy one.

The garden of San Marco, however, is transformed:
it becomes an open-air museum,…

…with ancient sculptures
placed among the plants.

"Sculptures which, in addition to the magnificent
ornament they made to the garden,…"

"…were like a school and academy
for young painters and sculptors".

So writes Vasari, who was the creator
of the myth of the garden of San Marco.

The history of the garden of San Marco is located
along the thin ridge that separates historical reality from legend.

The legend, at least in part, is…
it was not totally created,…

…but it was told by 2 important writers,
who were also artists: …

…Giorgio Vasari and Ascanio Condivi.

They tell us that the garden of San Marco
was a mythical place, where there was a school of sculpture,…

…where many Florentine artists of the time
were trained,…

… where there was a gallery for the exhibition
of portraits, paintings, works of art from Antiquity.

It was also the place where Michelangelo
was educated, only 15–years old,…

…discovered, in a way, by Lorenzo the Magnificent,
who took him under his wing, and treated him like a son.

These stories probably betray the desire
to make Lorenzo the Magnificent appear as…

…discoverer, as a sort of
"ante litteram scout"…

…of talents,
and in particular of Michelangelo.

In reality, it is certain that there was a garden;
it is certain that there were sculptures;…

…but it does not seem
that there was a gallery,…

…with paintings or other works of art;
it does not appear that there was a school.

There was only one place
where – occasionally – artists met,…

…who – occasionally –
would produce works of art.

But on this we have
very little documentation.

What is indisputable is that Lorenzo
was endowed with a great artistic taste,…

…a great respect for art,
and that he played a very important role…

…in welcoming important artists into his court,
and in making them work, both for him and for other patrons.

A garden open to young artists,
to learn from the ancients.

A school that one could enter
only if in possession of extraordinary gifts.

"The Magnificent always favored
the greatest artists", says Vasari,…

"…and it is no wonder that some of those
who amazed the world came out of that school."

Leonardo was present in the garden around 1475,
when he was 25 years old,…

…and in 1489 arrived a teenager,
named Michelangelo Buonarroti.

He was not yet 15 years old,
and came from Ghirlandaio's workshop,…

…to which he never returned, because he was enchanted
by the beauty of the ancient statues.

Michelangelo soon won
the favor of Lorenzo,…

…who, as Ascanio Condivi writes
in the biography of the artist, …

…"decided to favor such amount of effort [ingenuity],
and keep it for himself".

Michelangelo was, in a way, adopted,
in agreement with the boy's father.

"He had a good room given to Michelagnolo,
with all the comforts he wanted, and treated him like a son."

"He ate at the main table,
where very noble personalities sat,…"

"…the greatest intellectuals of the time:
Poliziano, Ficino, Pico della Mirandola,…"

"…by whom", says Condivi,
"he was greatly cherished"

Especially by the Magnificent,
who several times a day had him called,..."

"...showing him his jewels, carnelians, medals,
and similar things, of great value."

"He showed him everything that was most dear to him,
a privilege he reserved to a few."

"He did it out of affection and esteem."

Michelangelo lived in the palace in via Larga
for 2 years, until Lorenzo's death,…

...and studied
in the garden of San Marco.

Two years that were fundamental
for his training.

"He had a taste for architecture,
but above all for that which had an ancient flavour,..."

"...as can be seen in Poggio a Caiano,
where the magnificence of the ancients appears."

So we read in the first biography of Lorenzo,
written a few years after his death,

Poggio a Caiano is considered
the most beautiful of the Medici villas,

It was built by Giuliano da Sangallo
in the 1480s.

Lorenzo does not limit himself to be a client:
he follows the works closely,…

…he collaborates with Giuliano;
so much so, that the two become friends.

His love for Poggio a Caiano is such…

…that he wrote a poem about it, "Ambra"
from the name of the nymph who was transformed into a cliff.

The relationship between the villa and the park
was close to his heart.

He loved nature, sought the enchantment
of the landscape, adored walks.

Lorenzo's friends are all portrayed
by Ghirlandaio, in the Tornabuoni chapel.

We find them in the scene
we have already considered,…

…that of the "Announcement to Zechariah":
they are at the bottom, on the left.

Vasari describes them: …

…"To show that that age flourished
in all sorts of virtues, and especially in letters,..."

...he painted 4 half–figures in a circle,
who reason together."

"They were the most scholarly men
who lived in Florence in those times."

"The first is Messer Marsilio Ficino,
wearing a canon's robes;..." "

...the second, with a red cloak, and a black scarf
around his neck, is Cristofano Landino;..."

"…and Demetrio Greco,
who turns his face around;…"

"…and in the midst of these, raising his hand a little,
is Messer Angelo Poliziano."

"They are all
very much alive and ready."

"The most scholarly men."

Lorenzo's friends,
the members of the Neoplatonic Academy,…

…that Lorenzo had revived
in his grandfather's footsteps.

We don't know very much
about the Neoplatonist Academy.

There certainly was a circle
of humanists, who met…

…around the figure of philosopher Marsilio Ficino
in the villa of Careggi, which had been endowed by…

…given by Cosimo,
precisely to Marsilio Ficino.

Within this circle, there were probably some
of the most prominent artists and writers of the time,…

…from Cristoforo Landino
to Francesco Cattani da Diacceto,…

…from Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
to Angelo Poliziano.

And Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano
probably took part in these meetings too.

We don't know to what extent
it was a somewhat institutionalized academy,…

…with members, with regular meetings,
with regulations.

It was probably only a gathering of scholars,
who met on an occasional, informal,…

…absolutely non–regular basis,…

…to discuss philosophical, cultural,
and literary topics of common interest.

Cosimo had been the Maecenas of intellectuals;
Lorenzo becomes his friend.

His biographer, Niccolò Valori,
says it in just a few words.

"He treated them generously, cherished them;
he never left them."

This young man, portrayed by Pietro Perugino,
is a Florentine humanist, Alessandro Braccesi.

We are grateful to him for having described,
in a letter dated 1480,…

…addressed to Pietro Bembo
– another name of the intellectual discussions of the time –,…

…the garden at Careggi,
the villa which was the seat of the Neoplatonic Academy.

Thus, we know that
"it was not large, but wonderful, rich in plants,..."

"...like the pale olive tree,
sacred to Minerva;..."

"...the myrtle, sacred to Venus;
the oak, sacred to Jupiter;..."

"...the poplar , the plane tree,…"

"…and the spices, the aromatic plants,
the flowers, violets, roses, jasmine."

Flowers that Botticelli painted
on the lawn of "Spring",…

…in imitation of those he had seen
in the flowerbeds of Careggi.

There, among the plants
and flowers of Careggi, Lorenzo died,…

…on the night of April 8th, 1492,
at the age of only 43.

Around him were Pico della Mirandola,
Poliziano, and his closest friends.

Lorenzo's death
initiates a new era.

A new era begins for the world!

1492, the year America is discovered.

So, at least from a… Eurocentric perspective,
the world changes.

It is no longer centered around the Mediterranean,
and therefore the legacy of the classics, Greeks, Latins.

One looks now the other way, one looks towards the West,
one looks towards the Atlantic.

It changes as far as Italy is concerned.

Two years after the death of the Magnificent,
in 1494, Charles VIII descends into Italy.

Charles VIII crosses the Alps at Montgenevre
at the head of a huge army,…

…and sows havoc and terror
throughout the peninsula.

And, from there on, the history of Italy
changes for all the following decades,…

…when Italy will be scourged
by a period of long and bloody wars.

It is a new era also for Florence.

It must be said that Lorenzo de' Medici's death
had left a void that was very difficult to fill.

Certainly his son Piero
is unable to fill it.

He is unsuitable to command,
and, not coincidentally, is nicknamed Piero "il Fatuo".

A Dominican friar, self-styled prophet,
who will come to power in 1494, will be able to fill the void,…

…exploiting the moment of weakness
created by the blunders of the Medici,…

…and, paradoxically,
also promising to the Florentines,…

…a dream of a golden age, of Florence
as an elected city, as a New Jerusalem,…

…but in a very different manner
from what Lorenzo had done.

Not a glory achieved
through the acquisition of earthly goods,…

…but through their renunciation.

And it should also be underlined…

…that, ironically,
it was Lorenzo the Magnificent himself…

…who had brought Savonarola to Florence,
to make him a preacher in the convent of San Marco.

Just in that year, Michelangelo,
thanks to the experience of the garden of San Marco,…

…had sculpted one of his first works,
"The Battle of the Centaurs".

The theme had been suggested to him
by Poliziano.

A work which,
according to Vasari,…

…"does not appear to be by the hand of a young man,
but by a precious and consummate master".

Michelangelo was only 15 years old,
but all his art is already in this marble.

The "Prisoners", the "Ignudi"
of the Sistine Chapel, the "Unfinished".

One wonders if all this would have happened
without Lorenzo the Magnificent. Who can tell?

His city, his Florence,
ruled with an iron fist, was an open city.

A great forge of ideas.

He was a man of rare culture,
educated by the finest humanists.

Lorenzo, to whom Giorgio Vasari dedicated
a famous portrait, which is in the Uffizi,…

– an ideal portrait,
because it was painted 40 years after his death –,…

…had been called to rule a family
that had identified itself with a State.

A State that, thanks to him,
will have a decisive weight on the political arena.

The needle of the scale moves with skill
in the mess of Italian politics,…

…in the clashes between the courts,
in the dynastic struggles.

A man who manages to strengthen his power,
to expand the borders of the Republic,…

…and to guarantee, thanks to rare diplomatic skills,
the independence of the peninsula.

So, it is no coincidence
that just 2 years after his death, in 1494,…

…with the descent of Charles VIII,
and his entry into Florence,…

…the Italian wars began,… …

…and those invasions
which characterized the history of our peninsula…

…until the birth of the Kingdom of Italy.