Once revered as the wealthiest and most powerful family in Europe, the Medici had a long and far-reaching influence on European history for hundreds of years.

 

In the 14th century, the family founded the Medici Bank, which became the largest and most respected bank in Europe. Well  known for their banking prowess, the Medici family turned their banking empire and political dominance  into a dynastic legacy that had a lasting effect on the world as we know it today.

 

Famed for their  unparalleled patronage  of the arts during the Italian 

Renaissance, the Medici financed the invention of the piano and  opera, funded the construction of Saint Peter's Basilica and Santa Maria del Fiore, and patronized Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo. The family's support of  the arts and humanities made Florence  the cradle of the Renaissance, a cultural epicenter rivaled only by that of ancient Greece. 

 

The Medici produced four popes (Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV and Leo XI), and their genes have been mixed into many of Europe’s  royal 

families, with more than half of European royalty tracing their lineage back to the Medici.

 

The last Medici ruler died without a male heir in 1737, ending the family dynasty after almost three centuries.

 

The Medici Collection pays tribute to the magnificence and opulence of the legendary Medici. The Medici Collection is in no way affiliated with the Medici Family, and no specimens within the collection have any historical relation to the Medici family.