When Cosimo I (not to be confused with Cosimo the Elder) was born in 1519 the Medici had already run Florence for quite a while. In 85 years the family had managed to rule Florence, get expelled and get back. In Rome one of Lorenzo the Magnificent’s sons was now Pope and Giovanni, as he was called, had taken the name Leo X. The name was not chosen randomly. Leo means lion and this animal was back then and still today one of the symbols of Florence.
Cosimo’s family was a mix of two branches of the Medici. His father, Giovanni de’ Medici, better known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere, belonged to the cadet branch, while Cosimo’s mother, Maria Salviati, was Lorenzo the Magnificent’s granddaughter. Giovanni delle Bande Nere was a famous condottiere/commander (leader of the troops during the Renaissance in Italy). His name refers to the black mourning band (bande nere) he wore on his arm after the death of the first Medici Pope in 1521.
Giovanni delle Bande Nere died of septicaemia in 1526 after getting wounded in a battle in the northern part of Italy and left his son fatherless at age 7.
His mother therefore raised him as her only child in Mugello, the area where the Medici came from, just north of Florence. She really made it clear that she knew what she was doing. When the first duke of Florence, Alessandro de’ Medici, got murdered in 1537 Cosimo took over the leadership. Being only 17 years old there were many people in Florence who believed that this young man would not last long. They were certainly wrong. Cosimo was an authoritarian ruler and had no problem in getting rid of his enemies, whether it meant exile or simply delete them. He became the second duke of Florence and the first grand duke of Tuscany.
Cosimo I – A father and a Husband
Cosimo I was as cold as ice when it came to rule Florence. As a husband and a father he showed a completely different face. 15 years old Cosimo had his first child, Bia. The mother was probably one of the servants and Cosimo obviously could not marry her. He decided to take care of the girl and raised her with his other children. We can tell that he was very fond of her as he commissioned a beautiful portrait of Bia carried out by Bronzino which is today in the Uffizi Gallery. Bia died just before or just after the painting was finished.
In 1539 Cosimo married Eleonora of Toledo, whose father was the viceroy of Naples. The groom was 20 years and the bride 17 and the wedding was celebrated in the San Lorenzo church in Florence. A church that we could define as the Medici’s private church. The spouses of course married for interest and Cosimo knew he needed powerful allies to be able to preserve his leadership.
It was clear immediately that the marriage was a success. Eleonora was bright, beautiful and wealthier than her husband. The couple fell in love and soon had many children in a row. Eleonora often followed Cosimo I on his travels and when it was not possible they wrote warm-hearted letters to each other. In Florence it was not a secret that Cosimo refused to have mistresses at the court, which back then was quite unusual. Actually having courtesans around was not at all something reprehensible in Italy in the 16th century. As well as in the case of Bia, Bronzino carried out several portraits of Eleonora and her children. The most famous portrait of them all is hanging in the Uffizi Gallery.
Cosimo I soon decided to move from the Medici palace in Via Larga, Palazzo Medici-Riccardi. He understood the importance of living and working in one single building downtown. He had his favourite architect Giorgio Vasari to modernise the town hall of Florence, Palazzo Vecchio, which in this way became the center of power in all senses. From this moment Cosimo I both lived and worked in the same building. Eleonora of Toledo was not at all pleased with this decision. Despite the renovation and the enlargement of the medieval Palazzo Vecchio, Eleonora never felt comfortable here. Therefore she purchased the Pitti Palace in 1550 with her own money. The plan was to turn the Pitti Palace into the new residence of the Medici and to create an immense green garden at the back, the Boboli Gardens. Unfortunately Eleonora did not have much time to enjoy the palace that she had bought. She died from malaria in 1562, only 40 years old.
Cosimo I conquered Siena during his period in power
A column with the statue of “Justice” on the top was raised in the square of Santa Trinità to commemorate this important event. According to tradition Cosimo was here when he got the news of the victory. The column coming from the baths of Caracalla in Rome was a gift from the pope. Another pope gave Cosimo I the title Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569. Despite these successes Cosimo I never came over the death of Eleonora and two of their sons who died from malaria. Bit by bit Cosimo had his eldest son Francesco taking over the rulership.
Cosimo’s last years
Cosimo I though got more children from his relationship with Eleonora of the Albizzi family and eventually married Camilla Martelli in 1570. One baby girl was born into this marriage. In the last years of Cosimo’s life he did not get along with his eldest son, Francesco. The clashes were frequent and one of the issues was Cosimo’s love affairs, but there were also other reasons for the bad relationship between father and son. The two had completely different tempers. While Cosimo was an outgoing person, his son was more introverted. Cosimo I died 55 years old in 1574.
Cosimo I and Eleonora are both buried in the Medici Chapels behind the church of San Lorenzo. During his life Cosimo had plans to build a private chapel, but it was only in the late 16th century that Cosimo’s second son, Ferdinando I, began the construction of the family chapel. Ferdinando was a cardinal in Rome when his elder brother Francesco abruptly passed away in 1587. The legitimate successor was Ferdinando who had to return to Florence to become the third grand duke of Tuscany. Rumors that have never ceased say that Francesco and his wife Bianca Cappello were poisoned to death by the cardinal, but that is a completely different story!