2.1 Govanni di Bicci
Govanni Di Bicci is actually a hero in Medici's history, as he managed to
create the Bank of Medici from scratch and to lay strong enough foundations for
its further development. He was born in Florence in 1360, by two poor parents.
With his marriage to Picarda Bueri, offspring of an aristocratic family of the city,
he managed not only to solve his financial problem but also to gain prestige in
Florence, which he extensively used in every kind of
financial transactions.
He never openly took part in the politics of that
time, even though, due to entrepreneurial spirit, he had
gathered enough power to rule. He managed, as the
owner of two wool workshops, to develop his business
to such an extent that when the Pope returned to Rome
in 1414, he appointed him general administrator of the
Apostolic Chamber, widely known as the Vatican
Treasury. The later Pope continued this tradition by
giving Giovanni other rights, such as that of the
collection of papal taxes, enhancing the then-growing
Bank of Medici. In 1420 he gave business control to his
two sons, Cosimo and Lorenzo. He died nine years
later, being one of the richest men in Florence.
Picture 1: Portrait of
Picture 1: Portrait of Govanni Di Bicci
Govanni Di Bicci
2.2 Cosimo de’ Medici
Coisimo de’ Medici, also known as Cosimo the Elder, was a banker, and
the first governor of Florence by Medici's house.
He was born in Florence in 1389, son of Govanni Di Bicci. From an early
age he participated in the Bank of Medici, and steadily started becoming famous
about his power. In 1420, together with his brother Lorenzo the eldest, founder
of the Tuscan branch, he inherited the ⅔ of the Bank of the Medici and gained a
prominent role in the economic scene of Florence.
He preferred to have an unnoticeable role in the democracy of Florence,
just like his father, many times pretending to have little political ambition and
denying public offices in order to do so. His skills and potential in politics,
however, was great, a fact that the pope Pio II points out by saying "the political
issues were decided at his home.He was the king but not the name”. In 1434 he
was exiled as a result of the alliance between the other prominent figures of the
city against him. Respecting this city's decision he avoided open conflict with
rival families, Strozzi and Albizzi, preventing more battles like these that
periodically took place in the streets of Florence. He first transferred the bank to
Padua and after a while to Venice, where he ordered his friend Michelozzo to
build a library as a sign of gratitude to the city's inhabitants.
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