DURING THE PERIOD following Cosimo the Elder's return from exile to Firenze, in October 1434, until the coming to power of his grand-son Lorenzo the Magnificent, the members of the Medici family did their utmost to ensure the establishment of a dynastic policy. Indeed, Cosimo remained in the background of political life but he developed his influence among his fellow countrymen and implicitly celebrated his descendants. As for Lorenzo, he followed a political line centred more on his own person, influenced by the Ottoman model, with whom he had closer and closer diplomatic links during the years 1470 to 1480. This chapter looks at these two competing models during Lorenzo's period as de facto ruler of the Florentine republic.

Ensuring the Continuity of Medici Policy

In the years 1420–1430, the groups opposed to the Medici, led by Rinaldo degli Albizzi, jealous of their own political power, were a constant menace for Cosimo de Medici. Indeed, when the time came for the members of the Signoria to change, the pro-Medici party no longer had a majority; on the contrary, the new government was very much opposed to it. On September 5, 1433, Cosimo was imprisoned then exiled to Venezia. He was nevertheless called back to Firenze the following year (October 5, 1434) thanks to the evolution of the political life in Firenze and the intervention of Pope Eugene IV, and he participated discreetly but efficiently in the work of the Signoria. Without getting foreground functions, he unquestionably acquired a strong political weight. Buying the support of a few followers, he was already planning to establish a governing dynasty in Firenze, which would be destined to his descendants, a dynasty of “Firenze lovers” and not “spouses,” as Pope Pius II liked to ironically emphasize. Even if Cosimo had important functions in the republic of Firenze, that was not evident. He never was one of the nine priors of the Signoria, but between 1434 and 1455 he held significant offices: in 1435, 1439, and 1445, he was a Gonfaloniere di Giustizia three times and a member of the Dieci di balia (the “War Committee”) seven times; from October 1440 to February 1441 he became accoppiatore, replacing his brother Lorenzo who had died while filling those functions, and that was to be the only time.