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Hunter Herring
Rice
HIS 355
26 September 2013
Medici Networks and Power
In fifteenth century Florence, networks were key to every aspect of day-to-day
life. The idea of building and using close ties to gain power and stature within Florence was not a
new idea. The Medici took old ideas, such as amici di amici, which means, friends of friends,
and patronage and applied them on a grand scale in order to become the most prominent family
in Florence. The Medici used all that were available to them at the time, such as these systems of
networks that they cultivated though patronage, which was already well established in Florence
by the time the family, began their rise to prominence. The key to building good networks was
through the use of patronage and generosity. Amici di amici is a large network of clients and
patrons. This large network is what Florentine families would have hoped for in order to achieve
a large support base within the city and possibly throughout Europe.
Networks had been important tools of Florentine society as far back as the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries. During the thirteenth century, there was great political and social instability
within Florence due to the warring factions of the Guelfs (papal supporters) and Ghibellines
(imperial supporters) (Brucker, Soc. of Ren. Florence: A Doc. Study 84-7). Not only did the
political parties cause division within the government, but also the way the government was set
up caused instability due to infighting. Magnates, or the noble class before the Florentine
Republic was instituted, were petty and corrupt. Magnate families would often be involved in

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feuds for power or territory in the city that would easily result in one of them being banished
from Florence, sometimes leaving a power vacuum, or opening a hole for government instability.
These noble families would cultivate close ties within their neighborhoods in Florence
and use these ties to instigate feuds that could spill over into larger governmental problems
(Najemy 20). This sense of grave instability caused a need for large groups of people to be in
support of one another, so they were better protected from their rivals. The Florentine system of
building these large networks of people is called patronage. Patronage is when a person becomes
a patron or client supporter of a wealthier family in exchange for money or other services. In A
Rich Patrician, a father tells his sons that the way to gain supporters and friends is to patronize
his neighbors, so they in turn would support him and his family when the time came (Brucker,
Soc. of Ren. Florence: A Doc. Study 26). At first, the use of this system of patronage would breed
factionalism; however, it would be put to better use under the Medici family.
Family, at this time, was the core of Florentine society (Brucker, Ren. Florence 90). The
relationship between client and patron became more and more sacred, and it cultivated a sense of
kinship between the participating parties. The Medici would exploit this sense of family to their
advantage. For example, Bernardo Alammano, a Medici client, states to Averado de Medici, I
commend myself to you with all my heart for my only hope is in you and in God on earth and all
that I crave in this world is the honor and prosperity which I am confident I will receive by your
favor. The Medici family took this system of building strong client based relationships and
applied them on a much larger scale. They took the phrase, amici di amici, and tried to apply it to
the whole of Florence. The Medici wanted to build a large web throughout the city of Florence
and cultivate of sense of familiarity with them at the head of it all.

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Starting in the mid fifteenth century, Cosimo di Medici began his rise to prominence in
Florentine society. Cosimo and his descendants used this system of networks to rise to and keep
power in Florence. The Medici family relied on this system of networks both inside and outside
of the city. In 1433, Cosimo was exiled by his political rivals from Florence. While in exile, he
used his web of patron supporters inside and outside of the city in order to return only a year
later (Kaborycha 111). After Cosimo returned to Florence, his grip on the government tightened
through the use of patronage. The Medici used their web of client networks to gain supporters in
city government as well as to protect themselves from downfall. By the time of Cosimos death
he had formed so many of these bonds that he became known as Pater Patriae or Father of the
Fatherland. By surrounding themselves with a large group of supporters, they were well
protected from conspiracies such as the Pazzi and other minor assassination attempts. The Pazzis
were political rivals of the Medici, who attempted to overthrow the family by assassinating
Cosimos grandsons, Lorenzo and Giuliano, the current heads of the Medici family. Because the
Medici were patrons to several people within the city government, the plans were not successful
and the traitors were promptly executed (Kaborycha 172).
The Medici used several ways to gain support around Florence and even internationally.
The Medici were bankers and had access to large sums of money. One way that they would use
this money is to cultivate these patron client relationships. For example, if a neighbor could not
pay his taxes, the Medici family would often help by giving them a loan or having the taxes
lowered. Another way that the Medici gained support was through controlling the scrutiny list.
The scrutiny list was what determined eligibility for political office within Florence. The Medici
themselves would control this position in the government several times thereby allowing them to
manipulate the eligibility requirements in order to stock the city government with their

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supporters. Often the people that the Medici cleared the way for office would not have been
eligible thereby creating a patron-client bond between them. Since the Medici were bankers, they
often had dealings with other prominent leaders throughout Europe. The Medici used their
profession as bankers to their advantage. Loaning money to other leaders, such as the Pope,
helped them cement relationships outside of Florence. Cosimo himself used the Treaty of Lodi to
gain support and make peace with Naples, Milan, and Venice. As seen in Niccolo Machiavellis
History of Florence, by the time Lorenzo di Medici came to power the family had connections as
far away as Egypt and the Ottoman Empire.
Relationships between patrons and clients were extremely important in Renaissance
Florence. The Medici were masters at manipulating these bonds to their own advantage.
Keeping power through these family like ties were central to Medici success. The Medici
employed every possible way to cultivate ties between themselves and others such as financial
and political favors. The Medici used not only their influence to gain power, but also used their
positions as bankers to gain powerful alliances. After gaining and establishing a large support
base in Florence the Medici used their position to expand their influence not only in Italy but
also throughout Europe.

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Works Cited
Brucker, Gene. Renaissance Florence, Berkley: University of California Press,
1983. Print.
---. Readings Guelf and Ghibelline. 1973. Print.
---. A Rich Patrician. 1973. Print.
Kaborycha, Lisa. A Short History of Renaissance Italy.Upper Saddle River: Pearson,
2011. Print.
Najemy, John. A History of Florence.1st ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2008. Print
The Historical, Political and Diplomatic Writings of Niccolo Machiavelli, trans. C.E. Detmold, 4
vols, Boston 1882. Extract from The History of Florence, Vol. 1, Book 8, 36.