mbfa14+families

**The medici** **Family

It all started with cosimo the elder in 1434. He was the Head of the largest bank in europe at the time. When the government of Florence could no longer repay its debts he took control. He then drove his political opponents into exile. His son piero increased the famillys power through his political power and a lot of arranged marriages. His son lorenzo did amazing things. He was the ideal renaissance man. He commisioned artists to make beautiful paintings and sculptures that caused Florence to be the envy of Europe. In 1478 Lorenzo and his Brother were attacked at church and Lorenzo narrowly escaped death at the hands of the pazzi family and the pope. He fled to naples and made a millitary alliance with the king of napples and came back to Florence in triumph against the Pazzi and the pope, who commanded his troops. In 1492 when Lorenzo died the medici families power started to decline. In 1994 the family was exiled and their property taken.

The Borgia ** The Borgia were a family with a sinister reputation. Rodrigo Borgia was pope from 1431 to 1503. He had 9 illigitimit children. His two favorites were Cesare and Lucrezia. Cesare used his fathers funds and army to go on military expiditions to try and carve out of the papal states. The father and son soon had a ruthless reputation and had many fearful enimies. They used war and murder by poison to get what they wanted. Dinner guests used to write out wills before going to dinner with them. The borgia families power began to disappear in 1503 when Rodrigo died of mallaria. It is now rumored though that he ate a poisoned piece of fruit that was meant for one of his guests. His sons enemies (the new pope was one of them) ran him out of town where he was then captured in napples. He died in battle in 1507. Thereby destroying their last tiny bits of power.

Citations "Two Families of the Renaissance." //Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network//. Web. 16 Jan. 2010. [].

"Financial Sense "Whence & Pence, Part 9: The Wounding" by Douglas V. Gnazzo 03/22/2005." //Financial News, Economic Education, Analysis & Data - FinancialSense.com//. Web. 16 Jan. 2010. .