Bernardo Rucellai (11 August 1448 – 7 October 1514), also known as Bernardo di Giovanni Rucellai or as la, Bernardus Oricellarius, italic=no, was a member of the Florentine political and social elite. He was the son of

Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai (1403–1481) was a member of a wealthy family of wool merchants in Renaissance Florence, in Tuscany, Italy. He held political posts under Cosimo and Lorenzo de' Medici, but is principally remembered for building Palaz ...

(1403–1481) and father of

Giovanni di Bernardo Rucellai Giovanni di Bernardo Rucellai (20 October 1475 – 3 April 1525) was an Italian humanist, poet, dramatist and man of letters in Renaissance Florence, in Tuscany, Italy. A member of a wealthy family of wool merchants and one of the richest men in ...

(1475–1525). He was married to

Nannina de' Medici Nannina de' Medici (14 February 1448 – 14 May 1493), born Lucrezia de' Medici, was the second daughter of Piero di Cosimo de' Medici and Lucrezia Tornabuoni. She was thus the elder sister of Lorenzo de' Medici. She married Bernardo Rucellai ...

, the elder sister of

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492) was an Italian statesman, banker, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo ...

, and was thus uncle to Popes

Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

and

Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

, who were cousins. Oligarch, banker, ambassador and man of letters, he is today remembered principally for the meetings of the members of the Accademia platonica in the Orti Oricellari, the gardens of his house in Florence, the

Palazzo Rucellai Palazzo Rucellai is a palatial fifteenth-century townhouse on the Via della Vigna Nuova in Florence, Italy. The Rucellai Palace is believed by most scholars to have been designed for Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai by Leon Battista Alberti betwe ...

, where

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...

gave readings of his ''Discorsi''.

Family

Rucellai was born in Florence on 11 August 1448, second son and one of seven children of the wealthy merchant

and of Iacopa Strozzi, daughter of the banker Palla di Noferi Strozzi. Giovanni Rucellai remained loyal to Strozzi after the banishment of the latter to

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

Cosimo de' Medici Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth ...

in November 1434, and for about 27 years he took no part in public life. However, he became friends with Cosimo, and in 1461 Bernardo, then about 13 years old, was married to Cosimo's granddaughter

, daughter of

Piero di Cosimo Piero di Cosimo (2 January 1462 – 12 April 1522), also known as Piero di Lorenzo, was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He is most famous for the mythological and allegorical subjects he painted in the late Quattrocento; he is said to ...

and elder sister to Lorenzo. Nannina was brought to her husband's house five years later, on 8 June 1466. The wedding feast was famous for its opulence: 500 guests were seated on a dais which occupied the

Loggia Rucellai The Loggia Rucellai is an Italian Renaissance loggia in Florence, Italy. It stands opposite Palazzo Rucellai in the Via della Vigna Nuova, and faces onto Piazza de' Rucellai. It was built by Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai in the 1460s; it may have ...

and the whole of the piazza and the in front of

, the family palace built by Giovanni Rucellai to designs by

Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti (; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer; he epitomised the nature of those identified now as polymaths. H ...

. The couple had five children: Cosimo, Palla, Piero,

Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

and Lucrezia; it is likely that Tommaso Masini da Peretola was an illegitimate son of Rucellai.

Political career

Rucellai was a member of the political elite of late fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and held numerous positions in public office. He was on good terms with the ruling Medici family, and was close to his brothers-in-law Lorenzo and

Giuliano People with the Italian given name or surname Giuliano () have included: In arts and entertainment Surname * Geoffrey Giuliano, American author * Maurizio Giuliano, writer and Guinness-record-holding traveler Given name * Giuliano Gemma, actor ...

. Rucellai and Lorenzo were about the same age and were tied by friendship and by common intellectual interests; Rucellai undertook many diplomatic missions either with, or on behalf of, Lorenzo. In September 1471 he was with Lorenzo in Rome to offer congratulations to

Francesco della Rovere Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

on his election as Pope Sixtus IV. Sixtus gave Lorenzo two marble heads, of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

and of

Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Agri ...

, allowed him to buy precious items belonging to his predecessor, Paul II, and confirmed that the Medici would continue as papal bankers and as agents for the alum mines at

Tolfa Tolfa is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy; it lies to the ENE of Civitavecchia by road. It is the main center in the Monti della Tolfa, an extinct volcanic group between Civitavecchia an ...

. Rucellai was one of the Consiglio dei Cento ("council of one hundred") in 1474. In 1480 he was, with Lorenzo, on the council for the reform of the Studio di Pisa. From 1482 to 1485 he was ambassador to Lorenzo's

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last me ...

allies in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. In 1483 he accompanied Lorenzo to

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

where they hoped to establish an alliance against

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. In July–August 1485 Rucellai was

Gonfaloniere di Giustizia Gonfaloniere of Justice () was a post in the government of medieval and early Renaissance Florence. Like Florence's Priori, it was introduced in 1293 when Giano Della Bella's Ordinances of Justice came into force. He was one of the nine citi ...

, but remained in Milan. In March 1486 he was one of the Dieci di Balìa, and in the same year was also in Venice. In 1486, Rucellai paid a visit to Pope Innocent VIII on his way to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

to represent both Florence and the Medici. The family business included negotiating the marriage of his nephew

Piero Piero is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Piero Angela (1928–2022), Italian television host *Piero Barucci (born 1933), Italian academic and politician * Piero del Pollaiuolo (c. 1443–1496), Italian painter * Piero ...

Alfonsina Orsini Alfonsina Orsini (1472 – 7 February 1520) was a Regent of Florence. She governed the Republic of Florence during the absences of her son in the period of 1515–1519. Her rule was feared as a sign of the end of republican government there. ...

. In November 1498, after the demise of the

Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction o ...

n republic, he was Gonfaloniere di Giustizia. In 1512, Rucellai helped lead the effort to remove

Piero Soderini Piero di Tommaso Soderini (March 17, 1451 – June 13, 1522) also known as Pier Soderini, was an Italian statesman of the Republic of Florence. Biography Soderini was born in Florence to Tommaso di Lorenzo Soderini, a member of an old family ...

from power and restore the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...

Intellectual accomplishments

After the death of

, he opened his gardens, the Orti Oricellari, to the Accademia platonica in order that they might continue their discussions about literature, classical heritage, rhetoric and Latin grammar. Other famous Florentines in attendance include

and

Francesco Guicciardini Francesco Guicciardini (; 6 March 1483 – 22 May 1540) was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. In his masterpiece, ''Th ...

Writings

Rucellai wrote mainly in Latin. In 1474, after

Niccolò Vitelli Niccolò Vitelli (1414–1486) was an Italian condottiero of the Vitelli family from Città di Castello. The son of Giovanni Vitelli and Maddalena dei Marchesi di Petriolo, he was orphaned and grew up under the tutelage of his uncle Vitellozzo w ...

was besieged by papal forces under

Giuliano della Rovere Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...

(later pope Julius II) in

Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. The city is north of ...

, Rucellai wrote an ''Oratio de auxilio Tifernatibus adferendo''. He wrote five histories, ''De urbe Roma liber'', ''De magistratibus Romanis'', ''De bello italico commentarius'', ''De bello Pisano'', ''De bello Mediolansi''. He left a large body of letters, some of them in Latin. Many of them relate to political matters, including a large number between him and Lorenzo de' Medici. He also corresponded with humanists and intellectuals, among them

Francesco Cattani da Diacceto Francesco Cattani da Diacceto (16 November 1466 – 10 April 1522) was a Florentine Neoplatonist philosopher of the Italian Renaissance. Life Diacceto was born in Florence on 16 November 1466, the son of Zanobi Cattani da Diacceto and Lion ...

, Andrea Conero, Pietro Dolfin,

Marsilio Ficino Marsilio Ficino (; Latin name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a reviver of ...

Bartolomeo Fonzio Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo is a masculine Italian given name, the Italian equivalent of Bartholomew. Its diminutive form is Baccio. Notable people with the name include: * Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo (1824–1860), Italian paleobotanist and liche ...

Antonio Ivani da Sarzana Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 40 ...

and Filippo Redditi.

Family

Political career

Intellectual accomplishments

Writings

References

Further reading