Carlo di Cosimo de' Medici (1428 or 1430 – 29 May 1492) was an Italian

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. A member of the powerful

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

family, he became a senior clergyman and collector.

Early life

Born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, he was the

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

son of

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

(the Elder) and a

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

-woman named Maddalena, who was said to have been purchased in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. Maddalena is noted to have been a Circassian slave bought in Venice as a "certified virgin" in 1427, the

Venetian slave trade The Venetian slave trade refers to the slave trade conducted by the Republic of Venice, primarily from the Early Middle Ages to the Late Middle Ages. The slave trade was a contributing factor to the early prosperity of the young Republic of Ven ...

rs being important participators in the

Black Sea slave trade The Black Sea slave trade trafficked people across the Black Sea from Eastern Europe and the Caucasus to slavery in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The Black Sea slave trade was a center of the slave trade between Europe and the rest of t ...

at the time. It is widely accepted that Maddalena was a Circassian, and Carlo's "intense blue eyes" and other "marked Circassian features" has been seen as a trait inherited by his Circassian mother. However, it has been once suggested that his mother might have been a black African, because of the apparently dusky skin depicted in Mantegna's portrait of Carlo, which however it is more likely due to aging of the pigments or other similar causes.

Career

His father directed him to take on a religious life. After becoming

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the cathedral at Florence in 1450, he was appointed rector of Pieve di Santa Maria (Dicomano) in Mugello and the Pieve of San Donato di Calenzano. He became

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of San Salvatore at

Vaiano Vaiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Prato in the region of Tuscany in Italy. It is located about northwest of Florence and about north of Prato. It has 9,912 inhabitants. Geography The municipality of Vaiano contains t ...

, outside

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

. He was also Papal

tax collector A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations on behalf of a government. The term could also be applied to those who audit tax returns or work for a revenue agency. Tax collec ...

and

nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

in Tuscany. Carlo was dean of

as early as 1460. A cultured man, he collected medallions. He died in Florence in 1492.

Portrayals

Carlo was portrayed by

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, ; ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian Renaissance painter, a student of Ancient Rome, Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with Perspective (graphical), pe ...

in a head-and-shoulders portrait wearing the clerical garb of a protonotary apostolic in 1466. He also appears in the funeral scene of

Filippo Lippi Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Quattrocento (fifteenth century) and a Carmelite priest. He was an early Renaissance master of a painting workshop, who taught many paint ...

's '' Stories of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist'' in the Prato Cathedral, in which he is depicted standing behind the Pope. He may also be portrayed as one of the figures in

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (; born Benozzo di Lese; 4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festi ...

's paintings of the journey of the Magi in the

Magi Chapel The Magi Chapel is a chapel in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi of Florence, Italy. Its walls are almost entirely covered by a famous cycle of frescoes by the Renaissance master Benozzo Gozzoli, painted around 1459 for the Medici family, the effective ...

in Florence. In the

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic (fantasy), magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those c ...

series ''

Da Vinci's Demons ''Da Vinci's Demons'' is a historical fantasy drama television series that presents a fictional account of Leonardo da Vinci's early life. The series was conceived by David S. Goyer and stars Tom Riley in the title role. It was developed and ...

'', Carlo was played by actor

Ray Fearon Raymond Fearon is a British actor. He played garage mechanic Nathan Cooper on ITV's long-running soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2005-2006. Other credits include '' Band of Gold'' (1997), ''EastEnders'' (2001), '' As If'' (2002), the ' ...

. He is depicted as a missionary whom the cruelty of the world has made doubt the Church and its message. He appears in seasons two and three of ''

'', played by Callum Blake. His mother is played by

Sarah Felberbaum Sarah Felberbaum (born 28 November 1980) is an Italian actress. Life and career Born in London to a British mother and an American father of German-Jewish descent, Felberbaum moved to Italy with her family when she was a year old. At 15 she st ...

in the first season.

Notes

References

External links

Online Archive of Medici Family Documents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medici, Carlo De 1420s births Year of birth uncertain 1492 deaths

Carlo Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

Nobility from the Republic of Florence Italian people of Circassian descent Italian abbots 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Clergy from Florence 15th-century Italian nobility