Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici (3 June 1421 – 23 September 1463) was an Italian banker and patron of arts. Giovanni was the son of Cosimo de' Medici the Elder and Contessina de' Bardi, and brother to Piero the Gouty. Unlike the latter, Giovanni enjoyed good health and was seen by Cosimo as his probable successor. From 1438 he directed the branch of the family bank in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

. He received also a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

ic education, showing a major interest in music. In 1454 Giovanni was elected Prior of Florence and the following year he was a member of the delegation which received

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

in the city. The following year Cosimo made him general director of the Medici bank, but, unsatisfied because of Giovanni's distraction in arts and other activities, assigned to him Francesco Sassetti as tutor. Giovanni married Maria Ginevra di Niccolò Alessandri, daughter of Niccolò Alessandri, in 1452. This marriage recognized the support that Niccolò had provided to Cosimo during his exile in 1433, and bound the families together. The couple had one child, a son, Cosimo ( – 1459), known as Cosimino (little Cosimo). Ginevra frequently visited thermal baths for her health. There she built up a network of influential women who she regularly corresponded with. Ginevra died after 2 Aug 1478. He died in 1463, and was buried in the Sagrestia Vecchia of the Basilica di San Lorenzo. Later a monument was sculpted for him and his brother by Andrea Verrocchio. Giovanni de' Medici was a famous patron of arts. He had the Villa Medici in Fiesole built by Michelozzo Michelozzi (but probably in collaboration with Giovanni's friend,

Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti (; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, Catholic priest, priest, linguistics, linguist, philosopher, and cryptography, cryptographer; he epitomised the natu ...

). He had a large collection of sculptures, coins, manuscripts, jewels, musical instruments and other material. Artists who worked for him included:

Mino da Fiesole Mino da Fiesole (c. 1429 – July 11, 1484), also known as Mino di Giovanni, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Poppi, Tuscany. He is noted for his portrait busts. Career Mino's work was influenced by his master Desiderio da Settignano and ...

, Desiderio da Settignano,

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...

, Domenico Veneziano, Filippo Lippi and Pesellino.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Medici, Giovanni 1421 births 1463 deaths Businesspeople from Florence Giovanni Medieval bankers Burials at San Lorenzo, Florence Italian art patrons 15th-century Italian businesspeople Italian Roman Catholics Nobility from the Republic of Florence 15th-century people from the Republic of Florence 15th-century Italian nobility