Pierfrancesco de' Medici the Elder (1430 – 19 July 1476) was an Italian nobleman, banker, diplomat, and a member of the

House of 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 de' Medici, Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first h ...

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 ...

Biography

Born in Florence, he was the son of

Lorenzo the Elder Lorenzo the Elder (12 October 1394 – 23 September 1440) was an Italian banker of the House of Medici of Florence, the younger brother of Cosimo de' Medici the Elder and progenitor of the so-called "Popolani" ("populist, i.e. for the people" ...

and Ginevra Cavalcanti, thus a nephew 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 ...

and cousin to

Piero the Gouty Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, known as Piero the Gouty (), (1416 – 2 December 1469) was the '' de facto'' ruler of the Republic of Florence from 1464 to 1469, during the Italian Renaissance. Biography Piero was the son of Cosimo de' Medi ...

, '' de facto'' lords of the city from 1459. Pierfrancesco was orphaned in 1440 and was raised by his uncle Cosimo. He served the

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence (; Old Italian: ), known officially as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flor ...

as ambassador (to the pope in 1458 and to the

Duchy of Mantua The Duchy of Mantua (; ) was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. In 1531, the duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to the marr ...

in 1463) and as ''Priore delle Arti'' ("Prior of the

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s") in the Florentine municipal government (1459). After Cosimo's death (1464), Pierfrancesco was initially a supporter of Piero the Gouty, but later sided against him; he was among the conspirators who participated in

Luca Pitti Luca Pitti (1398–1472) was a Florentine banker during the period of the republic presided over by Cosimo de' Medici. He was awarded a knighthood, and received lavish presents from both the Signory of Firenze and the Medici family as a reward ...

's failed coup in 1466. Forgiven by Piero, he thenceforth took care of the family bank. From his marriage with Laudomia di Agnolo

Acciaioli The Acciaioli family, also spelled Acciaiuoli, Accioly, Aciole, Acciajuoli or Acioli was an important Italian nobility, Italian noble family from Florence, whose members were the ruling Duchy of Athens, Dukes of Athens. History Family name is a ...

he had two sons:

Lorenzo Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

(1463–1503) and

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 ...

(1467–1498), who were later fierce opponents of Cosimo's line of the Medici. Pierfrancesco died in 1476. His sons were adopted by their second cousin

Lorenzo il Magnifico Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

. File:Lorenzo il popolano, xv century.jpg,

File:Lippi - Portrait of a Youth - National Gallery of Art (cropped).jpg,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medici, Pierfrancesco 1 1430 births 1476 deaths Pierfrancesco 1 Italian bankers 15th-century people from the Republic of Florence 15th-century Italian nobility Medieval bankers Ambassadors of the Republic of Florence 15th-century Italian diplomats 15th-century Italian businesspeople