Cosimo il Vecchio
| Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici | |
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Portrait by Bronzino
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| Lord of Florence | |
| Reign | 5 September 1434 – 1 August 1464 |
| Predecessor | Rinaldo degli Albizzi |
| Successor | Piero the Gouty |
| Spouse(s) | Contessina de' Bardi |
| Issue | |
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Full name
Còsimo di Giovanni degli Mèdici
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| Noble family | Medici |
| Father | Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici |
| Mother | Piccarda Bueri |
| Born |
27 September 1389 Florence, Republic of Florence |
| Died | 1 August 1464 (aged 74) Careggi, Republic of Florence |
Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (called 'the Elder' (Italian il Vecchio) and, posthumously, Father of the Nation' (Latin pater patriae); 27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician, the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. Despite his influence, his power was not absolute; Florence's legislative councils at times resisted his proposals, something which would not have been tolerated by the Visconti of Milan, for instance; throughout his life he was always primus inter pares ("first among equals"). His power derived from his wealth as a banker, and he was a great patron of learning, the arts and architecture.
Cosimo de' Medici was born in Florence to Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici and his wife Piccarda de' Bueri on 10 April 1389. At the time it was customary to indicate the name of one's father in one's name for the purposes of identification between two like-named individuals; thus Giovanni was the son of Bicci, and Cosimo's name was properly Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici. He had a twin brother, Damiano, who died shortly after birth. The twins were named after the Saints Cosmas and Damian, whose feast day was then celebrated on 27 September; Cosimo would later celebrate his own birthday on that day, rather than on the actual date of his birth. Cosimo also had a brother, Lorenzo the Elder, who was some six years his junior and participated in the family's banking enterprise.
Cosimo inherited both his wealth and his expertise in banking from his father. Giovanni had gone from being a moneylender to joining the bank of his relative, Vieri di Cambio, before founding his own bank, Medici Bank, around 1397. He had been independently running Vieri's branch in Rome since the dissolution of the latter's bank into three separate and independent entities, and in 1397 he left Rome to return to his home of Florence. Over the next two decades, the Medici Bank opened branches in Rome, Geneva, Venice, and temporarily in Naples; the majority of profits was derived from Rome. The branch manager in Rome was a papal depositario generale, managing Church finances in return for a commission. Cosimo would later expand the bank throughout western Europe, having offices also in London, Pisa, Avignon, Bruges, Milan, and Lübeck, which rendered it the best bank for the business of the papacy; bishoprics would be able to pay their fees into the nearest branch whose manager would then issue a papal license, and the popes could more easily order a variety of wares – such as spices, textiles, and relics – through the bankers' wholesale trade. In fifteen years he would make a profit of 290,791 florins.
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