The Medici Family

Lorenzo di Medici was a member of a family who ruled Florence for almost three centuries (1434-1737). They lost control of Florence for only a brief time (1494 to 1512) when a reform government was established to run Florence. Machiavelli was a member of the reform government, and he lost his government post when the Medici family regained power in 1512. The Prince was written as Machiavelli's way of gaining the Medici family's favor by offering advice based on his experience in government.

The first Medici came to Florence from the surrounding farmlands around the year 1200. At that time Italy was not a unified country, but a land scattered with separate, powerful, feudal cities. Florence was one of the most prominent of these city-states

It is believed that the family prospered in Florence. The social class system was strictly the wealthy merchant class, known as the popolo grasso...