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Piero di Lorenzo de Medici

Male 1471 - 1503  (32 years)


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  • Name Piero di Lorenzo de Medici 
    Born 1471  Florence, Italy Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 1503  Italy Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I483687  Little Chute Genealogy
    Last Modified 9 Nov 2018 

    Father Lorenzo de Medici,   b. 01 Jan 1449, Florence, Italy Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 09 Apr 1492, Florence, Italy Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 43 years) 
    Mother Clarice Orsini,   b. 1450, Rome, Italy Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 30 Jul 1488, Florence, Italy Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 38 years) 
    Marriage Contract 07 Feb 1469 
    Married 04 Jun 1469  Florence, Italy Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F179930  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Alfonsina Orsini,   b. 1472,   d. 07 Feb 1520, Rome, Italy Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 48 years) 
    Married 1486 
    Children 
     1. Lorenzo II de Medici,   b. 12 Sep 1492, Florence, Italy Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 04 May 1519, Florence, Italy Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 26 years)
    Last Modified 21 Jul 2022 
    Family ID F179929  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Photos
    483687a.jpg    		483687a.jpg

  • Notes 
    • Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici was the eldest son of Lorenzo de' Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent) and Clarice Orsini, and older brother of the future Pope Leo X.[1]

      He was educated to succeed his father as head of the Medici family and de facto ruler of the Florentine state, under notable figures such as Angelo Poliziano. However, his feeble, arrogant and undisciplined character was to prove unsuited to such a role.

      Piero took over as leader of Florence in 1492, upon Lorenzo's death. After a brief period of relative calm, the fragile pacific equilibrium between the Italian states, laboriously constructed by Piero's father, collapsed in 1494 with the decision of King Charles VIII of France to cross the Alps with an army in order to take the Kingdom of Naples, claiming hereditary rights. Charles had been lured to Italy by Ludovico Sforza, (Ludovico il Moro), ex-Regent of Milan, as a way to eject Ludovico's nephew Gian Galeazzo Sforza and replace him as Duke.

      After settling matters in Milan, Charles moved towards Naples. He needed to pass through Tuscany, as well as leave troops there, securing his lines of communication with Milan. Piero attempted to stay neutral, but this was unacceptable to Charles, who intended to invade Tuscany. Piero attempted to mount a resistance, but received little support from Florentine elites, who had fallen under the influence of the fanatical Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola; even his cousins defected to Charles's side.

      Piero quickly gave up as Charles's army neared Florence and surrendered the chief fortresses of Tuscany to the invading army, giving Charles everything he demanded. His poor handling of the situation and failure to negotiate better terms led to an uproar in Florence, and the Medici family fled. The family palazzo was looted, and the substance as well as the form of the Republic of Florence was re-established, with the Medici formally exiled. A member of the Medici family was not to rule Florence again until 1512.

      Piero and his family at first fled to Venice with the aid of Philippe de Commines. In 1503 as the French and Spanish continued their struggle in Italy over the Kingdom of Naples, Piero was drowned in the Garigliano River while attempting to flee the aftermath of the battle, which the French (with whom he was allied) had lost.