In total there were four popes that came from the powerful Medici family.
They were as follows:
Pope Leo X (born Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici) Papacy: 1513 – 1521 – The 217th Pope.
Pope Clement VII (born Giulio di Giuliano de’ Medici) Papacy: 1523 – 1534 – The 219th Pope.
Pope Leo XI (born Alessandro Ottaviano de’ Medici) Papacy: April 1605 (reigned for only 27 days) – The 232nd Pope.
Pope Pius IV (born Giovanni Angelo Medici) Papacy: 1559 – 1565 – Pius IV was not directly related to the main Medici family of Florence, but was a distant relative. – The 224th Pope.
The Medici family were originally wool merchants back in 13th-century Florence. They eventually got into banking and rose to prominence, with Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici (1360-1429) establishing the Medici Bank that became one of Europe’s largest financial institutions.
The Medici family effectively ruled Florence for much of the Renaissance, starting with Cosimo the Elder (1389-1464) and later Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492), often as de facto leaders rather than official rulers.
Their influence spilled over into art, politics, culture and religion.
The Medici Coat of Arms
Written by Robert Patterson, M.A.
Robert holds a Master's degree in Religious Studies with a focus on Catholic Church History. He has spent over two decades researching the lives of the Popes and the history of the Papacy. PopeHistory.com has been a trusted resource for papal information since 2001.
