with necessities to live. Some of these were well known artists such as Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael. Because of the Medici family Florence became known as the cultural center of Europe and cradle of New Humanism. For a century they maintained total authority in Florence behind the popular forms of a republic. During the first economic Golden Age the Fugger and Medici families proved to have major monetary and political influence. Though both did have some negative impacts on the ecclesiastical
Figures Cosimo de' Medici, also known as Cosimo the Elder, lived from 1389--1464. He was the first Medici to rule Florence. He was exiled from Florence in 1433, but he returned in 1434 and doubled his wealth through banking. He ended Florence's traditional alliance with Venice and supported the Sforza family in Milan. His historical significance was being a patron to such artists as Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Ghiberti, and as the founder of the Medici Library. ? Lorenzo de' Medici, also known