Audio tour Magnus Dux Etruriæ

Throughout the 15th century, the Medici ruled Florence without crowns or titles: their wealth and network of alliances alone were enough to make them masters of the city. The true turning point came in 1513, when Giovanni de’ Medici became Pope Leo X. From then on, the family was tied to the great thrones of Europe: Giuliano received Nemours, Lorenzo Urbino, and from the latter was born Catherine, future Queen of France and mother of three kings.

After the assassination of Alessandro in 1537, power passed to the eighteen-year-old Cosimo, who from an inexperienced youth became a relentless prince: he subdued rebels, bent the nobility, and conquered Siena in 1554. His ambition went further still: he sought a title higher than any other in Italy. In 1569, Pope Pius V granted it to him, inventing for him the rank of Grand Duke of Tuscany — Magnus Dux Etruriæ.

For that title, solemn crowns were created, now lost but here reconstructed as holograms: symbols of a power that claimed biblical roots and royal destinies. Around them, the portraits of Cosimo I and Ferdinando I, and the great Codex Bianchini commissioned by the last of the Medici, Anna Maria Luisa, recount the dynasty that rose from citizens to sovereigns.

This room marks the decisive turning point: here Florence ceases to be a republic of merchants and becomes a grand duchy recognized throughout Europe. Here begins the political legend of the Medici, sovereigns both feared and respected.