When last we left the Medici, three generations had lived a
comfortable life, a somewhat privileged life, in Mugello thanks to the fame of
Medico di Petrone. But there would be born to the family one sprinkled with wanderlust.
It is, then, to Chiarissimo di Medici that we go.
Born in 1167, Chiarissimo immigrated the short distance to
Florence sometime in the 1180s. But It did not take him long to inculcate
himself among the influential popolo
of the city. Chiarissimo used his portion of the family wealth wisely,
purchasing property near what is now called the Old Market, where the family
would eventually become the undisputed lords of that segment of the bustling
city.
But it was not just property in which Chiarissimo invested,
and it was not just in real estate in which he wished to make his mark. He used
his reserves of wealth to launch himself, and his family, as renowned money
lenders. It began with a simple loan to Count Guido Guerra, who would later
distinguish himself in the Battle of Benevento, earning himself mention in
Dante’s Divine Comedy.
The loan that would bring Chiarissimo his own distinction
was that which he made to the Camaldolite Abbey of Coltibono. An ancient
monastery in need of severe repair least it suffer extinction, it was
Chiarissimo’s loan—Medici money—which brought it back to its former glory. The
act brought Chiarissimo membership on the city council in 1201. It was the
beginning of the Medici's inextricable link with the governing of Florence. Though there is little known of Chiarissimo’s brother, Bonaguinta, not even his birth or death dates, there are records that show he
too became a member of the city council in 1216.
These first steps…those made not only to Florence but as
influential citizens of it…made by these brothers, would find even greater
glory and fruition in the next generation, in their sons.
