Lorenzo was the son of
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici and
Piccarda Bueri. He was educated by
Carlo Marsuppini. In 1416, he married Ginevra Cavalcanti. To celebrate their marriage, the Venetian
humanist Francesco Barbaro wrote his
treatise De Re Uxoria, an analysis of marriage that continued to be published for centuries. Lorenzo and Ginevra had two sons: Francesco, who was childless, and
Pierfrancesco, who originated the Popolani line. Ginevra Cavalcanti was an aunt of the wife of the famous Italian merchant
Giovanni Arnolfini. Lorenzo followed his brother Cosimo in his military maneuvers at
Ferrara,
Verona and
Vicenza. In 1433 he tried to muster an army to free Cosimo from imprisonment when the latter was arrested under the charge of tyranny. Later, he joined him at Venice and returned with him in Florence triumphantly after Cosimo's rehabilitation. Though dedicating himself much to banking activity, Lorenzo held several positions in the Florentine Republic and was ambassador to
Pope Eugene IV and the
Republic of Venice. In 1435, he moved to Rome to oversee the affairs of the Medici Bank at the papal court. Lorenzo the Elder was ancestor to all the
Grand Dukes of Tuscany through his direct descendant
Cosimo I de' Medici. He is also the ancestor to seven kings of France beginning with
Louis XIII as a result of the marriage of
Marie de' Medici to
King Henry IV of France. He died in the
Medici Villa of Careggi in 1440 and was buried in the
Basilica of San Lorenzo. ==Fictional depictions==