The Medici: Bankers, Patrons and Oligarchs
Class | Registration opens 7/27/2026 9:00 AM
The Medici: Bankers, Patrons and Oligarchs will survey the remarkable history of that family from the 1200’s to the 1700’s. We will study how members of one family could provide immensely important leadership to Renaissance Florence in the worlds of politics, high finance, and art and architecture, after a start-up as minor money-lenders led to a family known for the popes and queens its progeny became.
Format: Presentations of 20-30 minutes will be expected from all participants. Topics will be suggested in the syllabus.
Resources/Expenses: Our text will be The Family Medici: The Hidden History of the Medici Dynasty by Mary Hollingsworth, which is available at Abe Books from $19.00 and up and on Kindle for $20.00 from Amazon.
Coordinator: Bob Martin has coordinated many LLC classes, on topics such as The History and Culture of Ancient Persia; Mongols, Khans and Mughals; The Ottoman Empire – History and Culture; and Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age.
Robert Martin
Bob Martin received a B.A. degree in English at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, and had a varied career as teacher, journalist, political activist and non-profit administrator. Bob has led previous courses on topics such as The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Culture That Created It, and Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age.