1 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:07,078 Florence, 1389. 2 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:12,399 A boy is baptized into a medieval world. 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:15,591 He was not of noble birth. 4 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,713 He was the son of a local merchant. 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,072 His name was Cosimo de' Medici. 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:32,950 From humble beginnings, his dynasty would seek power and influence 7 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:37,472 and not stop until they secured the papacy itself. 8 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,549 Theirs was a world where power came at a price. 9 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:53,518 Intrigue, murder, assassination... 10 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:55,917 and war. 11 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:02,392 But the city of Florence was also a cauldron of creativity. 12 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:04,910 And for the greater glory of the family, 13 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:07,873 the Medici would protect and pay for 14 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,948 the greatest artists and thinkers of their age. 15 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,157 Michelangelo. 16 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,159 Brunelleschi. 17 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:24,431 Botticelli. 18 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:27,871 Leonardo. 19 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:31,756 Galileo. 20 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:39,032 An explosion of ideas which would shatterthe medieval world 21 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:44,030 and resonate through the centuries in a single phrase... 22 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:49,039 Rinascimento... rebirth... 23 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:51,596 Renaissance. 24 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:59,714 Behind it stood the Medici, godfathers of the Renaissance. 25 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,759 At the dawn of the 15th century, 26 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:23,873 an illicit trade had begun. 27 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,277 Men scoured Europe in search of treasure. 28 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,909 Somewhere in the confines of the Holy Church lay their prize. 29 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:45,234 Not the jewel-encrusted relics or sacred icons of medieval Christendom. 30 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,078 Nor were they seeking to loot the bodies of the dead, 31 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,510 victims of war and plague. 32 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,792 But hidden in the darkest vaults of the Church 33 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:16,232 lay a prize far older and more precious... 34 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,796 and sometimes far more dangerous. 35 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:55,674 What these men were really after 36 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:57,791 was knowledge. 37 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,116 Cosimo de' Medici and his friends 38 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,791 were searching for lost secrets from the ancient world. 39 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:17,680 The shared feeling at the time was that the achievements of the classics, 40 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:21,156 in many fields, from philosophy to architecture, 41 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:23,954 from rhetoric to sculpture, 42 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:26,031 were unsurpassed. 43 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,431 At the beginning it was just sort of fun to dig up old sculptures 44 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,075 or interesting to discover 45 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,158 lost manuscripts in faraway monasteries 46 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:44,431 and bring them down and read them. 47 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:46,676 It took them a long time to realize 48 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:51,033 that there was a whole other way of life being embodied there. 49 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:57,478 So there's this sense of excitement about the past 50 00:04:57,760 --> 00:04:59,637 but it's also dangerous. 51 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:09,393 From across Europe, ancient learning was carried back to Florence, 52 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:12,035 the city of Cosimo's birth. 53 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:39,039 Florence in the year 1400 was a city unlike anywhere else in Europe. 54 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:44,957 This majortrading centre at the heart ofTuscany was a republic 55 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:50,155 in which powerful families vied with each other for political control. 56 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,880 Florence was the place to be. 57 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,391 As we all know, every age has a place. 58 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,035 In the late 19th century it was Paris, 59 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,312 in the late 20th century maybe it was New York. 60 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,434 At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries it was Florence. 61 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:17,474 In a side street off the main piazza 62 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:21,275 an ambitious family was trying to make its name. 63 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,269 The Medici bank was a small-scale operation 64 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,632 run from the back room of a wool shop. 65 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:40,075 The growing business was managed by Cosimo's father, Giovanni de' Medici. 66 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:54,598 Giovanni had risen from rural poverty 67 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:59,590 through a combination of aggressive salesmanship and financial caution. 68 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,592 He chose his clients very carefully. 69 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,269 It wasn't just profit he valued. 70 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:18,755 It was loyalty. 71 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,872 This is a society in which, for your guarantees of protection 72 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,469 you look to a man, 73 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,435 and he is your patron and you are his client. 74 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:37,236 And all the other people associated with him are your friends, 75 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:39,795 so that you can achieve almost anything 76 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:44,517 with this web or network of friends of friends. 77 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:47,075 Baldassare Cossa was a former pirate 78 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:52,070 who had embarked on an alternative career in the Church. 79 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,716 Now, he had ambitions to enter the Vatican, 80 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,514 even to become pope himself. 81 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:07,993 All he needed was a campaign fund. 82 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,030 Giovanni knew that the Church was in chaos. 83 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,198 The papacy itself was up for grabs. 84 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:21,550 With enough money, even Cossa stood a chance of success. 85 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:28,113 Giovanni dared to back the unlikely outsider. 86 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,394 The Medici prepared a lavish loan. 87 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:36,389 It was an enormous gamble for their local business. 88 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:41,995 The family supported Cossa all the way up the ladder of the Church, 89 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:45,233 from priest to cardinal. 90 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:53,718 And then, the bet with a pirate finally paid off. 91 00:08:55,080 --> 00:09:01,952 In 1410, Baldassare Cossa was elected Pope John XXIII... 92 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:08,314 and the first thing he did was remember his friends the Medici. 93 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:12,070 The new pope needed a bank he could trust. 94 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:20,396 Giovanni and Cosimo completely control the papal account. 95 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:24,434 They become known as "God's bankers." That's what the Medici become known as. 96 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:29,840 And also, of course, they get that account over all the other big Florentine families. 97 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:33,237 So they've made it. They've finally arrived. 98 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,195 With their sudden leap in status, 99 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,234 the Medici joined an elite group of powerful Florentines. 100 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,671 But, like all the leading families of the day, 101 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:51,715 they would become transfixed by their city's humiliating failure. 102 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,316 For over 100 years, 103 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:59,116 a great unfinished cathedral had loomed over Florence. 104 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:03,279 The original planners had been overly ambitious. 105 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:08,678 They had meant to build the largest dome in the world 106 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,190 and they had failed. 107 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:16,315 Their cathedral, more than any other building of any nature 108 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:18,556 in a medieval and Renaissance city, 109 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,594 represented the symbol of the identity of the community. 110 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:28,034 And having the project not completed was a sort of mutilation. 111 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:34,109 And without a dome, you don't have a sacred building. 112 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:45,352 All contemporary building knowledge had been exhausted. 113 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:50,714 Now, the city looked for fresh ideas from a new generation. 114 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:00,516 Cosimo de' Medici had grown up in the shadow of the cathedral. 115 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:06,079 Now, he and his father stood on the threshold of civic power. 116 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:13,670 Perhaps they could apply their enterprising spirit 117 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,793 to the greatest problem of the age... 118 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:22,790 and in the process win glory and power for the Medici family. 119 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,950 The search for a solution to the problem of the dome 120 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:40,119 led men to study the achievements of the classical past. 121 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:47,631 Scholars like Cosimo knew it would take an unconventional mind 122 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:50,229 to decipher the tantalising clues. 123 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:57,558 Through the streets of Florence roamed just such a man, 124 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:03,039 a self-taught genius obsessed by the mysteries of the ancient world. 125 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:08,635 His ideas were difficult to understand. 126 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,549 His name was Filippo Brunelleschi. 127 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:33,030 I think that the g-word of "genius" 128 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:37,438 is something that people are reluctant to use these days 129 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,917 but I think it's very applicable in the case of Brunelleschi. 130 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:43,957 However, maybe like many geniuses, 131 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,710 he wasn't someone you would necessarily want to know. 132 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:57,000 Brunelleschi's style was unorthodox and it gained him few friends. 133 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,592 He was in many arguments with the so-called city fathers. 134 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,395 On one occasion he was actually carried out 135 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:06,477 of the main government palace, forcibly, 136 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:09,399 because he'd lost his temper and insulted people 137 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:13,275 and they were not going to be insulted and they threw him out. 138 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,950 But the family who had sponsored a pirate for a pope 139 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:29,119 were not daunted by the temper of a maverick architect. 140 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:46,997 In the Medici, Brunelleschi had found patrons willing to gamble on his judgment. 141 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:56,110 Brunelleschi's vision would resurrect forgotten concepts of the past. 142 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:02,074 And, in 1419, 143 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:06,438 a new orphanage in Florence became a showcase for his ideas 144 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:09,109 and for Medici ambition. 145 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:15,950 Brunelleschi was using the classical orders of architecture, 146 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:18,959 something that hadn't been used in over a thousand years. 147 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,959 And the people of Florence were so amazed by this 148 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:24,879 that it's said they gathered on the building site, 149 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,355 much to the inconvenience of the workmen, 150 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:29,676 and actually watched this happening. 151 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:34,033 Because they simply hadn't seen anyone build in that style before. 152 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:50,595 This was the first time true columns had been used for structural support 153 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,394 since the days of ancient Rome. 154 00:14:55,000 --> 00:15:01,109 Out of Brunelleschi's turbulent mind had come a vision of classical simplicity. 155 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:09,557 It would spark an architectural revolution across Europe. 156 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,875 Innovation and ambition went hand in hand. 157 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:23,517 And for the Medici, this was only the beginning. 158 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:30,789 Brunelleschi was the house architect. They were very close. 159 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:34,550 There was a clear fit between what Cosimo wanted 160 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:36,637 and what Brunelleschi could give him. 161 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,469 And it very much was about recreating a great classical city 162 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:42,830 on the lines of Rome. 163 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:58,110 The Medici family did the sorts of things that every ruling family did. 164 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:03,758 You tried to get power by various public and private dealings 165 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:08,830 and then you tried to promote your image to the rest of the world 166 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,829 through art and literature and having people write about you... 167 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,476 being a patron of things that can serve your ends. 168 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,437 With the backing of the Medici, 169 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:26,951 Brunelleschi now set his eye on the problem of the dome, 170 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:29,834 the greatest challenge in Florence. 171 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,270 Brunelleschi set to work. 172 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:41,393 Cosimo would publicly support him. 173 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,353 The Church authorities were desperate, 174 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:48,996 offering a massive cash prize for a solution. 175 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,750 Brunelleschi's model showed the largest unsupported dome in Christendom. 176 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,677 But he was fearful his ideas would be stolen. 177 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:02,916 He wrote his calculations in code 178 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,476 and refused to explain the details of his plan. 179 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:14,999 The cathedral authorities demanded some kind of demonstration 180 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,635 before they would award the prize. 181 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:24,519 So Brunelleschi challenged them to stand an egg on its end. 182 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:28,632 When they failed, 183 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:33,277 Brunelleschi broke the bottom of the egg, and it stood up. 184 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,635 The men complained that his solution was so obvious. 185 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:39,717 Brunelleschi protested. 186 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,675 Of course it was, and so would be the solution to the dome 187 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:46,474 if he showed them his plans. 188 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:50,196 The authorities gave in to the stubborn architect. 189 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,352 The commission for the dome was his. 190 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:03,193 But what Brunelleschi would now attempt was unprecedented 191 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,596 and fraught with danger. 192 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:10,158 He would have to rewrite the rules ofWestern architecture. 193 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:13,352 And there was no certainty of success. 194 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:19,192 For inspiration, 195 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:23,712 Brunelleschi turned to the greatest civilisation of the ancient world. 196 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:29,234 And in Brunelleschi's wake came Cosimo, the papal banker, 197 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:31,994 anxious to see things for himself. 198 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:41,238 In ancient Rome, men had constructed architectural marvels. 199 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,910 Buildings such as the Pantheon - the house of the gods - 200 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,397 the largest freestanding dome in the world. 201 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,835 One of the most fascinating buildings in ancient Rome 202 00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:57,315 was definitely the Pantheon. 203 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,317 It was one of the most fascinating buildings 204 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:05,752 in the collective imagination of the Western world for a long time. 205 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,833 It was really something to be absorbed and assimilated 206 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:15,272 in order to appropriate the techniques of the building 207 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:18,552 but also the spirit that the dome was expressing. 208 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:25,318 Brunelleschi saw valuable clues in the Pantheon's design. 209 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:32,079 He wanted to discover not only the proportions of it 210 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:35,909 but also the nuts and bolts of how it was built. 211 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,519 What particularly struck the contemporaries 212 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:42,631 was the size of the dome 213 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,276 and the fact that it was one of the very few complete domes 214 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:49,313 that had survived from ancient times. 215 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:56,471 The architects of ancient Rome had framed the Pantheon with timber 216 00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:59,752 and poured their concrete dome over the top. 217 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,759 But there was not enough timber in all of Tuscany 218 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,510 to build a scaffold inside Florence Cathedral. 219 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:10,156 Brunelleschi's dome would have to support itself 220 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,954 throughout the building process. 221 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:18,149 Even the recipe for concrete had been lost since the fall of Rome. 222 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:21,279 But, through intense study, 223 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:25,348 the Pantheon gave up its secrets to Brunelleschi. 224 00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:30,035 He was inspired by its clever double skin. 225 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:34,632 So Brunelleschi used the idea of the Pantheon's strong circle, 226 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:39,869 placing an inner dome within the cathedral's octagonal drum. 227 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:45,560 Sandstone rings would hold the structure together like a barrel. 228 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,190 It was an ingenious and completely original idea. 229 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:56,397 In practice, however, Brunelleschi was entering uncharted territory. 230 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:03,478 When Cosimo returned to Florence, work on the dome had begun. 231 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:14,119 You'd have the sound of hammers, you'd have the workmen in the streets, 232 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:16,789 summoned by the bells from their beds. 233 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:21,235 It was a scene of chaotic activity, 234 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:26,196 sort of like New York in the 1920s when the first skyscrapers are going up. 235 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:41,189 Brunelleschi came fresh to building sites with his own ideas. 236 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,313 The workers ate their lunches up on the dome 237 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:48,479 because he didn't want them descending in the middle of the day to have lunch 238 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:54,630 because they'd be exhausted by the time they got back up the 350, 400-odd steps. 239 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:58,357 But he also served wine to them 240 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:02,679 because that was really the drink you had in Florence, much safer than water. 241 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,793 But he did make certain that your wine was diluted. 242 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:07,991 You put a third part water in, 243 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:11,317 which was the drink given to pregnant women at the time. 244 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,911 But as Brunelleschi's dome began to rise, 245 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:22,954 the health of Cosimo's father began to fail. 246 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:29,398 Giovanni de' Medici knew the dangers that lurked in the streets of Florence. 247 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:36,037 Although rich, he had taken pains to retain an aura of modesty. 248 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:40,793 A man who rode on a mule did not invite attack. 249 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:44,996 Giovanni offered his son a warning. 250 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:49,512 "Be wary of going to the Palace of Government. 251 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:51,597 "Wait to be summoned. 252 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:55,953 "Do what you are asked to do and never display any pride. 253 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:59,755 "Always keep out of the public eye." 254 00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:12,318 In 1429, Giovanni de' Medici died. 255 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,668 The city of Florence mourned a modest patron. 256 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:26,515 But Cosimo de' Medici had lost his guide and mentor. 257 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:47,831 Local custom dictated 258 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:52,432 that Giovanni's corpse be passed through the walls of his home. 259 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,109 The wall was then sealed behind him. 260 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:12,309 Giovanni was laid to rest in the Church of San Lorenzo, 261 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,993 rebuilt by Brunelleschi along classical lines. 262 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:28,312 It was now a magnificenttemple to the Medici family. 263 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:54,233 Giovanni's death cast a shadow overthe future of the family. 264 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,876 Now Cosimo had to assume his father's role. 265 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,752 But how could he build on his father's legacy 266 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,077 and still keep out of the public eye? 267 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:12,315 Cosimo's rivals, the Albizzi family, had governed Florence for generations. 268 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:16,389 They were wary of any challenge to their power. 269 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:28,315 If the Medici and their followers have more authority, 270 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:32,479 the Albizzi and their followers have less authority. 271 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:36,309 Both parties can't win. One party has to go. 272 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:41,631 A battle between rival families 273 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:45,799 would endanger not just the future of the Medici dynasty. 274 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:51,473 It would threaten to drag Florence back into the world of the Middle Ages. 275 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:07,709 Meanwhile, Brunelleschi also tried to escape the limitations of his age. 276 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,112 Brunelleschi was not only an architect, he was an engineer. 277 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:17,110 He had to solve enormous logistical problems when he was building the dome. 278 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:21,518 Foremost among the problems was how to raise sandstone beams, 279 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:26,351 weighing 1,700 pounds, 250 feet in the air. 280 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:30,269 What he devised was unprecedented in the history of engineering. 281 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,233 Oxen had great strength, great stamina, 282 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,751 but would not walk backwards for more than a few steps. 283 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:41,158 So what Brunelleschi devised was a way of reversing a gear 284 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:45,228 so he could raise a load several hundred feet in the air, 285 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:48,512 change gear, and then bring the hook back down 286 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:53,476 so that the oxen only ever walked counter-clockwise or clockwise, 287 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:55,432 whichever he wanted. 288 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:02,397 But there was still no guarantee 289 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:06,116 that Brunelleschi's intricate design would stand up. 290 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,275 The city of Florence was nervous... 291 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,472 and no one more anxious than Cosimo. 292 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,469 His patronage of Brunelleschi was well known. 293 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,070 Nothing could please Cosimo's enemies more 294 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:25,999 than to see Brunelleschi fail. 295 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,916 As Cosimo's wealth and power increased, 296 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:41,113 so did the resentment of the ruling Albizzi family. 297 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:45,075 They were losing their grip on the government of Florence. 298 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:50,754 Sensing the danger, Cosimo transferred vast sums of money out of the city 299 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,197 and made sure his family was safe. 300 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:02,076 Florence is always constructed around large, powerful families. 301 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:04,112 They run the city. 302 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,277 So for families like the Albizzi, 303 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:10,951 for the Medici to suddenly get ahead in this way is absolutely devastating. 304 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,037 And so this is a crucial moment 305 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,959 where the infighting gets actually quite nasty. 306 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,512 In moments of keen political struggle, 307 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:27,588 and Florence was there in the 1420s and '30s, 308 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:30,599 there were no holds barred. 309 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:32,598 You bribed, 310 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,599 you killed, you intimidated 311 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:38,997 in order to win friends and influence people. 312 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:45,708 On the 7th of September 1433, 313 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,549 Cosimo was summoned to the Palace of Government. 314 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:58,637 The Albizzi were waiting for him. 315 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:06,032 They had hatched a plot to wipe out the upstart Medici. 316 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:10,878 "When I arrived in the palace, 317 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:15,756 "I found a majority of my companions already in the midst of a discussion. 318 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:19,749 "After some time, I was commanded by the authority of the Signoria 319 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:21,917 "to go upstairs." 320 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,437 Cosimo was now in grave danger. 321 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:38,991 Even the family's trusted consigliere had been tortured 322 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,192 to uncover evidence against the Medici. 323 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,717 Cosimo was at the mercy of his enemies. 324 00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:01,676 "I was taken by the captain of the guard to the cell known as the Barberia." 325 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:14,438 He is imprisoned in the topmost room 326 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:18,395 at the very top of the tower of the Palace of Government. 327 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:24,439 He thought he'd be flung to the ground, that was his first fear, 328 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:29,430 that he'd just be pushed out the window, because this happened quite a lot then. 329 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:33,998 And his entire family was terrified that they'd never see him again. 330 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:47,792 But in a republic, 331 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:52,198 not even the Albizzi could dictate the fate of a citizen of Florence. 332 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:55,756 They had to have the consent of the people. 333 00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,797 A referendum was called to decide Cosimo's future. 334 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:05,479 The Albizzi hired soldiers to guard the piazza. 335 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,320 Cosimo's friends were physically barred. 336 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:19,590 Cosimo was accused of treason against the city and her people. 337 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:26,756 A vote was taken. 338 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,035 Cosimo was found guilty. 339 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,918 Now, he faced execution. 340 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:02,238 But Cosimo had friends even in the enemy camp. 341 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:06,991 From his cell, he engineered a secret negotiation for his life. 342 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:11,236 Money talked and Cosimo walked. 343 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:15,513 Probably the reason why his life was spared 344 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:19,349 was because, as he says in his own memoir of the event, 345 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:24,077 that he paid his jailers a hefty bribe to let him out. 346 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:26,751 "They were not very bold. 347 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,476 "They could have had 10,000 or more for my safety." 348 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:41,396 Cosimo had survived, but he and his family were now banished 349 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,990 and Florence was in the hands of the Albizzi. 350 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:50,154 No friend of Cosimo was safe. 351 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:56,717 Brunelleschi himself was thrown into jail and work on the dome was abandoned. 352 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:04,713 But life in Florence without Cosimo wouldn't be easy. 353 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:10,074 The Medici bank had funded most of the city's commercial activity. 354 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:14,871 Florentine business soon ground to a halt. 355 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:20,155 Cosimo's supporters begged him to return and retake the city by force. 356 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:24,228 But Cosimo remembered his father's advice. 357 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:28,030 "Wait to be summoned". 358 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:30,436 Cosimo waited. 359 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:34,677 He knew that, without money, 360 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:39,033 the people of Florence would soon tire of the Albizzi. 361 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:41,798 He was right. 362 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:46,549 Within a year, the Albizzi had lost control of the city 363 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,559 and turned on the people themselves. 364 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:54,795 They attacked the Palace of Government 365 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:58,117 but were held off by the captain of the city guard, 366 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:00,470 a loyal friend of the Medici. 367 00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:37,069 But Cosimo had even more powerful friends. 368 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:42,708 Agents of the pope descended on Florence. 369 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:46,469 This time the Albizzi had gone too far. 370 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,397 Cosimo's exile was now over. 371 00:34:54,199 --> 00:34:59,274 "At sunset they bid us come, and we set forth with a great following. 372 00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:02,310 "The people crowded the piazza 373 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:06,195 "and in the palace were many armed men for security." 374 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:13,754 When Cosimo was offered control of the city of Florence, 375 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:16,076 he modestly accepted. 376 00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:32,789 Revenge on the Albizzi was selective but severe. 377 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:36,557 Cosimo preferred plain and simple gestures. 378 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:41,470 A loss of good face was a badge of public humiliation, 379 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:44,593 a public threat to all challengers. 380 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:49,880 The Medici were back in business. 381 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:53,197 A friend described Cosimo's new power. 382 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:57,910 "Political questions are settled at his house. 383 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:00,634 "The man he chooses holds office. 384 00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:04,754 "It is he who decides peace and war and controls the laws. 385 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:07,918 "He is king in everything but name." 386 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:23,632 Money began to flood back into Florence. 387 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,472 Brunelleschi led his workers back to the dome. 388 00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:39,197 And the Medici bank continued to grow. 389 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:44,470 It was basically under Cosimo that the bank expands 390 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:47,911 from this really powerful, solid base. 391 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:51,829 But where the money was was diversifying internationally, 392 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:56,477 in having branches from Barcelona to Bruges to Cairo. 393 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:00,397 On behalf of the Church, 394 00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:05,356 the Medici bank collected money from every parish in Europe. 395 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:07,710 No one was exempt. 396 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:12,676 And Cosimo's agents threatened excommunication from the Church 397 00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:15,474 to those who were slow to pay up. 398 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:21,597 The pope himself opened a huge credit line with the Medici, 399 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:24,394 enough to buy ten palaces. 400 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:30,990 The Medici bank was now the most profitable business in Europe. 401 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:38,596 But wealth had never been enough for Cosimo. 402 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:43,476 He began to commission the finest craftsmen of his age. 403 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:49,357 Cosimo developed a strategy 404 00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:52,313 in spending money in such a way 405 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:57,151 that wealth would be transformed into prestige and power. 406 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:10,359 Cosimo de' Medici became the most sought-after patron in Florence. 407 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:20,032 Cosimo spent 600,000 golden florins in patronage, 408 00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:25,792 which is six times the total state entry for one year. 409 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:30,476 Patronage is great for the production of art 410 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,639 but totally irrational from an economic point of view. 411 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:38,671 Patronage is a political strategy. 412 00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:47,871 This, in my opinion, is one of the keys to understand the Renaissance - 413 00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:52,950 this high political competition expressed through patronage 414 00:38:53,240 --> 00:38:58,439 in a city where those art potentialities gave birth to an art market 415 00:38:58,720 --> 00:39:02,599 that has no equivalent elsewhere in Italy at the time. 416 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:21,031 Why the artist needs the patron is very simple - 417 00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:26,713 there are no public art markets in the Renaissance as we have today. 418 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:30,791 You didn't make art and then put it in the shop window 419 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:32,877 and wait for someone to buy it. 420 00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:36,072 You only made art when somebody commissioned it from you 421 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:38,954 and paid you for it, more or less in advance. 422 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:46,432 But sometimes, as Cosimo discovered, 423 00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:50,110 payment alone didn't guarantee results. 424 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:57,118 He had particular problems with the wayward monk and artist Filippo Lippi. 425 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:01,271 Lippi was put into the monastery because he was an orphan, 426 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:05,951 not because he asked to go, and he really wasn't suited for that life. 427 00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:09,994 He was always breaking out and chasing after women and this sort of thing. 428 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:15,033 One of the things that Cosimo understood 429 00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:18,949 is that you get better work out of people when people are happy. 430 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:24,870 So, rather than yelling at them and being imperious and demanding 431 00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:28,789 and holding them to the letter of every little contract, 432 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:32,231 you might get better work and more reliable work 433 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:34,829 if you treated them like human beings 434 00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:38,032 who have other needs and have another life. 435 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:40,758 Cosimo didn't care. 436 00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:44,635 "If you show up for work and you do what we've commissioned you to do, 437 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:47,798 "you can do anything you want on your own time." 438 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:55,269 Cosimo tolerated his temperamental artists because of their talent, 439 00:40:55,560 --> 00:40:58,950 and their talents were now widely recognized. 440 00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:09,715 You have to be difficult as an artist in these times 441 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,912 because you are under a lot of pressure. 442 00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:17,318 Seventy percent of Renaissance artists were active in Florence at the time. 443 00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:20,956 Though there are a lot of patrons and a lot of money available, 444 00:41:21,240 --> 00:41:24,789 not all of the projects would grant the same kind of dignity 445 00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:27,435 and visibility to the artist 446 00:41:27,720 --> 00:41:30,234 who has to self-promote himself 447 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:35,793 and who has to achieve certain standards of credibility and fame 448 00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:40,471 in order to be able to be put in charge of the best projects. 449 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:49,593 The man working on the best project in Florence was Filippo Brunelleschi 450 00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:54,237 and he continued to break boundaries of conventional understanding. 451 00:41:54,520 --> 00:41:58,513 He simply saw the world as no other man had. 452 00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:03,555 In 1434, Brunelleschi unveiled a new technique 453 00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:06,912 that radically changed Western art. 454 00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:09,873 He invented perspective. 455 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:13,911 Brunelleschi developed linear perspective 456 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:16,395 which allowed pictures to create 457 00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:19,877 the convincing illusion of a three-dimensional space 458 00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:23,277 where Gothic art is primarily flat 459 00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:30,272 to represent objects as three-dimensional, rounded, solid forms 460 00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:33,836 imitating the appearance of the natural world. 461 00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:39,828 Perspective revolutionizes everything. It revolutionizes art. 462 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:43,271 But then, of course, it revolutionizes how we see, completely. 463 00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:45,516 It creates a modern way of looking. 464 00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:47,756 But it begins in the 15th century 465 00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:51,350 and it very much begins under Cosimo, with Brunelleschi. 466 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:58,832 Cosimo had broadened his circle of radical friends. 467 00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:02,430 Amongst his favorites was a notorious sculptor... 468 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:04,956 Donatello. 469 00:43:05,240 --> 00:43:08,312 Cosimo had a kind offondness for Donatello. 470 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:11,876 They really were very close friends. He used him for a lot ofprojects. 471 00:43:12,160 --> 00:43:16,039 But it was closer than that. It was really a kind of personal loyalty. 472 00:43:20,720 --> 00:43:26,033 But Donatello's talent came at a price... his violent temper. 473 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:28,959 He was known to smash his own creations 474 00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:33,518 rather than to sell to an unappreciative client. 475 00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:37,509 There were incidents where Donatello would be snubbed by other people 476 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:39,836 or snide remarks would be made. 477 00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:45,478 And Cosimo went out of his way to show that he was still friends with Donatello 478 00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:50,595 and that he didn't care about these sorts of minor personal matters, 479 00:43:50,880 --> 00:43:55,317 that this was basically an honest, upright, talented individual 480 00:43:55,600 --> 00:43:59,036 who deserved to be treated with the utmost respect. 481 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:06,472 Cosimo was one of the few friends Donatello trusted, 482 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:11,151 and Cosimo had commissioned a truly radical work of art. 483 00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:20,278 Donatello's David was one of the most revolutionary works of art 484 00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:25,270 in the 15th century because it was the first time since the ancient Romans 485 00:44:25,560 --> 00:44:30,918 that anyone had tried to make a freestanding bronze sculpture 486 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:33,395 of a nude man. 487 00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:39,670 The helmet that's on the ground that David is standing on, 488 00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:42,952 with Goliath's head in it as a symbol of victory, 489 00:44:43,240 --> 00:44:45,959 has a long feather attached to the helmet 490 00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:49,915 that goes all the way up the thigh of the David, 491 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:53,909 and you can read that as a kind of erotic caress. 492 00:44:59,720 --> 00:45:05,477 Such a sensual art was frowned upon by many in Florence. 493 00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:10,032 Donatello's David is on the edge 494 00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:14,199 because Florence, more than any other city of the Renaissance, 495 00:45:14,480 --> 00:45:18,393 was associated to "sodomia," sodomy and homosexuality. 496 00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:25,119 There have been 14,000 people tried by the Florentine tribunal in the 15th century 497 00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:27,789 for having committed the crime of sodomy. 498 00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:32,039 So he was really playing with something very dangerous. 499 00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:37,519 But he was willing to take more risk than some of his contemporaries. 500 00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:44,474 Cosimo gives a space to artists and writers to develop new ideas 501 00:45:44,720 --> 00:45:48,190 that are outside the orthodoxy of the Catholic Church. 502 00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:50,357 Art is really where it's happening. 503 00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:52,870 Art and sculpture and architecture 504 00:45:53,160 --> 00:45:57,153 are pushing forward the boundaries of what it's possible to actually do. 505 00:45:59,360 --> 00:46:03,876 No one in Florence was taking more risks than Brunelleschi. 506 00:46:04,160 --> 00:46:08,153 His magnificent dome was rising even higher. 507 00:46:08,440 --> 00:46:12,638 But with each new brick, the angle of the dome increased. 508 00:46:15,920 --> 00:46:19,230 This was the critical phase of Brunelleschi's design. 509 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:25,468 One of the major problems Brunelleschi faced in building the dome, 510 00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:28,672 and particularly when he got to the upper reaches, 511 00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:32,270 was how he could prevent the bricks from falling inwards. 512 00:46:32,560 --> 00:46:36,678 What Brunelleschi did was to insert bands of vertical brickwork 513 00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:40,999 to tie the horizontal courses to these vertical ones, 514 00:46:41,280 --> 00:46:45,273 which were keyed to courses five, six rows beneath that 515 00:46:45,560 --> 00:46:47,596 where the mortar had dried. 516 00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:55,754 Brunelleschi's herringbone design was untried and untested. 517 00:46:56,040 --> 00:47:00,989 The slightest miscalculation could result in catastrophic failure. 518 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:10,036 It would have been a disaster, but I would say not as much a disaster 519 00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:13,710 in terms of not completing an architectural project, 520 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:17,834 but a disaster in failing in producing 521 00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:22,193 the most grandiose symbol of Florentine pride ever. 522 00:47:30,240 --> 00:47:34,756 From his patrons to his workers, all looked on in disbelief. 523 00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:39,349 Brunelleschi had to prove that he was right. 524 00:47:40,440 --> 00:47:43,079 Brunelleschi was a very hands-on person. 525 00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:46,352 Not only did he inspect many of the bricks that were used 526 00:47:46,640 --> 00:47:49,916 and sent consignments back if they weren't quite up to snuff, 527 00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:52,475 he also actually laid some bricks himself. 528 00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:08,196 The workers weren't certain at all that this was a viable proposition 529 00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:11,233 to lay these on an inward-curving vault, 530 00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:15,195 and so he himself went up and practiced what he preached. 531 00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:51,192 The genius of Brunelleschi had defied all doubt and danger. 532 00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:57,993 And in 1436, Brunelleschi, who has been keeping the faith all this time 533 00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:01,511 that he could build that dome without aid of scaffolding 534 00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:03,677 or any other visible support, 535 00:49:03,960 --> 00:49:06,872 has brought, as he writes in a little poem he wrote, 536 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:08,957 "this miracle to pass." 537 00:49:21,200 --> 00:49:26,399 This great achievement had mirrored the rise of the city's most powerful family 538 00:49:27,120 --> 00:49:31,636 and now it towered majestically over the city of Florence, 539 00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:36,436 the greatest architectural feat in the Western world. 540 00:49:44,080 --> 00:49:47,675 Cosimo basked in the dome's reflected glory, 541 00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:51,714 inviting the pope himself to conduct the consecration. 542 00:50:00,760 --> 00:50:03,558 If Cosimo could have looked into the future, 543 00:50:03,840 --> 00:50:06,673 he would have seen the story of the Renaissance 544 00:50:06,960 --> 00:50:10,111 unfold on the ceiling of the dome itself. 545 00:50:14,880 --> 00:50:20,876 Weighing 37,000 tons and using more than four million bricks, 546 00:50:21,160 --> 00:50:26,439 Brunelleschi's dome was proof that man could conquer the seemingly impossible. 547 00:50:30,680 --> 00:50:33,592 A friend of Cosimo's wrote of its impact. 548 00:50:35,600 --> 00:50:37,318 "It touches the skies 549 00:50:38,160 --> 00:50:42,199 "and casts its shadow over the whole of Tuscany." 550 00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:59,036 Cosimo was quick to capitalize on the triumph. 551 00:50:59,320 --> 00:51:02,278 He planned a dazzling international spectacle... 552 00:51:02,560 --> 00:51:04,915 the Council of Florence. 553 00:51:05,680 --> 00:51:09,514 It would be a global showcase for the magnificent new dome 554 00:51:09,800 --> 00:51:13,076 and a celebration of Florentine art and culture 555 00:51:13,360 --> 00:51:16,397 which had blossomed under Cosimo de' Medici. 556 00:51:19,440 --> 00:51:23,752 The Council brought together the greatest mix of thinkers, artists, 557 00:51:24,040 --> 00:51:28,556 merchants and churchmen that the world had ever seen. 558 00:51:30,160 --> 00:51:33,914 News quickly spread of the birth of a new Rome 559 00:51:34,200 --> 00:51:36,794 on the banks of the River Arno. 560 00:51:37,880 --> 00:51:40,075 In the streets and in the piazzas, 561 00:51:40,360 --> 00:51:43,432 the cultures of East and West were brought together 562 00:51:43,720 --> 00:51:47,713 and bankrolling it all was Cosimo de' Medici. 563 00:51:49,360 --> 00:51:51,476 The most interesting thing he does 564 00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:55,799 is pay all the travel expenses of all the people from exotic places, 565 00:51:56,080 --> 00:51:58,469 like India and Ethiopia. 566 00:51:58,760 --> 00:52:02,469 Messengers are sent out to call people from these far-distant lands 567 00:52:02,760 --> 00:52:05,399 which are literally mythic to the Florentines. 568 00:52:05,680 --> 00:52:08,194 They're the stuff of legend. 569 00:52:11,160 --> 00:52:16,075 Cosimo's guests gazed in wonder at an explosion of art and culture 570 00:52:16,360 --> 00:52:20,239 in the shadow of Brunelleschi's dome. 571 00:52:20,520 --> 00:52:23,990 Cosimo was thrilled. He set up public lectures on Plato. 572 00:52:24,280 --> 00:52:26,316 It was just the best thing possible. 573 00:52:26,600 --> 00:52:30,149 And, of course, it also gave him this great political cachet. 574 00:52:30,440 --> 00:52:33,318 It was the culmination of everything he'd ever wanted. 575 00:52:38,480 --> 00:52:42,553 Cosimo is now the great intercessor for the Florentine people. 576 00:52:42,840 --> 00:52:47,516 He truly is their patron, their godfather, in every sense. 577 00:53:25,360 --> 00:53:29,399 Cosimo had overseen the triumph of his city 578 00:53:29,680 --> 00:53:34,595 but at heart the godfather of Florence remained a cautious man. 579 00:53:37,320 --> 00:53:39,959 "I know the humors of my city. 580 00:53:40,240 --> 00:53:44,233 "Before 50 years have passed, we shall be expelled. 581 00:53:44,520 --> 00:53:47,876 "But my buildings will remain." 582 00:53:55,760 --> 00:53:57,478 In his final years, 583 00:53:57,760 --> 00:54:03,198 he baptized and then buried both a son and a grandson. 584 00:54:06,200 --> 00:54:09,829 On Cosimo's death, in 1464, 585 00:54:10,120 --> 00:54:14,557 the city of Florence declared him Pater Patriae... 586 00:54:14,840 --> 00:54:17,434 Father of the Fatherland. 587 00:54:18,280 --> 00:54:21,875 But who was left to lead the Medici? 588 00:54:22,160 --> 00:54:28,190 Who would fill the shoes of the godfather of the Renaissance?