Lorenzo de' Medici (January 1, 1449-April 9, 1492), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, was the scion of the powerful and wealthy Medici family. A diplomat, politician, patron and friend of artists and humanists, he was also ruler of the Florentine Republic from December 2, 1469 until his death. Although he died at the age of forty-three and ruled for only twenty-three years, he was well recognized for his importance to the Florentine High Renaissance, and his death coincided with the end of its Golden Age and with the onset of renewed strife among the Italian city-states. Lorenzo was also an...