Medici: Masters of Florence on Netflix

[gam197]

Normally I can;t watch history items on Netflix because of the nude sex scenes but this one I am watching and fast forwarding through the short troublesome scenes.

I have been interested in the Medici family and their role in the church. Anyone know anything about this series? What role did the Medici play in church history?

The series seems to emphasize the changes occurring in Florence with a change of old nobility to great progress in the arts and the new merchant culture. Somewhat like Downtown Abbey but years earlier.

 

[GordonP]

What role did the Medici play in church history?

They were an extremely influential banking family that acted as the papacy’s main banker in the Renaissance. There were famous two Medici popes, a third who reigned only a month, and a fourth who was so distantly related to the Florentine Medici’s that he basically isn’t considered a member of that family at all. Leo X was pope during the Protestant reformation, and his nephew Clement VII was pope when Henry VII split from the Church and the Sack of Rome by Charles V. The family would go on to produce two queens of France.

This is an extremely fascinating period in Church history. There have been three TV series made about one of his predecessors, Alexander VI, and they go into the role of the Medici’s at that time.

There is plenty of reading material out there on the Medicis and the other influential families of the time. You’ll have to immerse yourself in that to get a feel of how completely different society was at that time.

 

[GordonP]

One last thing. The series does not exert a lot of effort on being historically accurate, so don’t watch it as history. It’s more of a thriller/drama, like Game of Thrones.

If you are interested in history, then you’ll have to hit the books.

 

[gam197]

The costumes and homes of this period are so beautiful. The art and artist are plentiful and it has helped me relate to the family names and this period of change.

I will think about getting a book to read to learn more. I have seen posts on here that say the family was evil or corrupt but the series portrays them as very religious, pious family (with corruption issues).