Medici Masters of Florence is a political family TV drama set in the Florence of the early 15th century. It tells about the rise to the power of the Medici family. Love, politics, conspiracy, power games, intrigue, animate the TV series, created with special attention to every detail. 

Medici Masters of Florence is not only a TV show. It is also a testament to the birth of the bourgeoisie.

Frank Spotnitz (author of X-Files and The Man in The High Castle) and Nicholas Meyer (director of films as Time After Time, and two of the Star Trek feature film series) are the creators of the series. 

Even if the drama is an Italian production, it was made for an international audience. That is why it was made in English. Renaissance is one of the best periods in Italian history and people for every corner of the world just love it. For the first season, also the cast was amazing and known worldwide with the participation of international actors like Richard Madden and Dustin Hoffman.

Medici Masters of Florence has been aired for the first time in Italy in October 2016, broadcasted by RAI TV.

The main character is Cosimo de’Medici. Elected magistrate of Florence in 1434, he established the signoria of Medici. The tv show has been filmed in Florence, inside the Palazzo Vecchio and also into the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore.

The filming lasted 18 weeks, especially in Rome and Florence. In the capital of Tuscany, producers shot in historical sites as Palazzo Vecchio, Bargello Palace, the church of San Lorenzo, and inside the Duomo. Other shootings around the region were made in Pistoia, Pienza, Montepulciano, Bagno Vignoni, San Quirico d’Orcia, and in the UNESCO site of Val d’Orcia.

After the great success of the first season, the story of the Florentine family continues with two more seasons. The title of the second and third season is Medici: The Magnificent.

As the title says, season 2 and 3 tell about the affairs of Lorenzo The Magnificent, grandson of Cosimo I, twenty years later.

The story of Medici Masters of Florence

In Florence in 1429, Giovanni de Medici transforms his family of bankers into an extraordinary economic power, thanks to a contract signed with the Papacy twenty years before.

The mysterious murder of Giovanni de Medici forces his sons Cosimo and Lorenzo, to deal with several enemies that plot to dethrone the Medici family from the chair of the power. Their first enemy is Rinaldo Albizzi, who leads a group of nobles that are against the rise of the middle class encouraged by the Medici. But this is not the only reason. Cosimo has a different vision for the development of the city of Florence. In fact, he supports the construction of magnificent pieces of architecture and artworks, made by the Masters of Renaissance such as Donatello and Brunelleschi.

Even within the Medici family, peace was very difficult to keep. Cosimo and Lorenzo have a really different temperament. Cosimo, marrying the Contessina de Bardi, signs a political agreement that evolves into an impressive partnership. Due to his increasing importance, Cosimo is exiled in Venice. In Venice, Cosimo meets Maddalena that, from a beautiful slave, will become his mistress and mother of his illegitimate son.

Sarah Felberbaum Maddalena Medici Master of Florence
Sarah Felberbaum (second from left) as Maddalena

Moreover, who killed Giovanni?

The mystery continues. A new arch-enemy emerges in the person of the rival banker Pazzi. A life made of intrigues, the guilt for the compromises made, and the evil done for the good of the family, weigh heavily on Cosimo awareness. He has to decide what to do to defend his vision of Florence. A vision that today we call Renaissance.

The cast of the series

The Medici Masters of Florence cast is very international. Overall, stand out the name of an Oscar winner like Dustin Hoffman playing the character of Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, the head of the powerful family. Richard Madden, well known for his role of Robb Stark on Game of Thrones, performs as Cosimo de’ Medici, the son of Giovanni. The beautiful Londoner Sarah Felberbaum is Maddalena, the lover of Cosimo, Annabel Scholey is the Countess de’Bardi, wife of Cosimo and mother of Piero, and Stuart Martin as Lorenzo il Vecchio, the younger brother of Cosimo.

The cast has many Italians actors too. Alessandro Sperduti plays the role of Piero il Gottoso, son of Cosimo. Valentina Bellè is Lucrezia Tornabuoni, the wife of Piero and mother of the future Lorenzo de’Medici (aka Lorenzo the Magnificient). Marco Bello, played by Guido Caprino, is the loyal servant of Cosimo, and Frances Barber is Piccarda Bueri, Giovanni’s wife and mother of Cosimo. Daniel Caltagirone plays the role of Andrea de Pazzi, the enemy number one of Cosimo, supported by Rinaldo degli Albizzi, also a former friend of Cosimo, played by Lex Shrapnel.

Dustin Hoffman Medici Master of Florence

Episodes of the Medici Series are available on Netflix in the US, UK, Ireland India, and Canada. In Australia on SBS.

Medici Advertisement in Florence
Medici Masters of Florence – advertisement in Piazza della Signoria in Florence

(Update on May 2020)

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