Lorenzo de Medici

A third-generation banking magnate, he was the autocrat of Florence, and as such acted with justice and magnanimity. He was also the personification of the “Renaissance Man” with his patronage of artists, musicians, and poets. He sponsored several of the greatest artists of the time: Ghirlandaio, Lippi, and Verrocchio. Machiavelli thought him to be the greatest man alive!