Characters / Medici

Character page for Medici.

Spoilers unmarked. Read at your own risk.

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House of Medici

In General

• Adapted Out: Many of the historical family members and associates not part of the main branch were cut from the series.
• Ambition Is Evil: Most male Medici seem to have a healthy amount of ambition, which sometimes leads to morally dubious courses of action.
• Family Theme Naming: Due to Italian Renaissance customs for naming children, the Medici have a few names they like to reuse through the generations, in particular, Piero, Lorenzo, and Giovanni.
• Feuding Families: Initially with the Albizzi, later with the Pazzi.
• Nobility Marries Money: The Medici are rich, the Bardi, Tornabouni, and Orsini are nobility.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Seems to be recurring trait amongst the various heads of the family.
• Strong Family Resemblance: In-series, the Medici 'look' seems to be brown curly/wavy hair, with either pale blue or dark brown eyes.
• The Usurper: Over the course of the series, the Medici go from humble merchants to the De Facto rulers of the city of Florence, displacing all of the older, more established families.

Cosimo's Family

Cosimo de' Medici

Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici, Cosimo the Elder

Played By: Richard Madden

The main character of the first season, head of the Medici bank.

• Altar Diplomacy: Wed Contessina to give the Medici legitimacy with the nobles.
• Arranged Marriage: His father chose to marry him to Contessina for political and monetary reasons. He grows to love Contessina, though.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Cosimo is dramatically arrested and charged with making himself a despot to Florence, charging interest on loans (a mortal sin) and polluting the city's murals by funding tacky art.
• Badass Bookworm: Is a learned man of culture, but as multiple others learn over the course of the season, it's very unwise to test him and his family.
• Crisis of Faith: Cosimo is deeply religious and often finds his actions as head of the bank clashing with the values of his faith.
• Everyone Went to School Together: In-series, he is shown to have briefly been a student of Leonardo da Vinci.
• Face Death with Dignity: When Contessina comes to see him in prison after he's been sentenced to death, he calmly tells her that he has repented his sins and is unafraid.
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Cosimo wants to be an artist, but Giovanni makes it clear to him that that's not going to happen.
• Fate Worse than Death: Considers being exiled to be this, despite still living quite comfortably just a stone's throw away in Venice.
• Lonely at the Top: The constant pressure of maintaining the success of the bank and family as a whole means Cosimo often has trouble relating to Contessina and Piero.
• Manly Tears: After Lorenzo is murdered.
• Mr. Fanservice: When you're played by Richard Madden, you're automatically this. One episode even gifts viewers a nice shot of his bare ass.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: There's little Cosimo won't do for the sake of his family. He'll probably feel bad about it later, but he'll still do it.
• Near-Death Experience: Is given poisoned wine by a guard during his stint in prison.
• Nobility Marries Money: The Medici are rich, the Bardi are nobility.
• Not So Above It All: One of the only times he shows genuine unrestrained happiness is when he learns his son's wife is pregnant.
• Parents as People: Cosimo is the head of a successful bank, and it's implied that the reason he seemingly goes out of his way to exclude his son from the business is because he's seen firsthand the seedy underbelly of the political world and wants to spare Piero the trouble as long as possible.
• Parting-Words Regret: His brother dies on a political mission right after the two of them have a particularly nasty fight, with Cosimo at one point accusing him of murdering their father. Predictably, he's wracked with guilt when he finds out.
• Past Experience Nightmare: After the murder of the Albizzis, which is implied to have been ordered by him.
• The Stoic: As an adult, he rarely shows any genuine emotion save for annoyance.
• Superior Successor: Is younger than his brother Lorenzo, but was given leadership of the bank by their father when it became clear he had the better head for politics and business.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Acts very cold and aloof towards Contessina upon his return from banishment, despite knowing full well that she's the only reason he wasn't executed instead. She eventually calls him out on it.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Was sensitive and gentle as a young man and wanted to be an artist. As an adult proper, hardly anything of the kid is left.

Contessina de' Medici

Played By: Annabel Scholey

Cosimo's wife, born Contessina de Bardi

• Arranged Marriage: Her father chose to marry her to Cosimo for political and monetary reasons. She grows to love Cosimo, though.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Goes above and beyond to save Cosimo from his death sentence and remains faithful to him during his exile. He repays her with the cold shoulder and by bringing his new mistress into their home. She's understandably a bit pissed off.
• Good Parents: Contessina acts as a loving mother to both Piero and Lucrezia and is frustrated by Cosimo's refusal to include Piero in his business dealings.
• Nobility Marries Money: The Medici are rich, the Bardi are nobility.
• Obnoxious In-Laws: Contessina does not get along with her mother in law, Piccarda Bueri.
• Parents as People: Contessina acts politically for the Medici bank, and has her own problems such as the troubles in her marriage with Cosimo and her ex coming back to town
• Parental Substitute: Contessina treats Lucrezia as her daughter, loving and mentoring her.
• Properly Paranoid: Is highly suspicious of and cold towards Cosimo's new maid Maddalena, suspecting that the two are sleeping together. Her fears are later proven correct when Maddalena ends up pregnant with Cosimo's baby.
• Second Love: When she was young, Contessina wanted to marry Ezio Contarini, who later offers to take her away so they can live together after Cosimo's been sent into exile and refused to take her with him. She grows to love Cosimo, though.
• Took a Level in Badass: After learning that her husband has been sentenced to death, she bursts into the Signoria on horseback and convinces them to commute Cosimo's sentence to exile instead.

Carlo di Cosimo de' Medici

Played By: Callum Blake

Cosimo's younger, illegitimate son, Piero's half brother, and uncle to Lorenzo, Giuliano, and Bianca. His mother is implied to be pregnant in the Season 1 finale. His adult self, now a priest, becomes a major player in Seasons 2 and 3.

• Action Survivor: You don't survive several years of captivity and torture at the hands of Riario without being tough as nails.
• Bastard Angst: While he's proud to be Cosimo's son, he's decidedly less proud that he was born from an affair with a slave woman.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Even his would-be killers are stunned and horrified when he begins knifing them to save his own life.

  Assassin: You're a priest!

• Birds of a Feather: Bonds with a young Giulio when the latter feels unwelcome at the Medici home, even convincing him to return after the boy runs away.
• Cool Big Bro: Because of how close they are in age, this is how Lorenzo sees him. Overlaps with Cool Uncle.
• Distressed Dude: Is kidnapped and held prisoner by the Pazzis and their co-conspirators in Season 2. He doesn't escape until the beginning of Season 3, several years later.
• Generation Xerox: Looks very similar to Cosimo. Doubly ironic when once remembers that's Cosimo's other (non-illegitimate) son looked nothing like him.
  • Arguably Artistic License: It remains debated among historians as to what Carlo and his mother looked like.
• Good Shepherd: Is a priest with the Catholic Church, and his first scene has him treating and comforting the sick in a hospital.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With his nephew Lorenzo, especially after the death of Giuliano. Lorenzo treats Carlo as a brother rather than a half-uncle and Carlo is included in the Medici inner circle. For his part, Carlo is loyal to Lorenzo to the death.
• Nice Guy: One of the only characters in the series with no negative qualities or ulterior motives, instead being happy to simply serve God and his family. He's also the first of Lorenzo's relatives to openly tell him that the latter's quest for vengeance is beginning to go too far.
• Not So Above It All: Gets guilt tripped by Lucrezia into convincing Clarice into marrying Lorenzo for the sake of the family business.
• Only Sane Man: Becomes this for his family as a whole in Season 3, being the only one to warn Lorenzo that his actions are taking them down an increasingly dangerous path and trying to make him see sense. Of course, he still continues going along with it anyway.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Or in this case, Outliving One's Brother's Offspring. His nephews Lorenzo and Giuliano both die before him.
• Promotion to Opening Titles: Callum Blake makes the main cast in Season 3.
• Took a Level in Badass: Sweet and gentle Carlo is forced to kill his captors once he realizes they have no intention of actually releasing him back to his family.
• Undying Loyalty: Towards his nephew Lorenzo. Even after Lorenzo's Face–Heel Turn, Carlo sticks by him, and even endures several years in enemy custody rather than betray him.

Piero's Family

Piero de' Medici

Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, Piero the Gouty

Season 1

Season 2

Played By: Alessandro Sperduti (Season 1), Julian Sands (Season 2)

Cosimo and Contessina's oldest son, Lucrezia's husband, and father to Lorenzo, Giuliano, and Bianca.

• 0% Approval Rating: As a result of lacking his father's (and son's) natural affinity for business and politics, Piero is shown to be deeply unpopular with the people of Florence and is often compared unfavorably to Cosimo.
• Babies Ever After: The first season ends with Lucrezia finally pregnant.
• Betrayal by Offspring: His son Lorenzo usurps him as the head of the bank once it becomes known that Piero's inept leadership has nearly led them to ruin. He takes it pretty hard and dies soon afterward.
• Butt-Monkey: Gets little to no respect or recognition from his contemporaries, and almost none of his ventures turn out successfully. His son later takes control of the bank from him and he laments that despite all his efforts, he failed to live up to his father's legacy.
  • Really, it doesn't get much more Butt-Monkey-ish than going down in history as Piero the Gouty.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: Unlike his father, mother, wife, and son, he doesn't get mentioned again after his death.
• Genius Cripple: As an older man, Piero is crippled with gout and can't walk far without a cane but is still just as intelligent as he was as a younger man.
• Good Parents: From what little we see of it, it seems he was a very loving and supportive father and his children are crushed when he dies of illness.
• Happily Married: The marriage between Lucrezia and Piero seems to be a very happy one
• Just a Flesh Wound: Averted. Piero's leg is injured during an assassination attempt. The wound ultimately becomes infected due to his pre-existing gout, and he dies of a combination of the two shortly after.
• Perfectly Arranged Marriage: It can be assumed the marriage between Lucrezia and Piero is this, but they genuinely love each other.
• So Proud of You: His last request to Lorenzo is that he win the upcoming tournament. He does.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: He has shades of this. He laments on his deathbed that he failed.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: His younger self. He's so cute thinking facts have any place in a highly politicized trial.

Lucrezia de' Medici

Played By: Valentina Belle (Season 1), Sarah Parish (Season 2)

Piero's wife, and the mother of Lorenzo, Giuliano, and Bianca. Born Lucrezia Tornabouni.

• Babies Ever After: The first season ends with Lucrezia finally pregnant.
• Big "NO!": Screams this when she sees her sons attacked in front of her in the cathedral.
• Blue Blood: Originally from the Tornabuoni family, who were among the most powerful Italian families at the time.
• Broken Bird: Following her son's murder.
• Dead Guy Junior: In the season finale, Lucrezia is pregnant and tells Contessina that she plans to call the baby Lorenzo
• Good Parents: Is a very caring and devoted mother and later grandmother, supporting her children in their endeavors and guiding them the best she can. For their part, her children and grandchildren all adore her.
• Happily Married: The marriage between Lucrezia and Piero seems to be a very happy one
• Imperiled in Pregnancy: She and her husband are ecstatic to learn that she's become pregnant midway though Season 1, but she soon becomes sick with The Plague, and ultimately loses the baby.
• Only Sane Man: Acts as a voice of reason amongst the Medici family when her husband and later son lead the family.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Her son Giuliano is stabbed right in front of her and dies in her arms.
• Parental Substitute: Towards Giulio after his arrival. She accepts him into the home and family without question and harshly scolds her son and grandson when they initially express skepticism and disapproval.
• Parents as People: Lucrezia works for the Medici family securing alliances and living up to her mentor, Contessina. However she also clearly loves her children and will fight for them above anything else. She is emotionally broken by Giuliano's death, devolving into a sobbing wreck.
• Perfectly Arranged Marriage: It can be assumed the marriage between Lucrezia and Piero is this, but they genuinely love each other.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Her all-black attire in Season 3 implies that she has not yet stopped grieving Giuliano.
• Together in Death: After becoming sick in Season 3. While she does express fear of dying and leaving her family behind, she's also happy at the thought of finally seeing Giuliano again.

Bianca de' Medici

Played By: Aurora Ruffino

Daughter of Piero and Lucrezia, sister to Lorenzo and Giuliano. Lover and later wife of Guglielmo.

• Advertised Extra: Despite the character being Put on a Bus at the end of Season 2, she was featured prominently in the Season 3 promotional materials, but only appeared in 2 episodes (out of 8) and only played a significant role in 1. Oops.
• Armor-Piercing Question: After Lorenzo tries to reprimand her for running off with Guglielmo.

  Bianca: A life of unhappiness (. . .) Is that what you wish for your sister?

• Back for the Finale: After only briefly appearing in one earlier episode of Season 3, she returns and plays a major role in the series finale.
• Cassandra Truth: Is fully aware of how dangerous her and Guglielmo's affair is and has no illusions of how ugly it'll be when, not if, word gets out.
• Dating What Daddy Hates: Guglielmo de' Pazzi, her lover and later husband, is the nephew of the Medici's main political rival Jacopo de' Pazzi. Neither side approves.
• Happily Married: To Guglielmo. Their marriage is easily one of the most stable and healthy on the show. The pair later have a daughter together and are shown being loving parents.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Eventually becomes this with Clarice. The two regularly write to each other following Bianca's banishment and Bianca becomes Clarice's confidant for many of her fears and doubts regarding Lorenzo and the state of the family. After Clarice's death, Bianca returns to Florence to pay her respects.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Doesn't find out that Lorenzo has promised her hand in marriage to a random man until said man shows up at her house talking about what a great wife she'll be. She's understandably freaked out and upset.
• Mama Bear: Following the birth of her daughter, she refuses to allow her family to be split up.
• Put on a Bus: After her brother exiles her family from Florence.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: With Guglielmo de' Pazzi, a member of the Medici's sworn enemies. They try to make the best of it.
• Sex Equals Love: An unusual variation. After their relationship becomes public knowledge, with both their families making it clear they will never agree to see them together, she and Guglielmo run away from Florence and have sex together, banking on the knowledge that with sex being Serious Business to the highly Catholic Florentines, their families will be forced to back off. It works.

  Guglielmo: We are married in the eyes of God.

• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: After Clarice's death, Bianca returns to Florence as the acting matriarch of the Medicis.
• Vague Age: Her age in-series is never stated, but it's implied she's the youngest of her siblings. The real Bianca de' Medici was in fact older than both Lorenzo and Giuliano.
• You Are Worth Hell: Willingly chooses to join her husband in exile at the end of Season 2.

Giuliano de' Medici

Played By: Bradley James

The younger brother and partner of Lorenzo. An infamous playboy with a fiery temper.

• Adaptational Dye-Job: Historical portraits of Giuliano depict him with very dark brown, nearly black hair. Here, he's played by Bradley James, who is blonde.
• Always Second Best: Is this to Lorenzo. Lorenzo is the older brother with high expectations put on him whilst Guiliano is the younger and technically only a spare. In theory he and Lorenzo are equal yet is shown not given the same level of education as Lorenzo as a child and as an adult he is given few responsibilities actually running the Medici bank or in the Signoria.
  • With Francesco too. He feels he is being sidelined for a person who up until recently was the sworn enemy of their family but who recieves more trust and love from Lorenzo than him; his own brother.
• The Casanova: Giuliano openly chases after women and his first scene involves him being almost caught in bed with one by his mother.
• Character Development: Initially lusts after Simonetta Vespucci, but genuinely falls in love with her over time and is heartbroken after her death.
• Didn't Think This Through: Pursues a married woman whose husband is known for being a hardass, purely because he can. It ends up with her dead.
• Fanservice: Models nude for his friend Sandro Botticelli in a couple episodes.
• Fan Disservice: His shirtless, stab wound-ridden corpse is displayed in the Medici house after his murder.
• Go Out with a Smile: Even bleeding out on the floor won't stop him from making a jest at his brother's expense.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Lorenzo and Sandro. Sandro is able to cope with his death. Lorenzo is decidedly not.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: May chase after women on a routine basis, but when he falls in love, he falls hard. Flashbacks after his death also reveal that he genuinely looked up to his brother and only ever wanted to support him.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: After learning that Lorenzo wants him to marry Novella as a political maneuver, he laments that things were easier back when his family were simple merchants.
• Killed Off for Real: Is murdered by Francesco de Pazzi in the conspiracy to kill both him and his brother.
• I Love You Because I Can't Control You: This seems to be the reason Guiliano falls for Simonetta, an aloof married woman who is pretty much the only female shown who does not immediately respond to Giuliano's charms.
• Love at First Sight: Is immediately smitten upon first seeing Simonetta in the streets of Florence. The fact that she initially wants nothing to do with him only intensifies it.
• Millionaire Playboy: Giuliano seems more interested in drinking and pretty women than he does actually helping to run his family's bank.
• Pet the Dog: Comforts an upset Clarice when he sees her crying about Lorenzo's affair while at the same time defending his brother's character.
• Rejected Marriage Proposal: Lorenzo attempts to marry him off to the daughter of a rival political family in order to secure their allegiance. Giuliano isn't having it.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Was a relatively minor character during Season 2, with a storyline noticeably isolated and inconsequential in regards to everybody else. His death and the ensuing aftermath become a major driving force in Season 3.
• Those Two Guys: Is often seen in the company of Sandro and the two spend much of the second season off doing their own thing.
• Together in Death: With Simonetta, as Sandro begins a new portrait intending to show them both together and happy in paradise.

Lorenzo's Family

Lorenzo de' Medici

Lorenzo de' Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent

Played By: Daniel Sharman

Eldest son of Piero and grandson of Cosimo, the head of the Medici family come Season 2 and a visionary who wants to bring prosperity and democracy to Florence.

• 0% Approval Rating: Once knowledge of his less savory acts starts coming to light, namely stealing from the city treasury and plotting to have Savonarola killed, the people of Florence unanimously turn on him.
• Arranged Marriage: Married Clarice Orsini in order to secure his family's position as the papal bankers and her family are very influential in the city of Rome. He eventually grows to love her.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite his increasingly distant marriage with Clarice in the final season, the instant he learns she's supposedly been kidnapped by Riario, he drops everything and personally leads his household guard on a mission to save her.
• Beard of Sorrow: Grows one after his brother's death.
• Betrayal by Offspring: Lorenzo does this to his father Piero when it becomes clear that his leadership of both the Medici family and their bank will lead them to ruin. He is highly conflicted about it and regrets it but does it anyways because he believes it is the right thing to do.
  • He later is on the receiving end of this by his own son (also named Piero), for largely the same reason. He takes it about as well as his own father did.
• Broken Pedestal: His increasingly disturbing ruthlessness in his quest for power and vengeance causes him to fall significantly in the eyes of both his family and Florence as a whole.
• Dead Guy Junior: Named in honor of his grandfather's slain brother.
• Despair Event Horizon: Giuliano's murder. Combined with Start of Darkness. It haunted him for the rest of his life and turned him from a well-meaning Wide-Eyed Idealist into a ruthless and power-hungry tyrant hellbent on destroying his enemies.
• Emotionally Tongue-Tied: Starts rambling when he first meets Clarice and realizes that his usual methods of being The Charmer aren't working.
• Fallen Hero: Essentially his arc on the show. He goes from a kind and caring young man to a cold and brutal tyrant.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Giuliano prior to his death and with Carlo afterwards. He tried this with Francesco as well, but it didn't stick.
• Hidden Depths: Is revealed to have written a collection of love poems about his First Love Lucrezia Donati.
• Historical Beauty Update: Lorenzo de Medici, frequently described in the historical record as short and homely, is portrayed here by British actor Daniel Sharman, who is over six feet tall and extremely attractive.
• Historical Hero Upgrade: Is initially shown to be benevolent and working always in the interest of the people of Florence first. However, this leaves out that Lorenzo could be a pretty ruthless man who was not above using his riches to maneuver himself and his family into a high position of power.
  • More specifically he wants to guide Florence to becoming a full democracy where the people directly decide their city's fate. In reality Lorenzo would have never wanted this as it would remove him and his family from the stranglehold of power they held over Florence for much of the period and beyond.
• Hope Bringer: His grandmother Contessina had high hopes for him leading the House of Medici to greatness while ending the feud with the Pazzi family at the same time. He does end the feud but not in the way she hoped he would. Additionally, Medici power was also at its apex during this reign. However, at the same time, after Giuliano's death, he also became the beginning of the end of the House of Medici as a powerful banking family and de facto leaders of Florence.
• It's All My Fault: It's heavily implied that the reason he never got over Giuliano's death was that he blamed himself for underestimating the Pazzis' hatred of him.
• Loved by All: Through hard work and good PR skills, he's able to repair his family's image amongst the Florentines, who call him a peacemaker, especially after the Pazzi conspiracy.
• Manly Tears: After his brother's death in Season 2, and again after his wife's death in Season 3.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: Averted. In real life, he was actually the 3rd of four surviving siblings, and the 4th of five overall. Here, he's the oldest of three. Also the real Lorenzo and Clarice had six children who survived to adulthood and ten children overall. The show condenses this down to three children, Piero, Giovanni, and Maddalena.
• Messianic Archetype: Is shown like this for the Medici family and Florence as a whole. Contessina specifically believed that he would be the greatest leader of the Medici family and would resolve the conflict between them and the Pazzi family. He did but not in the peaceful way his grandmother probably wished.
• Mr. Fanservice: Is seen naked or shirtless at least once an episode in Season 2.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Has a nonverbal but still very visible case of this in the series finale, when he realizes that the moments leading up to Savonarola's would-be assassination (that he sanctioned) horrifically mirrors that of Giuliano's murder.
• Papa Wolf: Braves a burning building to save his young daughter.
• Parental Neglect: In Season 3, he seems to largely ignore his sons Piero and Giovanni in favor of his nephew.
• Past Victim Showcase: Has murals depicting the deaths of the Pazzis and their allies commissioned as a reminder to the people of what happens to those who cross him.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: His last words to a dying Clarice, crying that he'll never forgive himself for all the pain he's caused her.
• The Social Expert: Is famed in-universe for his 'silver tongue' and rarely seems to have to put in any real effort to sway others to his side.
• Take a Third Option: Tries to do this whenever possible. Specifically he saves the city of Citta di Castello this way when the choices are either let it be sacked by the Pope's army or get the current ruler to agree to his own political suicide.
• Villain Protagonist: Hinted that he'll become this in late Season 2. Eventually played straight during the latter half of Season 3.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Francesco. Lorenzo spends a large amount of time and effort trying to mend and revive their friendship.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Starts out as one. Life eventually beats it out of him.

Clarice de' Medici

Played By: Synnove Karlsen

The wife of Lorenzo, and later the mother of Piero, Giovanni, and Maddalena. Originally from the powerful Orsini family.

• Arranged Marriage: As is traditional with the time, Clarice married Lorenzo because it was arranged between their families and not because she wanted to.
• Awful Wedded Life: What her marriage to Lorenzo largely ends up as, despite both their efforts.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Francesco Pazzi is about to murder Lorenzo. Cue Clarice, armed with large golden candlestick, who promptly proceeds to clobber Francesco over the head with it. He's out cold for a while.
• Cassandra Truth: In a scene with her son Piero, she tells him that he will lead their family far sooner than he thinks or wants, having recognized that her own health is rapidly failing and that Lorenzo is no longer the messiah many once saw him as.
• Delicate and Sickly: Becomes sick with a mysterious illness in the final season, and is repeatedly shown struggling to walk and stand.
• Despair Event Horizon: While she had been becoming increasingly disillusioned with Lorenzo for a while, when she realizes that she was unwittingly complicit in a murder her husband sanctioned and subsequently covered up, her eyes are fully opened to just how monstrous he has become, and that she has unknowingly stood by and defended a ruler whom everyone not named Medici now hates and fears. This comes straight on the heels of the revelation that he has essentially sold their only daughter Maddalena as a political bargaining chip and sentenced the poor girl to a Fate Worse than Death, purely to increase his own standing, all without an ounce of remorse, showing that there is now ultimately no line he won't cross for power.
• Doting Parent: While she loves all her and Lorenzo's children dearly, she is particularly close with her oldest, Piero, and expresses quiet disapproval at her husband's lack of an interest in preparing Piero to run the bank.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Bianca. The pair stay in contact with each other following the latter's exile, and Bianca later returns to Florence to attend Clarice's funeral.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Her husband's increasing Sanity Slippage combined with her own embodiment of this trope is one of the leading causes of the breakdown of their relationship.
• Killed Off for Real: Ultimately dies of her affliction in late Season 3.
• Love at First Sight: Averted. She's unimpressed with Lorenzo and his apparent materialism upon first meeting him, and subsequently shuts him down when he tries to sweet-talk her into changing her mind. It takes several more do-overs, as well as her friend Carlo vouching for Lorenzo's character, to get her to give him a chance.
• Mama Bear: Becomes openly furious with her husband when she learns he's betrothed their daughter to a man widely known to be a violent and abusive drunk.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Arranges the marriage of Francesco to Novella behind their backs, as a way to strengthen the Medici-Pazzi relations. Once it's found out, the Pazzis' hate for the Medicis gets taken up a notch.
• No-Sell: When she and Lorenzo are first introduced to each other, she is shown to be completely immune to his usual charm and gravitas, something that leaves him dumbfounded.
• Only Sane Woman: She and Cantalina are the ones to set in motion the end to the feud between the Medici and Riario.
• Proper Lady: Was born into a respected noble house and as such, she is unfailingly polite and gracious towards everyone she comes in contact with. The one exception is Lucrezia Donati, who turns her into an Ice Queen.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Primarily dresses in bright and colorful pastels and wears her hair down in Season 2, as a way of reflecting her youth and desire to see the good in people. After drifting away from Lorenzo and being hardened by the aftermath of war in Season 3, she begins wearing darker and more austere clothing, with her hair often under a veil.
• Stepford Smiler: After marrying into the Medici. While she puts on a facade of unity and happiness in public, in private it's clear she's deeply unhappy with her marriage.
• Taking the Veil: What Clarice originally wanted to do before she married Lorenzo. Unfortunately for her, Carlo is loyal to the Medici and convinces her to marry Lorenzo instead of becoming a nun.
• Tranquil Fury: After learning about Lorenzo's mistress.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her arrangement of Francesco and Novella's marriage inadvertently leads to Guiliano's murder, which in turn causes Lorenzo's Start of Darkness and Face–Heel Turn
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gives one to Lorenzo after he all but flaunts his relationship with Lucrezia Donati in front of not only Clarice, but all their loved ones as well.

  Clarice (to Lorenzo): I can forgo love but not respect.

Piero de' Medici

Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici, Piero the Unfortunate

Played By: Louis Partridge

Eldest son of Lorenzo and Clarice and heir to the family.

• A Child Shall Lead Them: Less a child and more a woefully unprepared teenager. The series' epilogue mentions that after the deaths of his parents, young Piero became head of the family and ruler of Florence.
• Age Lift: Inverted. The real Piero was 21 when he rose to power after the death of his father. Louis Partridge was 15 during the filming of Season 3.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Wants nothing more than to be allowed to join the family business and prove himself to Lorenzo. When he finally gets the chance, he's horrified by what his father has become and the lengths Lorenzo is willing to go to in order to hold onto power.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Finds himself torn between supporting his father and the family business, and standing by what's right.
• Cool Big Bro: Towards his sister Maddalena.
• Dead Guy Junior: Is named for his paternal grandfather.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Hates that Lorenzo seems to trust and value his cousin Giulio over him.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Piero makes a couple of brief appearances as an infant in Season 2, before having a much larger role as a teenager after the timeskip.
• Freudian Excuse: As a child, his never before heard of cousin appears out of nowhere and effectively usurps his position as his father's favorite and heir apparent. He's understandably a bit upset about it and treats Giulio quite coldly as a result. An older Giulio noticeably realizes that despite the situation being out of either of their control, Piero wasn't wrong to judge him in such a manner and attempts to make amends, but Piero isn't interested.
• Irony: Finally manages to make Lorenzo proud by explicitly going against his father's wishes and thwarting one of his schemes. To hammer it in, Lorenzo dies very shortly afterwards.
• Momma's Boy: Justified and a rare example of it not being Played for Laughs. Clarice is the only parental figure he has that is both positive and present and Piero is repeatedly shown opening up to her about his feelings of inadequacy and shame. He's devastated when she dies of her illness.
• "Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a highly emotional one to Giulio after the true depths of Lorenzo's Sanity Slippage becomes known to both of them.

  Piero: I never blamed you taking my place in this family, only my father's love. Well you can have it!

• So Proud of You: Finally gets this from his father after he helps stop Lorenzo from crossing the Moral Event Horizon. It leaves him in tears.

  Lorenzo (to Piero): I lost myself. And you saw that.

• The Unfavorite: Feels this way after Giulio comes into the picture. It messes him up considerably.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Desperately wants his father's approval and affection and is bitterly resentful that Giulio seems to have stolen both.
• What You Are in the Dark: Warns Savonarola about Lorenzo's plan to have him murdered because he realizes that despite ostensibly being an obstacle to his father's ambitions, the priest has done nothing to deserve it.

Giovanni de' Medici

Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, Pope Leo X

Played By: William Franklin Miller

Second son of Lorenzo and Clarice

• Age Lift: Is portrayed as younger than Piero and older than Maddalena. In real life, he was actually the youngest of the three.
• And the Adventure Continues: The series' epilogue states that Giovanni eventually became Pope Leo X, fulfilling Lorenzo's dream of a Medici leading the Catholic Church.
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Lorenzo forces him to become a priest, despite knowing full well it's not what his son wants.
• Flat Character: Try to find something to say about him other than that he likes to draw and later becomes a priest.
• History Repeats: Like his great-grandfather Cosimo, Giovanni is a young artist with great promise. And like Cosimo, his father has other plans for him.
• Nice Guy: Is much more friendly and welcoming towards Giulio than his brother.
• Out of Focus: Of Lorenzo and Clarice's children, he gets the least amount of characterization and screen time.
• True Companions: With his cousin Giulio. Both of them become priests together.

Maddalena de' Medici

Played By: Grace May O'Leary

Youngest child and daughter of Lorenzo and Clarice

• Arranged Marriage: Lorenzo arranges one for her while she's still a young child.
• Big Brother Worship: Is very close with her older brother Piero.
• Cheerful Child: Due to her young age, Maddalena is largely exempt from the dysfunction of the rest of her family and they all actively attempt to keep it this way. She's rarely seen without a smile on her face.
• Children Are Innocent: Doesn't understand the implications of her grandmother's medicine (namely, that Lucrezia's condition is deteriorating), and her father later tries to shield her from her mother's death. Her first scene has her parents discovering her out of bed after bedtime, admiring the embroidery of the family's new rugs.
• Daddy's Girl: Unfortunately, its not enough to keep him from using her as a political bargaining chip.
• Girly Girl: She's delighted when Lorenzo gifts her a beautiful silk dress upon returning home from a trip, squealing with happiness.
• Innocently Insensitive: Asks Lorenzo where her mother is unknowingly right after Clarice has died his arms. A heartbroken Lorenzo doesn't have it in him to tell her what happened.
• Morality Pet: Towards Lorenzo. His scenes with her in Season 3 provide some much needed relief during a season otherwise filled with heartache and death.

Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici

Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, Pope Clement VII

Played By: Jacob Dudman

Giuliano's illegitimate son, whom Lorenzo and the Medici take in as their own.

• Broken Bird: Goes through hell as a young child and it's made very clear it's left him traumatized by the time he reaches the safety of the Medici estate
• Broken Pedestal: Towards Lorenzo after he has Riario and his lackeys killed.
• Character Development: Starts out as a shellshocked and traumatized child. The post-timeskip episodes show that he's grown into a seemingly happy and well adjusted teenager. After becoming a priest, he also forgives his mother's killers.
• Decoy Protagonist: Gets a large amount of screen time during the Season 3 premiere and is built up as a major character, but his importance gradually decreases as the season goes on, eventually ending up almost totally irrelevant to the main story.
• Generation Xerox: Averted. Giulio looks nothing like Giuliano.
• Happily Adopted: By his Uncle Lorenzo.
• Like Father, Like Son: Averted. The show runners seemed determined to make Giulio as unlike Giuliano as possible
  • Giuliano was rash and impulsive, Giulio is thoughtful and composed. Giuliano was passionate and openly expressive with his emotions, Giulio is initially stoic, cold, and withdrawn (he gets better), Giuliano was a infamous womanizing playboy who secretly dreamed of escaping the shadows of his more famous and successful family members, Giulio chooses the humble life of a priest and confesses to having no ambition for anything greater; Giuliano had straight blonde hair and light blue eyes, unusual for his family, Giulio looks more traditionally Medici, with dark wavy hair and brown eyes, Giuliano was very close with his older brother Lorenzo, who was shattered and never recovered when the former was killed, Giulio's cousin Piero openly dislikes him and is not at all sorry to see him leave.
• Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: The main reason Lorenzo is initially dismissive of him. For context, Giulio shows up at the Medici house out of nowhere with seemingly no proof that he actually is who he claims to be.
• Must Make Amends: Feels this way in regards to Piero as a young adult, even attempting to reach out, but by that point, Piero has bigger things to worry about.
• Replacement Goldfish: It's all but stated that both Lorenzo and Lucrezia see him as one for his father.
• True Companions: Becomes this with Giovanni, even joining him in the priesthood purely so that his cousin wouldn't feel alone.
• Wham Shot: When he presents Giuliano's ring to Lorenzo (i.e., irrefutable proof that Giuliano knew and was close to his mother). As a result, Lorenzo fully accepts and embraces him as family.

Other Medicis

Giovanni de' Medici

Played By: Dustin Hoffman

Cosimo and Lorenzo's father, patriarch of the Medici bank

• Abusive Parents: Strong-arms both his sons into jointing the bank, sabotages their romantic relationships (he outright admits he did so purely because he didn't think either of the women were worthy of his family name) and flat out threatens Cosimo's life when he feels his son is stepping too far out of line.
• Bad Boss: Has Ugo send Rosa away, which indirectly leads to her death.
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Cosimo wants to be an artist, but Giovanni makes it clear to him that that's not going to happen.
• It's All About Me: Cares only about advancing his own political goals, with everything else being secondary. His callousness has fatal consequences.
• Lack of Empathy: Shows no remorse for inadvertently causing the deaths of Rosa and her unborn child.
• Love-Obstructing Parents: He intervened in both Cosimo's relationship with Bianca and Lorenzo's relationship with Rosa.
• Parental Marriage Veto: While it's unclear as to whether Cosimo would have actually married Bianca, Lorenzo seems to have been serious about spending his life with Rosa.
• Posthumous Character: He dies in the first episode and is afterwards only seen in flashbacks.

Lorenzo de' Medici

Played By: Stuart Martin

Cosimo's brother

• Lost Lenore: Spends quite a bit time trying to find his lost love Rosa

Antagonists

Rinaldo Albizzi

Played By: Lex Shrapnel

The head of the powerful Albizzi family, he quickly becomes the personal archnemesis of Cosimo in Season 1.

• Alas, Poor Villain: His final moments are spent watching his (completely innocent) son murdered in front of him after the two of them have left Florence in exile.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's left unclear as to whether or not Cosimo later ordered his death.
• Blue Blood: The Albizzis are an old and aristocratic family resentful of the Medicis' sudden rise to power.
• Death Seeker: It's quite possible that after Cosimo's return from exile and his downfall from power (much like Cosimo earlier), Rinaldo was just practically goading him into killing him. He even goes to the point that even after Cosimo pulled all the stops to have him and his son granted exile, he keeps on acting like it's Cruel Mercy. He finally insinuates that he may have been the mastermind to kill the elder Giovanni. For the record, he's not. The fact that this ends with him being ambushed and killed by his ex-mercenaries (who were already on the negotiating table with Cosimo) raises the question of whether Cosimo always intended to have him killed on the road to exile, or whether this was his belated act of revenge.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Genuinely loves his family and is shown comforting his son while awaiting his death in prison, telling him that he's proud of him.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Unlike the Pazzis and Riario after him, he tries to go about his schemes through the bureaucracy rather than immediately resorting to violence and murder.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: After successfully ousting Cosimo and the Medici from power, it very quickly becomes clear to everyone in Florence just how dependent the city was on the Medici for stability and commerce. It directly leads to his own downfall.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: In one of his major speeches before the Priori criticizing the Medici's banking practices, he says that "Jews, not gentlemen, are usurers." His antisemitism makes sense given the time period of 1429 in Florence, as medieval Christians generally scorned and hated Jews as being guilty of the death of Jesus Christ and discriminated against them frequently.
• The Resenter: What's initially presented as simple disapproval of the Medicis' status as upjumped merchants is eventually revealed to be rooted in a deeply personal grudge against Cosimo.

Jacopo de Pazzi

Played By: Sean Bean

The patriarch of the Pazzi family who hates the Medici and wishes them destroyed. The main antagonist of Season 2.

• Asshole Victim: While the circumstances of his death are undeniably grisly and horrifying (hung from a chain, dropped 20 feet to the ground, and his body then torn apart by a rioting crowd), by that point it's really hard to feel for him after he attempted to murder someone on holy ground and was successful in murdering the man's innocent brother.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Zig-zagged. While he's unquestionably the main antagonistic force in Season 2, he's frequently outplayed and outgambitted by a man less than half his age, and none of his schemes ever fully come to fruition.
• Chronically Killed Actor: Played by Sean Bean, and dies at the end of the season
• Didn't Think This Through: Somehow, it failed to occur to him that Francesco might take issue with Guglielmo being disowned.
• Dirty Coward: Attempts to flee from Florence after the failed assassination of Lorenzo. He gets caught and is subsequently executed.
  • In real life, Jacopo did manage to temporarily escape, but was extradited back to the city and hung.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Zig-zagged. While on some level, he does care for his nephews, he has no problem disowning Guglielmo for going against his wishes and ultimately seems to view them as tools to further his own ambitions. Despite this, he does seem genuinely hurt when Francesco briefly cuts ties with him.
• Even Evil Has Standards: As seen in a flashback, he begrudgingly respected Contessina despite his hatred for her family.
• Evil Is Petty: Attempts to sabotage Lorenzo during the tournament, seemingly for no reason other than that he can. He also poisons Francesco against his very loving wife Novella just to get his nephew back on his side.
• For Want Of A Nail: His goal of killing Lorenzo ends up being singlehandedly foiled by a particularly strong wooden door.
• I Have No Son!: Throws Guglielmo out of the home when the kid's relationship with Bianca comes to light.
• Promotion to Parent: Francesco and Guglielmo are his nephews and Jacopo has been their caretaker since they were very young. It's never mentioned if Jacopo has any other family himself.
• Too Dumb to Live: Plots the assassinations of Lorenzo and Giuliano in the middle of a crowded Easter Mass with hundreds of eyewitnesses. He also clearly didn't have a contingency plan for if they failed or were even only partially successful. He pays for his shortsightedness with his life.
• Un-person: Lorenzo vows to do this to him and his family after the murder of Giuliano.
• Would Hurt a Child: Flashbacks show he was all too willing to physically punish/discipline a young Lorenzo, but was stopped by Contessina.

Francesco de Pazzi

Played By: Matteo Martari

The nephew of Jacopo de Pazzi, Gugliemo's older brother, and a former childhood friend of Lorenzo before their feuding families drove them apart.

• Big Brother Instinct: One of his few redeeming qualities. He's very protective of his younger brother Guglielmo and is quietly seething after Jacopo throws him out of the home. He also sends Gugliemlo a letter on the day of the assassinations warning him to stay away from the cathedral for his own safety.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Is appalled and disgusted when Jacopo sabotages Lorenzo's saddle during the tournament, telling his uncle that there's no honor in cheating.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Along the same lines, he's outraged when his uncle disowns Guglielmo for the 'crime' of loving Bianca. It even leads to his temporary Heel–Face Turn.

  Francesco (to Jacopo): He's my blood. If Guglielmo is not a Pazzi, then nor am I.

• Evil Former Friend: Is this to Lorenzo being his childhood friend who now hates and schemes against him.
• Freudian Excuse: Was orphaned at a young age and sent to live with his toxic and controlling uncle, who hated his friend's family with a passion. Small wonder he ended up so messed up.
• Happily Married: To Novella. For a little while at least.
• Heel–Face Turn: Temporarily when his brother marries Bianca de Medici and he meets his own wife; Novella. It doesn't stick thanks to Jacopo's scheming.
• Hypocrite: Tells Novella not to listen to anything Jacopo says, on the basis that his uncle is a liar and schemer who wants to break them up. Guess what he himself does in the same episode?
• Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Is hung alongside the other conspirators after killing Giuliano and attempted murder of Lorenzo.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: In flashbacks, we see that this used to be the case. Before he was orphaned and sent off to live with his evil uncle Jacobo, Francesco was a kind, friendly boy who close with the Medici’s, and a dear friend to Lorenzo.
• We Used to Be Friends: He and Lorenzo were close as children but have since grown apart due to the feud between their families.
• When He Smiles: Spends much of his screen time glowering and sulking. It's rather heartwarming seeing him genuinely happy with his wife.

Girolamo Riario

Played By: Marius Bizau (Season 2), Jack Roth (Season 3)

One of the Pazzis's main co-conspirators in Season 2. A mercenary who comes into personal conflict with Lorenzo.

• The Dragon: Initially towards Jacopo.
• Dragon Ascendant: Was originally just another one of Jacopo's hired guns. Come Season 3 and he's the new Big Bad.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Is built up as the successor to Rinaldo and Jacopo, but unexpectedly dies midway through Season 3.
• Domestic Abuse: It's all but stated that he hits his young wife, Cantalina.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Though it's clearly only to save his own skin, he actually does make an attempt to talk things out with Lorenzo first, but unsurprisingly, Lorenzo isn't interested. Points for trying, at least.
• Hate Sink: Unlike Rinaldo, Francesco, and even Jacopo before him, who all had their moments of kindness, however small, Riario is never shown to be anything other than a brutish thug and his death comes off as well deserved.
• Oh, Crap!: After Cantalina's guards refuse to give her up to him after she rats him out to Lorenzo. He realizes his last ally has left him and that the Medicis are on their way at that very moment to finish him off for good.
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: After it becomes clear the Pazzis have lost, he hightails it out of Florence.
• Trapped in Villainy: Combined with Just Following Orders. He was originally a soldier hired by Jacopo and the Pazzis simply doing the job he was sent for, but when Lorenzo makes it very clear he intends to have anyone and everyone involved with the Pazzi Conspiracy killed, Riario makes it his personal mission to destroy the Medici.
• Would Hurt a Child: Sends men to find and kill a young Giulio at the start of Season 3. While they fail to find the kid, they do find and kill his mother.
• You Have Failed Me: Tries to do this to Cantalina after it becomes apparent she has betrayed him to the Medicis. It doesn't work.

Other

Ugo Bencini

Played By: Ken Bones

The Medici bank's administrator, who already served as Giovanni's right hand and continues in this role for Cosimo.

• Small Role, Big Impact: Spends most of his screen time in the background dutifully following Cosimo's requests. It's only revealed in the final moments of Season 1 that he was the one responsible for Giovanni's death.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: He was the one who poisoned Giovanni, because of Giovanni's callousness towards Rosa and her baby
• The Unreveal: Cosimo and his family never find out who killed Giovanni

Marco Bello

Played By: Guido Caprino

Cosimo's man for the dirty work, loyal to the Medici.

• Dirty Business: What he usually does for the Medici, even though Cosimo doesn't always agree with his methods.
• Ship Tease: Is kind to Maddalena and seems to genuinely like her, but it later turns out that nothing happened between them.

Guglielmo de Pazzi

Played By: Charlie Vickers

The younger brother of Francesco de Pazzi and lover of Bianca.

• Accomplice by Inaction: How Lorenzo sees him after the murder of Giuliano, especially once the knowledge that Guglielmo knew his family was plotting something and kept Bianca safe at home comes to light.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: His wife reappears in a couple of episodes in Season 3. He, however, does not, and his current status/whereabouts are never mentioned.
• The Exile: Lorenzo exiles him from Florence after the failed Pazzi Conspiracy. His wife and daughter join him.
• Happily Married: Has a very loving and affectionate relationship with Bianca.
• I Have No Son!: Or nephew, in this case. Jacopo disowns him and throws him out when he refuses to end his relationship with Bianca. It leaves him visibly heartbroken.
• Satellite Character: Pretty much all his characterization revolves around being Francesco's brother, Jacopo's nephew, or Bianca's lover/husband.
• The Scapegoat: How the Medicis treat him after Giuliano's death. He willingly accepts it due to realizing that attempting to argue his case would be pointless.
• Token Good Teammate: Is the only member of the Pazzis who isn't a vile schemer.

Sandro Botticelli

Played By: Sebastian de Souza

A painter who is friends with both Lorenzo and Giuliano. He is one of the masters of Renaissance Florence.

• Everyone Went to School Together: In the show's retelling of history, Sandro Botticelli, after being orphaned at a young age, was taken in by the Medici, and grew up alongside Lorenzo and Giuliano.
• Only Sane Man: Takes up the mantle after the Pazzi Conspiracy, to an even greater extant than Carlo and Clarice.
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Removes himself entirely from the affairs of the Medici once it becomes clear Lorenzo will not give up his pursuit of vengeance and power.

Lucrezia Donati

Played By: Alessandra Mastronardi

Lorenzo's lover and mistress.

• Love Hurts: She and Lorenzo have been in love since they were teenagers, and so it stings when he tells her he plans to get married.
• The Mistress: She and Lorenzo have been an item for years.
• Odd Friendship: She the mistress of Clarice's husband, and yet the two women form something of an understanding with one another — enough so that Lucrezia openly weeps at Clarice's funeral.
• Proud Beauty: She's very aware of how beautiful she is, and uses it to her advantage on more than one occasion.
• Sympathetic Adulterer: Her husband is constantly away on business, as well as being considerably older than her.
• Woman Scorned: Averted. Though it seems she'll become this when Lorenzo tells her he wants to be more faithful to his wife, she's staunchly loyal to him throughout the Pazzi conspiracy, and (on Clarice's behest) talks her husband into remaining loyal to the family as well.

Girolamo Savonarola

Played by: Francesco Montanari

A humble friar living in Florence. His rapidly growing hold on the city's people as a result of war makes him the Medicis' newest obstacle.

• Anti-Villain: About as anti as it gets; is a faithful man of God who preaches the importance of charity and humility, shows genuine concern for the poor, sick, and destitute, and wishes for the abolition of the nobility's monopoly of power. But the fact that he opposes Lorenzo makes him qualify.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Combined with The Extremist Was Right. As mentioned above, he's not really a villain, but the series ends with him successfully toppling the Medici regime, being crowned the ruler of Florence in all but name, and his supporters destroying any Medici-sanctioned property they can find, succeeding where Rinaldo, the Pazzis, and Riario all failed.
• Establishing Character Moment: Is introduced giving a sermon to a crowd of enraptured Florentines, both poor and wealthy alike, showcasing his natural charisma.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: While initially presented as a lowly friar, he slowly and subtly is shown gaining the trust and favor of the people over the course of Season 3, and by the end serves as Lorenzo's final obstacle.
• Good Shepherd: Is beloved by the people of Florence for his leadership during a time of strife and his championing of the common man.
• Not So Above It All: After the attempt on his life. He retains his pious demeanor and even performs Lorenzo's last rites, but makes it plain that he personally doesn't like him.
• Outside-Context Problem: Is this to Lorenzo, being the first person he can't bribe, blackmail, threaten, or simply murder when his presence grows too inconvenient.

Simonetta Vespucci

Played By: Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz

A Florentine noblewoman married to Marco Vespucci who becomes the subject of Sandro and Guiliano's attentions.

• Break His Heart to Save Him: Tries to pretend their affair was meaningless to her to get Giuliano to stop persuing her and thus ensure her husband remains on the Medici family's side.
• Caged Bird Metaphor: She keeps a cage of small birds in her house and is also a very beautiful woman who is trapped in a loveless marriage.
• Incurable Coughof Death: How she ultimately dies but definitely not helped by her husband. In real life it is speculated she died of tuberculosis.
• The Muse: Is this for Sandro. In real life she was a model for many of his famous paintings including The Birth of Venus and the painting which he produces in the show: Venus and Mars.
• Together in Death: With Giuliano, as Sandro begins a new portrait intending to show them both together and happy in paradise.

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