Individual Details
Salvestro de' Medici
(Abt 1300 - )
The Medici family went through a short period of decline in the mid 14th century until Salvestro de' Medici returned the family to prominence, holding the office of Gonfaloniere (standard bearer - a high ceremonial office) in 1370 and 1378. Salvestro was the son of Averardo de' Medici, Gonfaloniere in 1299, and Mandina Arrigucci. With his wife Lisa Sinibaldi Donati, daughter of Sinibaldo Donati, he had a son Averardo who would have progeny.
Salvestro rose to power as a known sympathiser with and eventually leader of the _ciompi_ ('wool carders') a disenfranchised class of labourers in the textile industry who were not represented by any guild. They were among the most radical of the lower-class groups, vegetable sellers and crockery vendors and the like, and resented the controlling power centred in the Arte della Lana, the textile-manufacturing establishment which guided the economic engine of Florence's prosperity.
In 1378 the Revolt of the Ciompi was launched, a briefly successful insurrection of the lower classes. For the short life of the revolt it brought an unprecedented level of democracy to 14th-century Florence. The _ciompi_, led by Salvestro de' Medici, were eventually defeated by the more conservative elements in Florentine society when the major and minor guilds closed ranks to re-establish the old order. As the _ciompi_ fell, so did Salvestro's political fortunes, and he was banished in 1382.
The family's fortunes then fell until they were restored by Salvestro's grandson Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, who made the Medici the wealthiest family in Italy, perhaps in all of Europe.
Salvestro rose to power as a known sympathiser with and eventually leader of the _ciompi_ ('wool carders') a disenfranchised class of labourers in the textile industry who were not represented by any guild. They were among the most radical of the lower-class groups, vegetable sellers and crockery vendors and the like, and resented the controlling power centred in the Arte della Lana, the textile-manufacturing establishment which guided the economic engine of Florence's prosperity.
In 1378 the Revolt of the Ciompi was launched, a briefly successful insurrection of the lower classes. For the short life of the revolt it brought an unprecedented level of democracy to 14th-century Florence. The _ciompi_, led by Salvestro de' Medici, were eventually defeated by the more conservative elements in Florentine society when the major and minor guilds closed ranks to re-establish the old order. As the _ciompi_ fell, so did Salvestro's political fortunes, and he was banished in 1382.
The family's fortunes then fell until they were restored by Salvestro's grandson Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, who made the Medici the wealthiest family in Italy, perhaps in all of Europe.
Events
| Birth | Abt 1300 | ||||
| Marriage | Lisa Sinibaldi Donati |
Families
| Spouse | Lisa Sinibaldi Donati (1310 - ) |
| Child | Averardo di Bicci de' Medici (1335 - ) |
| Father | Averardo de' Medici ( - ) |
| Mother | Mandina Arrigucci ( - ) |
| Sibling | Giovenco de' Medici ( - 1320) |