Longevity and Causes of Death of Adult Males in the Medici Di Bicci Family

Abstract

The Medici family was prominent in Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. Their contributions to political, economic, and artistic life have remained persistent preoccupations for historians. The medical history of this family, however, was relatively neglected prior to the middle of the twentieth century, probably due to the scarcity of relevant information. Retrospective study of the diseases of the Medici has developed more intensely since World War II, when exhumation of the skeletons of family members became possible. The present researchers are engaged in a new assessment of the data now available, starting with an analysis of the longevity and causes of death of adult males in the family. Our findings show clear longevity trends in the two branches of the family. These trends cannot be explained on the basis of current knowledge, but recognition of their existence may help to orient future research.

Keywords

Medici lineage longevity disease mortality early modern Italy

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References

As has been indicated, the literature on the Medici family is enormous. For overviews, see J. Cleugh, The Medici: A Tale of Fifteen Generations (New York: Dorsett Press, 1975); J. R. Hale, Florence and the Medici (London: Thames and Hudson, 1980); E. Micheletti, The Medici of Florence (Florence, Italy: Becocci Editore, 1980); P. Strachern, The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (London: Jonathan Cape, 2003); and M. Ferri and D. Lippi, I Medici, la dinastia dei misteri (Florence, Italy: Giunti Editore, 2007).

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C. di Domenico and D. Lippi, I Medici, una dinastia ai raggi X (Siena, Italy: Nuova Immagine, 2005); and D. Lippi, "The Diseases of the Medici Family and the Use of Phytotherapy," Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 4, supp. 1 (2007): 9-11.

The male primogenito line continued for at least two more generations, through Alessandro's illegitimate son, Giulio. For further details, see the Discussion section.

On the prevalence of tuberculosis among urban Florentines, and especially in the primogenito branch of the Medici family, see A. G. Carmichael, "The Health Status of Florentines in the Fifteenth Century," in Life and Death in Fifteenth-Century Florence, ed. M. Tetel, R. G. Witt, and R. Goffen (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1989), 28-45, esp. 29-34.

G. Pieraccini, La stirpe de' Medici di Cafaggiolo: saggio di ricerce sulla trasmissione ereditaria dei caratteri biologici, 3 vols. (1924-1925; repr., Florence, Italy: Nardini Editore, 1986).

D. Lippi and R. De Gaudio , "Sepsis and Political Reason in Europe in the XVI Century," Current Anaesthesia & Critical Care 19 (2008): 325-27.

We have found no published information on the health of Giulio or his sons, and there is no evidence that their skeletal remains were ever studied.