Medici, Lorenzo de'
Medici, Lorenzo de',1492–1519, duke of Urbino (1516–19); son of Piero de'Medici. His uncle, PopeLeo X, made the youthful Lorenzo duke of Urbino. After his early death, however, Urbino reverted (1521) to the Della Rovere family. A patron of the arts and humanities, Lorenzo has been immortalized byMichelangelo, who designed and made his tomb in the Church of San Lorenzo, Florence. Of the three statues adorning his tomb, one represents Lorenzo in a pensive attitude (hence it is known as thePensieroso) and the other two represent Dawn and Dusk. Lorenzo was the father ofCatherine de' Medici, queen of France.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia,6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on:Italian History: Biographies