The Medici family of Florence has become synonymous with the extra ordinary cultural phenomenon called the Italian Renaissance. By early in the 15th century (the ’400s, or Quattrocento in Italian), the banker Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici (ca. 1360–1429) had established the family fortune. His son Cosimo (1389–1464) became a great patron of art and of learning in the broadest sense. For example, Cosimo provided the equivalent of $20 million to establish the first public library since the ancient world. Cosimo’s grandson Lorenzo (1449–1492), called ―the Magnificent,‖ was a member of the Platonic Academy of Philosophy and gathered about him a galaxy of artists and gifted men in all fields. He spent lavishly on buildings, paintings, and sculptures. Indeed, scarcely a single great Quattrocento architect, painter, sculptor, philosopher, or humanist scholar failed to enjoy Medici patronage.