Medici (TV series)

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Medici
File:Screenshot Medici Masters of Florence Netflix Title Sequence.png
Title card from the first season
Genre Historical drama, Political thriller
Created by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Season 1
Seasons 2–3
Opening theme "Renaissance" by Paolo Buonvino & Skin (s. 1)[1]
"Revolution Bones" by Paolo Buonvino & Skin (s. 2–3)
Composer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Country of origin Italy
United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 3
No. of episodes 24 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Frank Spotnitz
  • Luca Bernabei
  • Matilde Bernabei
  • Richard Madden (seasons 2–3)
Producer(s) Fania Petrocchi
Running time 52 minutes
Production company(s) Lux Vide
Big Light Productions
Rai Fiction
Release
Original network Rai 1 (Italy)
Picture format 4K (Ultra HD)
Original release 18 October 2016 (2016-10-18) –
11 December 2019 (2019-12-11)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Medici (Italian: I Medici ) is a historical drama television series created by Frank Spotnitz and Nicholas Meyer. The series was produced by Italian companies Lux Vide and Rai Fiction, in collaboration with Frank Spotnitz's Big Light Productions.[2]

The series premiered in Italy on Rai 1 on 18 October 2016.[3] The series follows the Medici family, bankers of the Pope, during Renaissance Florence. Each season follows the events of a particular moment of the family history exploring the political and artistic landscape of Renaissance Italy.

The first season, titled Medici: Masters of Florence, takes place in 1429, the year Giovanni de' Medici, head of the family, died. His son Cosimo de' Medici succeeds him as head of the family bank, the richest bank of Europe at that time, and fights to preserve his power in Florence. The second season, titled Medici: The Magnificent, takes place 35 years later and tells the story of Cosimo's grandson Lorenzo de' Medici (known as the Magnificent). A third, which completes the story of Lorenzo, premiered on Rai 1 in Italy on 2 December 2019.

The series reached between four and eight million viewers on original airings. According to Italian ratings compiler Auditel, the broadcast of the first episode attracted a record 8.04 million viewers.[4]

The series is broadcast in 190 countries worldwide, including on Netflix in the United States, Canada, the UK, Ireland and India,[5] and on SBS in Australia.[6]

Plot

Season 1

Florence, 1429. Giovanni de' Medici is a rich banker who also represents one of the most important political forces of Florence's Signoria. He has a plan to increase his family's power by making an agreement with the Church of Rome. The election of a new Pope is about to take place and Giovanni sends his sons Cosimo and Lorenzo to Rome in order to encourage the election of a Pope close to his family. In Rome, Cosimo, fascinated by the beauty of ancient architecture and art, meets Donatello and one of his models Bianca. Cosimo falls in love with her but is then forced to leave her and marry Contessina de Bardi, a political marriage arranged by Giovanni and Contessina's father. The Medici's candidate gets elected, which assures the bank of the Medici of an unparalleled economic power. Twenty years later, Giovanni is mysteriously murdered and Cosimo and Lorenzo try secretly to investigate his death. Meanwhile, the political situation in the city is troubled by plots against the Medici family's power, and their vision of the future of Florence - which will then lead to the Renaissance - is in danger. Cosimo's dream is to complete the Duomo of Florence, but no architect seems to have a feasible solution due to the shape of the base created for the cathedral. Finally, Filippo Brunelleschi introduces himself to Cosimo and shows him plans for the dome. Cosimo decides to trust Brunelleschi and the construction of the cathedral starts, bringing jobs and people to Florence. Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding the death of Giovanni thickens and Rinaldo Albizzi, Cosimo's main opponent in the Signoria, tries to block the construction and to incite the people to rise up against the Medicis.

Season 2

Twenty years have passed since the events of the first season. Piero, Cosimo's son, and his wife Lucrezia are now at the head of the family. The power of the Medici has consolidated over time, but an assassination attempt on Piero brings to light his mismanagement of the family bank. The Sforza family are the largest debtors of the bank, but come to an agreement with Piero to erase it. The solution proposed by Sforza would also bring about the invasion of Florence. To prevent this, Piero's son Lorenzo takes over the role of his father both in the government of the Signoria and as head of the family. Although he has a relationship with a married woman, Lucrezia Donati, Lorenzo accepts marriage to a religious Roman noblewoman, Clarice Orsini (who initially wanted to be a nun but is obliged to give up her dream for the marriage). Their marriage goes through a turbulent time as their interests differ, but he soon falls in love with her and they start living happily. His brother Giuliano and his dear friend Sandro Botticelli, both meet and fall in love with Simonetta, although in different ways. Botticelli's interest is an artistic one and leads to the painting of Venus and Mars in which Simonetta is represented alongside Giuliano. The Pazzi family, led by Jacopo Pazzi and his nephew Francesco, join forces with the Pope to increase the Church's control of nearby territories and mines, in opposition to the Medici's policy. This argument will eventually lead to a conspiracy against Lorenzo in an attempt to put an end to his power and his dream of a peaceful and culturally alive Florence.

Season 3

This season starts immediately after the previous one. With his brother's death, Lorenzo has grown into a cruel determined man and vows revenge. He soon has three children with Clarice and a miscarried child as well that leads to Clarice's death, and they also raise Giulio (Giuliano's illegitimate son) after his father's death. Following the breakdown of the Pazzi conspiracy, Lorenzo must still face a military coalition from the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples, led by the ambitious Girolamo Riario. He undertakes a diplomatic journey to Naples and succeeds in negotiating a separate peace. Season 3 focuses on how Lorenzo would do anything, to any extent for his family and his legacy.

Episodes

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Main article: List of Medici episodes

List of Medici episodes

Cast

Season 1: Masters of Florence

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Seasons 2–3: The Magnificent

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Appearances

Actor Character Seasons
Season 1 Season 2 Season 3
Main cast
Richard Madden Cosimo de' Medici Main
Stuart Martin Lorenzo de' Medici (The Elder) Main
Annabel Scholey Contessina de' Bardi Main
Guido Caprino Marco Bello Main Guest
Alessandro Sperduti Piero de' Medici Main
Julian Sands Main
Ken Bones Ugo Bencini Main
Lex Shrapnel Rinaldo degli Albizzi Main
Daniel Caltagirone Andrea Pazzi Main
Valentina Bellè (dub. : Aisling Franciosi) Lucrezia Tournabuoni Main
Sarah Parish Main
Alessandro Preziosi (dub. : Jeremy Nicholas) Filippo Brunelleschi Main
Eugenio Franceschini (dub. : Alex Wells-King) Ormanno Albizzi Main
Sarah Felberbaum Maddalena Main
Miriam Leone Bianca Main
Michael Schermi (dub. : Callum Cameron) Ricciardo Main
Tatjana Inez Nardone Emilia Main
Valentina Cervi Alessandra Albizzi Main
Brian Cox Bernardo Guadagni Main
Dustin Hoffman Giovanni de' Medici Main
Daniel Sharman Lorenzo de' Medici "The Magnificent"[lower-alpha 1] Main
Bradley James Giuliano de' Medici Main Recurring
Alessandra Mastronardi Lucrezia Donati Main
Matteo Martari (dub. : Jack Hickey) Francesco de' Pazzi[lower-alpha 2] Main
Synnøve Karlsen Clarice Orsini Main
Aurora Ruffino (dub. : Peta Cornish) Bianca de' Medici Main Recurring
Matilda Lutz Simonetta Vespucci Main
Filippo Nigro Luca Soderini Main
Sean Bean Jacopo de' Pazzi Main
Raoul Bova Pope Sixtus IV Main
John Lynch Recurring
Francesco Montanari (dub. : Peter Gaynor) Girolamo Savonarola Main
Johnny Harris Bruno Bernardi Main
Sebastian de Souza Sandro Botticelli Recurring Main
Callum Blake Carlo de' Medici Recurring Main
Jack Roth Girolamo Riario Main
Marius Bizau Recurring
Toby Regbo Tommaso Peruzzi Main
Recurring cast
Fortunato Cerlino Mastro Bredani Recurring[lower-alpha 3]
Frances Barber Piccarda Bueri Recurring[lower-alpha 3]
Alberto Sette Lupo Corona Recurring
Brando Leon Rustici Vieri Recurring
Giorgio Caputo (dub. : Jack Boylan) Federigo Malavolti Recurring[lower-alpha 3]
David Bamber Pope Eugene IV Recurring[lower-alpha 3]
Charlie Vickers Guglielmo de' Pazzi Recurring
Jacopo Olmo Antinori Bastiano Soderini Recurring
Beniamino Brogi Nori Recurring
Pietro Ragusa (dub. : Simon Paisley Day) Nicolò Ardinghelli Recurring
David Brandon Cesare Petrucci Recurring
Jack Bannon Angelo Poliziano Recurring Guest
Tam Mutu Galeazzo Maria Sforza Recurring
Alan Cappelli Goetz (dub. : Hugh O' Connor) Roberto Cavalcanti Recurring
Michele Balducci (dub. : Jack Boylan) Guido Cavalcanti Recurring
Miriam Dalmazio (dub. : Remie Purtill Clarke) Bona of Savoy Recurring
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd Francesco Salviati Recurring
Alessio Vassallo (dub. : Gavin Drea) Marco Vespucci Recurring
Bruce McGuire Latino Orsini Recurring Guest
Brando Pacitto (dub. : Liam Heslin) Antonio Maffei Recurring
Maurizio Lombardi (dub. : Simon Paisley Day) Andrea Foscari Recurring
Nicole Brugnoli Caterina Sforza Guest
Rose Williams Recurring
Giorgio Marchesi (dub. : Dermot Magennis) Giacomo Spinelli Recurring
Marco Foschi (dub. : Frank Blake) Alfonso II of Naples Recurring
Raniero Monaco di Lapio Vanni Recurring
David Brooks Ricci Recurring
Stephen Hagan Leonardo da Vinci Recurring
Gualtiero Burzi Quintino Recurring
Vincenzo Crea Niccolò Machiavelli Recurring
Daniele Pecci Ludovico Sforza Recurring
Jacob Dudman Giulio de' Medici Recurring
William Oliver Franklyn-Miller Giovanni de' Medici Recurring
Louis Partridge Piero de' Medici Recurring
Grace O'Leary Maddalena de' Medici Recurring
Neri Marcorè Pope Innocent VIII Recurring
Guest cast (selected)
Steven Waddington Antipope John XXIII Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Ben Starr Donatello Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Andrea Bruschi Andreas di Cecco Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Andrea Tidona (dub. : Jeremy Nicholas) Pope Martin V Guest[lower-alpha 3]
David Bradley Alessandro de' Bardi Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Anthony Howell Francesco Sforza Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Valentina Carnelutti Maria Tarugi Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Andy Luotto Sandro Tarugi Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Francesca Prandi Bianca de' Medici Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Andrea Bosca Sanuto Guest[lower-alpha 3]
James Murray Francesco Foscari Guest[lower-alpha 3]
David Sturzaker Ezio Contarini Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Roberto Accornero (dub. : Peter Gaynor) Massimo Contarini Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Luigi Diberti Messer Calvacanti Guest[lower-alpha 3]
Paudge Behan Giuliano Della Rovere Guest
Max Cruciani Gian Galeazzo Sforza Guest
Francesco Gheghi Guest
Francesco di Raimondo Raffaele Riario Guest
Loris De Luna (dub. : Jamie O'Neill) Guest
Ray Stevenson Ferdinand I of Naples Guest
Gaia Weiss Ippolita Maria Sforza Guest
Emmett J. Scanlan Guido Battista Guest
Ettore Bernabei Michelangelo Buonarroti Guest
  1. ↑ Recurring actor Sam Taylor Buck portrays Young Lorenzo in season 2.
  2. ↑ Recurring actor Niccolo Alaimo portrays Young Francesco in season 2.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 Credited with the main cast in the episodes in which they appear.

Production

Sergio Mimica-Gezzan directed all eight episodes in the first season.[2] The show's world premiere took place in Florence at Palazzo Vecchio on the 14 October 2016, ahead of its premiere airing on RAI 1 on October 18.

Filming for the second season started in Rome on 24 August 2017.[8]

On 28 August 2018 filming for the third season started in Formello, outside Rome.[9]

Historical accuracy

During an interview at the Roma Fest panel in 2015, Spotnitz stated, "the season will be more thriller than historical saga... we begin the show with a 'what if' because we don't know how Giovanni de' Medici died. One of the questions that haunts Cosimo, is whether his father was murdered".[10]

Locations

Several noticeable locations are used throughout the series, in addition to sets and sound stages:

  • Bracciano Castle: The principal courtyards and staircases of the Orsini-Odescalchi castle in Bracciano serve as streets in Florence, a palace in Rome, and the ancestral home of Contessina de' Bardi. The central courtyard in the Castle features a particularly recognisable staircase with the sculpture of a bear; this staircase becomes the principal entrance of the Medici home in Florence with the addition of the Medici Coat of Arms.[11]
  • The Villa Farnese in Caprarola and its gardens: The frescoed and ring-vaulted internal terrace-courtyard of Villa Caprarola doubles as a Medici villa in the series, while an un-frescoed terrace is used as a Vatican property in Rome. The Caprarola secret gardens with their unique fountains are used to represent the Vatican Gardens.[12]

The creators took significant liberties with sets, often showing interior decorations, works of art, and exterior landscapes that were created many years after the events described in the series which occur in the mid-1430s. For example, the Medici Palazzo was built in 1440s–1480s and the Benozzo Gozzoli frescoes of Magi Chapel shown in the Cosimo study were executed in 1459–61. The Lorenzo rooms are decorated with the Giulio Romano fresco "Mars and Venus" which was painted in the 1520s in Palazzo Te in Mantova. During the episode exile in Venice, the church of Santa Maria della Salute built in the 1630s is repeatedly shown as part of the Venice city landscape. Villa Medici contains "Fortitude and Temperance with Six Antique Heroes" by Perugino, painted in 1497.

  • Castle of Santa Severa is Cardinal Baldassarre Cossa's Palace.[13]
  • The medieval oldtown of Viterbo and its Palazzo dei Papi are the set for late medieval Rome.
  • Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli is another set for Rome; Cosimo meets Donatello along the Canopus.
  • Borgo di Rota, a frazione of Tolfa, is the set for Francesco Sforza's army camp and the village where Lorenzo meets mercenary Ferzetti (played by Alessandro Cremona).[14]
  • Pienza: used as the Palazzo Medici, the streets of Florence, and the background for Cosimo's wedding.
  • Montepulciano: Several scenes are filmed outside the Duomo using the unfinished façade of the cathedral as a backdrop. These scenes often incorrectly show the Duomo of Florence rising in the background to the north. The Communal Palace, also in Piazza Grande, is part of several scenes, as is the Church of San Biagio.

Technical details

Medici: Masters of Florence was originated in 4k video and broadcast in this format on the free Italian satellite service Tivu whilst on the Italian Digital Terrestrial service DVB-T2 it was broadcast in Full-HD 1920×1080.

Two audio tracks were broadcast: Rai TV gave satellite and terrestrial viewers the option to watch the series in Italian or English.[15]

International transmission

Netflix carries out the show in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and India since December 2016.[5] They lost the rights to season 1 in January 2023.[16]

The series is broadcast in 190 countries worldwide, including on SBS in Australia,[6] on Fox Premium in Argentina, SFR's premium SVOD service Zive in France, Sky 1 in Germany,[17] on RTP1 in Portugal, and on RTS2 in Serbia. It was also sold in Japan, Israel, and New Zealand.[18]

Home media

Season DVD releases
Italy United Kingdom
Medici: Masters of Florence March 22, 2017 (2017-03-22) December 11, 2017 (2017-12-11)
Medici: The Magnificent January 24, 2019 (2019-01-24) -
I Medici: Nel nome della famiglia January 15, 2020 -

The second season was also released in Blu-Ray (Region B) on the 24 January 2019. Both Italian editions have the original audio track in English and the Italian-dubbed audio track.

Other media

On the 16 October 2018, a novelisation of the events told in the second season titled I Medici - Lorenzo il Magnifico was published in Italy by Michele Gazo.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the series was composed by Paolo Buonvino.[19] The opening theme song Renaissance was produced with the collaboration of Skin. A video clip for the song was also published the day before the series premiered in Italy.[20]

The opening theme song for the second season changed. Skin and Buonvino collaborated on a variation of the original opening sequence song titled Revolution Bones. Ian Arber composed additional music for the second season.

On December 20, 2019 the full soundtrack I Medici (Music from the Original TV Series) was released by Sugar Music with a total of 47 tracks composed by Paolo Buonvino.[21]

Track listing

Disc 1
No. Title Length
1. "Lies"   2:01
2. "Dulcis amor"   1:24
3. "The Engagement"   2:10
4. "The Bank"   5:31
5. "Vision"   3:31
6. "The Conclave Procession"   0:48
7. "Lorenzo The Magnificent"   2:27
8. "War"   4:15
9. "Dulcis amor, Pt. 2"   2:33
10. "Vidi aliam bestiam"   3:22
11. "Pleni sunt"   3:42
12. "Return to Florence"   1:24
13. "The Play"   0:55
14. "Gloria patris"   1:57
15. "Conium maculatum"   5:12
16. "Poison"   3:10
17. "The Battle"   1:26
18. "Ascent"   5:04
19. "Love for Duty"   3:20
20. "Sanctus Kyrie"   2:05
21. "Plots"   6:59
22. "The Contract"   1:45
23. "Lorenzo's Kyrie"   1:37
24. "Swords"   1:37
25. "Prison"   3:18
26. "Albizzi"   3:28
27. "Firenze"   2:24
28. "Contessina"   2:11
29. "The Castle"   2:28
30. "Bianca"   1:33
31. "Cosimo's Thoughts"   2:28
32. "A Moment of Joy"   0:43
33. "The Dome and the Plague"   1:49
34. "Cosimo and Contessina"   2:28
35. "The Truth"   5:05
Disc 2
No. Title Length
1. "Revolution Bones (Paolo Buonvino & Skin)"   1:18
2. "Attack on the Carriage"   3:02
3. "La giostra"   3:50
4. "Pazzi"   2:39
5. "Gratia et misericordia"   4:58
6. "La congiura dei Pazzi"   5:31
7. "Vision of the Future"   2:48
Disc 3
No. Title Length
1. "Deception"   4:52
2. "Decadence"   3:15
3. "Afterthought"   2:22
4. "Alma mia"   3:25
5. "Renaissance (Paolo Buonvino & Skin)"   5:25
Total length:
 2:19:00

Reception

Awards

Year Association Category Nominee(s) Result
2016 Capri TV series Award TV series Medici: Masters of Florence Won
2018 La Chioma di Berenice Best Makeup in Fiction[22] Giancarlo Del Brocco (for Medici: Masters of Florence) Won
Best Production Design in Fiction[22] Francesco Frigeri (for Medici: Masters of Florence) Won
Best Costumes in Fiction[23] Alessandro Lai (for Medici: Masters of Florence) Nominated
Best Soundtrack[23] Paolo Buonvino (for Medici: Masters of Florence) Nominated
Best Hairstyling[23] Francesco Pegoretti (for Medici: Masters of Florence) Nominated
2019 MUSIC+SOUND Awards Best Original Composition in Television Programme Titles[24] Medici: The Magnificent Nominated

References

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Show Patrol. 17 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Medicimastersoflorence.com
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Template:Frank Spotnitz

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