Florence, Italy, was a city like any other during the Renaissance. It was a city of 50,000 inhabitants, fewer than Paris and Venice but more than most other European cities. The liveliest districts of the city were the Ponte Vecchio, a square lined with markets and houses, the Orsanmichele and Mercato Vecchio district, and the Old Market. Florence was a place of beauty and leisure. A Venetian visitor once said: "There is in my opinion no region sweeter than that in which Florence is located, for Florence is situated on a plain surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains... And the hills are fertile, cultivated, pleasant..." (Unger, p. Florence was a very prosperous city; he made his fortune through the wool trade and banking operations. A certain Florentine family also contributed to this immense wealth. The Medici family was undoubtedly the foundation of Florence's prosperity. The Medici family was one of the most powerful families of the Florentine Renaissance. It was a banking family. The first Medici bank, founded by Giovanni di Becci de' Medici. , was a small business run in the toilet business. The bank grew thanks to Giovanni's extraordinary business acumen and financial prudence (PBS: Godfathers of the Renaissance). , would help the bank to persevere and prosper. Known as patrons of the arts, the Medici family financed and encouraged the art of Botticelli, Brunelleschi and Michelangelo. Prominent family members such as Giovanni de' Medici, Cosimo de' Medici, Lorenzo de' Medici and Ferdinando I de' Medici helped increase the wealth of Florence during the Renaissance. Giovanni di Becci de' MediciIt would be a lie to say so. say that Giovanni de' Medici was the first in his f...... middle of paper ......use of these patrons of the arts.Works Cited PageFerdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. . November 19, 2009. Hibbert, Christopher. The House of the Medici. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1975. Lorenzo de' Medici.November 24, 2009.November 25, 2009.Parks, Tim. Medici money. New York: WW Norton & Company, 2005.pbs.org/Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance. Thirteen. September 21, 2009. The Medici family. October 16, 2009. Unger, Miles. Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.