The prolonged influence of patricians on the cultural and artistic life in Florence Contrary to general belief, the history of the Florentine patriciate did not end with the establishment of the State of Tuscany under de’ Medici in 1532. Proud and self-confident patricians did not become subservient courtiers overnight, but remained significantly influential for a long period. They retained their urban identity and longstanding family traditions, while acquiring noble titles, estates, and villas at the same time. The mark that these patricians continued to leave on the city’s cultural and artistic life was not ignored by the Medici grand dukes; on the contrary, they embraced these manifestations by incorporating them into their own visual expressions of power and prestige. A Cultural Symbiosis highlights these artistic expressions through eight specific case studies, focusing on the Valori, Pucci, Ridolfi, Vecchietti, Del Nero, Salviati, Guicciardini, and Niccolini families. Contrary to general belief, the history of the Florentine patriciate did not end with the establishment of the State of Tuscany under de’ Medici in 1532. Proud and self-confident patricians did not become subservient courtiers overnight, but remained significantly influential for a long period. They retained their urban identity and longstanding family traditions, while acquiring noble titles, estates, and villas at the same time. The mark that these patricians continued to leave on the city’s cultural and artistic life was not ignored by the Medici grand dukes; on the contrary, they embraced these manifestations by incorporating them into their own visual expressions of power and prestige. A Cultural Symbiosis highlights these artistic expressions through eight specific case studies, focusing on the Valori, Pucci, Ridolfi, Vecchietti, Del Nero, Salviati, Guicciardini, and Niccolini families. Abbreviations Introduction Henk Th. van Veen I. Baccio the Younger and the Resurrection of the House of Valori Henk Th. van Veen and Carla D’Arista II. The Pucci of Florence: Trusted Counsellors in Florence, Watchful Eyes in Rome Carla D’Arista III. Michelangelo’s Brutus and the Florentine Exiles in Sixteenth- Century Italy Julia Dijkstra IV. Bernardo Vecchietti (1514–1590): Supplier of Expertise, Artefacts, and Men for Three Medici Grand Dukes Bouk Wierda V. Palazzo del Nero: From Patrician to Courtly Spheres Henk Th. van Veen VI. Devotion Beyond Con™ict: Two›Generations of Salviati and Their Relationship with Savonarola and the Medici Klazina D. Botke VII. Agnolo Guicciardini (1525–1581): A›Patrician Mainstay of Medici Cultural Politics Sanne Roefs VIII. A Leap of Quality: The Well-Planned Career of Giovanni di Agnolo Niccolini (1544–1611) Under the Sway of the Medici Andrea Zagli Addendum: Medici Archive Project List of contributors Index