Apart of this macroeconomic force of which he was a part, was a Europe-wide banking network that facilitated not only international trade, but also state making elsewhere. He financed the Florentine intellectual and artistic breakthroughs we now refer to as "the Renaissance." Cosimo's power was greatly respected, and by 1434 foreign princes went to Florence to work out international relations. Machiavelli, nearly a century later, still regarded the Medici family as the harbinger of everything good and evil in Florentine life to Cosimo's "deep and ruthless machinations." Despite the influence of Medici, he is portrayed as indecisive and in the background of affairs: "Cosimo was anxious to remain in the background, hiding his great influence, and acting, when need arose, through a deputy. As a result, very little is known of the measures for which he was directly responsible." Cosimo did not expect eternal rule, nor did he ever give a public speech. After 1434, Cosimo appeared increasingly reactive to events around him, seldom offering explanations for his actions. Typically, his actions served his diverse interests.

The Renaissance in Florence was not a period of individualism. Household relationships were typically, but not always, very strong. The turbulent times reinforced defensive cohesion among family units. To define elite in this period is difficult, for this is a large difference between the political and economic elites, partially due to the volatility in international markets. The Medici family in particular had various allegiances based on partisanship and family ties. The central most faction of the Medici party was extraordinarily centralized in a simple, "spoke" network system....

The Medici's, therefore, were more cohesive and centralized than the looser and more-cross pressured oligarchies of the time.
The Medici party -- the most active and centralized faction of the clan -- was an impressively centralized patrimonial machine, with discipline and "top down" control. Some of the micromechanisms important to Medici's power are as follows: a spoke structure resulted in dependence of partisans on the Medici for access to other elites. Communication among other elites, also, had to pass through the Medici; marriage among geographically distant patricians, and other mechanisms. Cosimo Medici did not design his centralized party. Likely, he did not plan on taking over the state. The Medici's were not tactical revolutionaries, but, rather, the tactical leaders of a transformation in the network transformation of the Florentine elite.

Important to Medici power were marriages and trading relationships. Partnerships and especially bank employment relations were key when they appeared, but did not concern most of the elite. Personal friendships and personal loans worked within the framework of marriage and economic relationships. State centralization in Florence and the Renaissance came about due to tumultuous historical events and, therefore, elite transformation. Cosimo did not create the Medici power bloc, but he did learn how to manipulate the network around him.

(Padgett)

1. ____. Medici Exhibition. The Medici, Michelangelo, and the art of the Late Renaissance Florence

2. Padgett F. John, Ansell K. Christopher. (May, 1993). Robust Action and the Rise of the Medici, the American Journal of Sociology, vol. 98, no. 6, pp. 1259-1319.