Florence is naturally at the centre of everything that happens to the family. The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower, which Brunelleschi, at the wishes of Cosimo, is furnishing with a futuristic dome, stands out in the background of several scenes. As well as inside the Cathedral and the Baptistery, some of the sets make use of Palazzo Vecchio, the Basilica of San Lorenzo, and Palazzo del Bargello.
But to reconstruct the buildings and streets of 15th century Florence, the production team needed to use a number of locations in and around Tuscany and Lazio. The series therefore features, among others, glimpses of Montepulciano, Pienza and Bagno Vignoni, Pistoia, Viterbo, Bracciano, Tivoli and Tolfa.
Piazza Grande in Montepulciano is used to recreate Piazza della Signoria in Florence: a building site set up in front of the Duomo alludes to work on the lavish Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower.
The façade of Palazzo Piccolomini in Pienza is used as the exterior of Palazzo Medici, and its town hall is used as the Medici Bank, which was the biggest bank in Europe in the 15th century, whilst the scenes of the funeral of Giovanni and the wedding of Cosimo and Contessina were filmed in the main square.
The town hall of Pistoia, in Piazza Duomo, was instead used as the setting for the home of the Albizi family, rivals of the Medici family.
In the first episode, Giovanni and his sons Cosimo and Lorenzo go to the home of Cardinal Baldassarre Cossa to negotiate the support of the Medici for the upcoming conclave. The scene was filmed in the Orsini-Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano, recognisable from its entrance steps and atrium with well. The Sala della Scienza was used as the private apartment of the future pope, where the negotiations take place. But the interiors of the castle were also used to recreate Palazzo Medici during the flashbacks: in the Sala del Trittico, Giovanni burns Lorenzo’s cape, to teach him not to draw attention to himself, and it is here that Cosimo also burns his drawings, saying goodbye to his artistic side. It is in the same room that, in the second episode, the marriage of Cosimo and Contessina de’ Bardi is negotiated, and that the wedding feast takes place. The celebrations of the engagement of Cosimo and Contessina, at Palazzo Medici, take place in the Sala Orsini of the Castle in Bracciano. The Medici Bank is also set in a room on the ground floor of the castle. Andrea de’ Pazzi instead resides in the Sala dei Cesari, the name of which comes from the white marble and peperino busts of 12 Roman emperors that adorn it. It is here that the master of the house holds a reception attended by Contessina, left alone in Florence during her husband’s exile.
The medieval neighbourhood of San Pellegrino, the Palazzo dei Papi and the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, in Viterbo, lend credibility to the reconstruction of a late-Medieval-period Rome, although some of the “Roman” scenes were shot at the Castle in Bracciano.
The exterior of the sumptuous Castle of Santa Severa on the northern coast of Lazio, which dates back to the 14th century, is used as the residence of Cardinal Baldassarre Cossa. Also in Viterbo, in Caprarola, Palazzo Farnese is where the conclave takes place, while Palazzina di Caccia, which is attached to the majestic Renaissance villa, is the set for the Montelupo Estate, where the Medici seek refuge from the Plague. The gardens of the palace are walked by Lorenzo as he prepares to see the Pope, so that the latter can intercede to conclude the siege of the Milanese in Lucca: here we see the Giglio Fountain and the steps of the Catena dei Delfini Fountain.
Located on a rocky outcrop of tuff sinking into the Mignone river, the Borgo di Rota is in the municipality of Tolfa, north of Rome. It was used to stage the visit of Contessina to the camp of Francesco Sforza (in the fourth episode) and the capture of the mercenary Ferzetti by Lorenzo de’ Medici and Marco Bello in the last episode.
Other locations chosen by the production are Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este, in Tivoli, near Rome.
Villa d'Este, in particular, hosts the Medici during Venetian exile. Here the Ducal Palace is located, where the doge and Cosimo meet.
Florence is naturally at the centre of everything that happens to the family. The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower, which Brunelleschi, at the wishes of Cosimo, is furnishing with a futuristic dome, stands out in the background of several scenes. As well as inside the Cathedral and the Baptistery, some of the sets make use of Palazzo Vecchio, the Basilica of San Lorenzo, and Palazzo del Bargello.
But to reconstruct the buildings and streets of 15th century Florence, the production team needed to use a number of locations in and around Tuscany and Lazio. The series therefore features, among others, glimpses of Montepulciano, Pienza and Bagno Vignoni, Pistoia, Viterbo, Bracciano, Tivoli and Tolfa.
Piazza Grande in Montepulciano is used to recreate Piazza della Signoria in Florence: a building site set up in front of the Duomo alludes to work on the lavish Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower.
The façade of Palazzo Piccolomini in Pienza is used as the exterior of Palazzo Medici, and its town hall is used as the Medici Bank, which was the biggest bank in Europe in the 15th century, whilst the scenes of the funeral of Giovanni and the wedding of Cosimo and Contessina were filmed in the main square.
The town hall of Pistoia, in Piazza Duomo, was instead used as the setting for the home of the Albizi family, rivals of the Medici family.
In the first episode, Giovanni and his sons Cosimo and Lorenzo go to the home of Cardinal Baldassarre Cossa to negotiate the support of the Medici for the upcoming conclave. The scene was filmed in the Orsini-Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano, recognisable from its entrance steps and atrium with well. The Sala della Scienza was used as the private apartment of the future pope, where the negotiations take place. But the interiors of the castle were also used to recreate Palazzo Medici during the flashbacks: in the Sala del Trittico, Giovanni burns Lorenzo’s cape, to teach him not to draw attention to himself, and it is here that Cosimo also burns his drawings, saying goodbye to his artistic side. It is in the same room that, in the second episode, the marriage of Cosimo and Contessina de’ Bardi is negotiated, and that the wedding feast takes place. The celebrations of the engagement of Cosimo and Contessina, at Palazzo Medici, take place in the Sala Orsini of the Castle in Bracciano. The Medici Bank is also set in a room on the ground floor of the castle. Andrea de’ Pazzi instead resides in the Sala dei Cesari, the name of which comes from the white marble and peperino busts of 12 Roman emperors that adorn it. It is here that the master of the house holds a reception attended by Contessina, left alone in Florence during her husband’s exile.
The medieval neighbourhood of San Pellegrino, the Palazzo dei Papi and the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, in Viterbo, lend credibility to the reconstruction of a late-Medieval-period Rome, although some of the “Roman” scenes were shot at the Castle in Bracciano.
The exterior of the sumptuous Castle of Santa Severa on the northern coast of Lazio, which dates back to the 14th century, is used as the residence of Cardinal Baldassarre Cossa. Also in Viterbo, in Caprarola, Palazzo Farnese is where the conclave takes place, while Palazzina di Caccia, which is attached to the majestic Renaissance villa, is the set for the Montelupo Estate, where the Medici seek refuge from the Plague. The gardens of the palace are walked by Lorenzo as he prepares to see the Pope, so that the latter can intercede to conclude the siege of the Milanese in Lucca: here we see the Giglio Fountain and the steps of the Catena dei Delfini Fountain.
Located on a rocky outcrop of tuff sinking into the Mignone river, the Borgo di Rota is in the municipality of Tolfa, north of Rome. It was used to stage the visit of Contessina to the camp of Francesco Sforza (in the fourth episode) and the capture of the mercenary Ferzetti by Lorenzo de’ Medici and Marco Bello in the last episode.
Other locations chosen by the production are Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este, in Tivoli, near Rome.
Villa d'Este, in particular, hosts the Medici during Venetian exile. Here the Ducal Palace is located, where the doge and Cosimo meet.
Lux Vide, Rai Fiction, Big Light Productions, Wild Bunch
A TV series which tells the story of the rise of the Medici, family wich governed Florence for 300 years, acting as patrons for the greatest artists of the Renaissance. Cosimo de' Medici is the main character in the first season.