Failed Republics: Florence— The Republic That Became A Family Business

Lorenzo de’ Medici (“the Magnificent,” 1449–1492) consolidated Medici power, effectively turning Florence into a personal fiefdom

This is part 6 of our Failed Republics series— a daily look at democracies and republics that once flourished, and then  collapsed from within or crushed from without. Each case holds lessons for us today, as out own country faces serious tests of resilience against MAGA’s the GOP’s increasing affinity to totalitarianism.

Renaissance Florence is remembered for its art, architecture, and cultural explosion— the city of Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Machiavelli. But behind the brilliance was a political experiment: the Florentine Republic, founded in 1115 after the city threw off feudal rule. For centuries, it was a hub of mercantile power and civic pride— until a single family turned the republic into their personal empire.

Florence’s government, a merchant republic with popular institutions, was a complex mix of guild representation, rotating councils and elected magistrates. Wealthy merchant families shared power with artisan guilds, creating a system that— in theory— balanced influence.

In the early 15th century, the Medici banking dynasty began using their immense wealth to dominate politics. They avoided official titles at first, ruling indirectly through patronage, bribes and alliances. Even as the Medici consolidated power, the trappings of the republic remained— councils still met, votes were still taken— but outcomes were carefully managed. Dissenters were exiled, co-opted or silenced. There had been a turn towards republican forms with authoritarian control.

Florence periodically ousted the Medici— most famously during the rise of the fiery preacher Savonarola in the 1490s— but the family always returned, stronger each time. By 1530, with papal and imperial backing, the Medici turned Florence into a hereditary duchy. Florence shows how democratic structures can be hollowed out from within. You don’t need to formally abolish a republic to kill it— you just need to turn elections into theater and concentrate real power in the hands of a few… the way Orban has done in Hungary and Putin has done in Russia and the way you know whois trying to do here.

Tomorrow’s Failed Republics post will examine yet another republic in what is today northeast Italy, also one that crumbled— different circumstances, same urgent warning signs.