The 1487 Medici-Cybo Marriage and its Implications for the Medici Bank in Rome

The marriage between Franceschetto Cybo, pope Innocent VIII’s son, and Maddalena, Lorenzo de’ Medici’s daughter, placed the Magnificent and his bank in a very powerful position at the Papal Court. The alliance implied a financial burden, however, part of which was due to the necessity to cover the lavish expenses of the pope’s son. Nofri Tornabuoni, the Medici bank’s manager in Rome, tried to develop various strategies in order to raise money without endangering the financial position of the banco. One of them was the acquisition of tax-farming contracts in Rome, which the newly acquired marriage alliance could now facilitate. In 1490 he also tried to raise money from Florence itself, through the request to the pope for the imposition of a new tithe; this plan, however, needed to be handled with extra care given the political implications that it could generate