o Cibo; the third, Piero Ridolfi; and the
fourth, whom, in order to keep his house united, he had married to
Giovanni de' Medici, died. In his commercial affairs he was very
unfortunate, from the improper conduct of his agents, who in all their
proceedings assumed the deportment of princes rather than of private
persons; so that in many places, much of his property was wasted, and
he had to be relieved by his country with large sums of money. To
avoid similar inconvenience, he withdrew from mercantile pursuits,
and invested his property in land and houses, as being less liable to
vicissitude. In the districts of Prato, Pisa, and the Val di Pesa, he
purchased extensively, and erected buildings, which for magnificence
and utility, were quite of regal character. He next undertook the
improvement of the city, and as many parts were unoccupied by buildings,
he caused new streets to be erected in them, of great beauty, and thus
enlarged the accommodation of the inhabitants. To enjoy his power in
security and repose, and conquer or resist his enemies at a distance, in
the direction of Bologna he fortified the castle of Firenzuola,
situated in the midst of the Appennines; toward Sienna he commenced the
restoration and fortification of the Poggio Imperiale; and he shut out
the enemy in the direction of Genoa, by the acquisition of Pietra Santa
and Serezana. For the greater safety of the city, he kept in pay the
Baglioni, at Perugia, and the Vitelli, at Citta di Castello, and held
the government of Faenza wholly in his own power; all which greatly
contributed to the repose and prosperity of Florence. In peaceful times,
he frequently entertained the people with feasts, and exhibitions of
various events and triumphs of antiquity; his object being to keep the
city abundantly supplied, the people united, and the nobility honored.
He was a great admirer of excellence in the arts, and a patron of
literary men, of which Agnolo da Montepulciano, Cristofero Landini, and
Demetrius Chalcondylas, a Greek, may afford sufficient proofs. On this
account, Count Giovanni della Mirandola, a man of almost supernatural
genius, after visiting every court of Europe, induced by the munificence
of Lorenzo, established his abode at Florence. He took great delight
in architecture, music, and poetry, many of his comments and poetical
compositions still remaining. To facilitate the study of literature
to the youth of Florence, he opened a university at Pisa,