degli Albizzi

The degli Albizzi were a Florentine patrician house that came from Arezzo in the twelfth century and made its fortune in wool, finance and land. In the faction fights of the 1360s they led the patricians against the Ricci.

After the Ciompi revolt, Maso degli Albizzi emerged in 1382 as head of an oligarchy that ruled Florence for half a century. He rolled back the Ciompi reforms and organised the conquest of Pisa in 1406. His son Rinaldo secured the banishment of Cosimo de' Medici in 1433, but was himself exiled when Cosimo returned in 1434. Rinaldo's brother Luca sided with the Medici and stayed in Florence. The family later included Giovanna degli Albizzi Tornabuoni, portrayed by Ghirlandaio.