Lorenzo was the son of Pietro I Medici and grandson of Cosimo de' Medici. He succeeded as head of the family upon the death of his father in 1469, and was an able if autocratic ruler, who made Florence the most powerful state in Italy and led it to its highest flowering. Many Renaissance artists worked at his court, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

In 1478 he defeated an attempt by opponents, with the support of Pope Sixtus IV, to overthrow the Medici, but the revolt led to the assassination of his brother, Giuliano.

Macchiavelli called Lorenzo Medici 'the greatest patron of literature and art that any prince has ever been'.