Cosimo and Marguerite-Louise's dysfunctional marriage hits its dramatic crescendo and falls apart. Will Marguerite-Louise escape back to her homeland, or will she remain a prisoner of her despised husband?
Grand Duke Cosimo III sets out to make Tuscany great again with tariffs and religiosity. At the same time, Cosimo aims for royal glory, even at a time all of Italy is under the boot of the Hapsburgs.
Ferdinando II had high hopes that marrying his introverted, overly devout son to a French princess would both loosen his son up and save the dynasty from extinction. Things wouldn't turn out quite like he wanted.
Despite his unorthodox love life, Ferdinando II is well-liked for his genuine concern for his people and his scientific patronage. However, Tuscany is in decline, and the seeds for the dynasty's extinction have already been planted.
Cosimo II finally dies after a prolonged illness. Meanwhile, the Church loses its patience with Galileo.
Why was Galileo's scientific work considered both something worth celebrating and a threat to the status quo? Galileo himself must have pondered that question as his work, celebrated as it was by the Medici and even high-ranking members of the Church, nonetheless caught the attention of the Roman Inquisition.
The celebrity natural philosopher and writer Galileo rises out of a life of near-poverty to become a favorite at the Medici court. But when controversy rears its head, will the Medici actually protect the quarrelsome Galileo?
After his brother's hands-off approach to ruling, Grand Duke Ferdinando I instead tends to the economic health of his state and his people.
Marie de' Medici believes she finally triumphed over her protege turned archenemy Richelieu and has secured her place as Louis XIII's benevolent advisor. As the proverb goes, though, pride goeth before a fall...
Marie de' Medici goes to war against her own son. On a less violent front, she also oversees her most important legacy, a prime example of Baroque art.
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Marie de' Medici's hope of staying in power by keeping her son in line indefinitely falls apart thanks to a love affair, and her friends pay a heavy price. Still, the Medici aren't known for accepting even the most devastating of defeats, and Marie is no exception.
Even amidst challenges to her rule, the new queen regent Marie de' Medici is sure that she has her son, King Louis XIII, firmly in line, at least for now.
Marie de' Medici finds herself in a turbulent domestic life with an adulterous husband and a troubled son. And history is going to repeat, propelling her toward a more dramatic role.
We wrap up with the shoddy and bloody reign of Grand Duke Francesco and meet his daughter Maria, the lonely girl destined become the other Medici queen of France.
The reign of Grand Duke Francesco was inflicted with multiple scandals, but none were worse than the fates of the Grand Duke's own sister and sister-in-law.
Cosimo's legacy was to give Florence stability and prosperity it had not known in about half a century, but there is a much darker side to that legacy too.
Besides being a political reformer, Cosimo was also a master at using art and literature to glorify not only himself, but his ancestors.
Although kept on a leash by the Emperor Charles V, Cosimo I completes Florence's consolidation of the rest of Tuscany...except for one hold-out.
Now secure in his reign, Cosimo sets about building something like a modern state. But was he a reformer, a tyrant, or something in-between?
In the wake of Alessandro de' Medici's assassination, the Medici family's country cousin Cosimo becomes the new duke. Right away, he has to fight for his throne and prove that he is no pawn.