Cosme Ier of Médicis - Cosimo I de' Medici - (1519 - 1574) was the first large duke of Tuscany, leader of 1537 with 1574, during the last years of the Renaissance.

He is wire of Jean of the Black Bands of Médicis (Giovanni Dalle Nere Band in Italian, 1498-1526) and of Maria Salviati.

Having obtained the capacity by the République of Florence after being elected like a head of prow , it restored the dynasty of Médicis, which then will direct Florence until the last large duke, Gian Gastone de' Medici (1671-1737). The governmental structures that it set up remained, even when it was absorbed by the Empire Austro-Hungarian.

Among his many achievements one finds:

• the creation of the Uffizi, originally intended to lodge the government, and nowadays one of the most prestigious art galleries of the world

• the creation of the navy florentine, which played a crucial role with the Bataille of Lépante
• the expansion of Florence to control the major part of Tuscany including His;
• the appropriation of the Palate Pitti for its residence and its completion;
• the construction of the corridor by Vasari and connecting in safety, the Palazzo Vecchio and Offices with the Palate Pitti;
• the creation of splendid the Gardens of Boboli behind Pitti;
• the promotion of the University of Pisa
• the creation of the town of Portoferraio on the isle of Elba
• a multitude of other successes in economy, architecture and arts, including the support for Vasari and Benvenuto Cellini.

A large equestrian statue of him bronzes some, by the sculptor Giambologna, set up in 1598, is still drawn up in the Piazza della Signoria, the principal place of Florence. Another statue the representative is drawn up with Pisa on the Piazza dei Cavalieri .

In 1539, he married Éléonore de Tolède (1522-1562), the girl of the Spanish viceroy of Naples Don Pedro Alvarez de Tolède.

In 1570, he married in second weddings Camilla Martelli (dead in 1574). They had three children.