Duke of Florence
(b Florence, ?1511; reg 1531–7; d Florence, 5–6 Jan 1537). Illegitimate son of Clement VII but officially the illegitimate son of Lorenzo de’ Medici. He was not a liberal patron and commissioned little, his patronage guided purely by political motives. . . . In 1532 Alessandro was appointed Duke of Florence; emphasizing his absolute power, he had the council bell removed from the Palazzo della Signoria and reduced to coins and weapons.
Thomas Hirthe