The Medici family was a wealthy Italian family from the mid-15th century who controlled the Bank of the Catholic Church. This, of course, was not possible without the family gambling all their money on a pirate, Cossa, to become pope, which had a huge payoff for the Medicis as they essentially controlled the Catholic Church and Florence. Because the Medici family, especially Cosimo Medici, was infamous for using their money to gain power and control in Florence against their rivals, the Albetzzis, it was no surprise when the Medicis hired Italian architect and designer, Brunelleschi, to build the dome of Medici Sacristy in the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence. This was a huge risk for the Medici's because Brunelleschi was essentially an outcast artist at the time and no architecture design like the dome has ever been created before. After years and years of hard labor and fighting against the Albetzzi's, the dome was finally built. Throughout this process, Brunelleschi introduced new technologies and ideas to make building projects run more efficiently. Like other Renaissance art, the dome was another significant art piece depicting the Medici's wealth in Florence. Not only did Cosimo support Brunelleschi, but he also was a patron for other artists like Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, and Da Vinci.
