Once Cosimo’s approval came through, Lorenzo and the Medici moved quickly.
The first thing Lorenzo did was establish public educational institutions.
- He gathered the children of Florence and its surrounding towns and villages to teach them basic reading, writing, and arithmetic.
- This was a public project carried out by the Medici family for the sake of Florence.
With this banner held high, Lorenzo passionately pushed forward the founding of these schools.
The initial reactions from the residents of Florence and nearby towns were lukewarm.
To be more precise, it was a reluctant “Do we really have to?”
“There are already children being taught at the cathedral and monasteries. Is this really necessary?”
“Having more knowledge just leads to more complaints. Is it worth the trouble to teach them?”
“Even if they don’t know how to read, they can tell gold coins from silver and know what work they have to do. Why bother?”
If you looked at life in the many Italian cities at that time, contradictions were everywhere.
Even illiterate slaves and laborers could recite a few passages from Dante’s Divine Comedy by heart as they wandered about.