Mugello region in the context of Barberino di Mugello

The House of Medici (English: /ˈmɛdɪtʃi/ MED-itch-ee, UK also /məˈdiːtʃi/ mə-DEE-chee; Italian: [ˈmɛːditʃi]) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of Tuscany, and prospered gradually in trade until it was able to fund the Medici Bank. This bank was the largest in Europe in the 15th century and facilitated the Medicis' rise to political power in Florence, although they officially remained citizens rather than monarchs until the 16th century.

In 1532, the family acquired the hereditary title Duke of Florence. In 1569, the duchy was elevated to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany after territorial expansion. The Medici ruled the Grand Duchy from its inception under the builder Cosimo I until 1737, with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici. The Medici produced four popes of the Catholic Church—Pope Leo X (1513–1521), Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), Pope Pius IV (1559–1565) and Pope Leo XI (1605)—and two queens of France—Catherine de' Medici (1547–1559) and Marie de' Medici (1600–1610). The Medici's grand duchy witnessed degrees of economic growth under the early grand dukes, but was bankrupt by the time of Cosimo III de' Medici (r. 1670–1723).

The Battle of Mucellium was an engagement in 542 near Mugello, Italy, between Ostrogoths (Goths) and Byzantines during the Gothic War.

Byzantine forces advanced against the Goths, who had recently lifted the siege of Florence and camped in Mugello. Although the Byzantines outnumbered the Goths, Totila's forces routed the Byzantine detachment on a hillside, triggering panic that spread to the rest of the army leading to a complete collapse. The Goths captured prisoners, while the surviving Byzantine commanders fled to isolated strongholds. The lack of coordination by the remaining Byzantine forces allowed Totila to launch a successful campaign in southern Italy and eventually advance against Rome in 544.

Giacomo or Jacopo d'Angelo, also surnamed De Scarperia, (c. 1360–1411), better known by his Latin name Jacobus Angelus, was an Italian classical scholar, humanist, and translator of ancient Greek texts during the Renaissance. Named for the village of Scarperia in the Mugello in the Republic of Florence, he traveled to Venice where the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos' ambassador Manuel Chrysoloras (c. 1350–1415) was teaching Greek, the first scholar to hold such course in medieval Italy.

Da Scarperia returned with Chrysoloras to Constantinople—the first Florentine to do so—along with Guarino da Verona. In the Byzantine Empire, he studied Greek literature and history under Demetrios Kydones. Coluccio Salutati wrote to urge Da Scarperia to search the libraries there, particularly for editions of Homer and Greek dictionaries, with the result that he translated Ptolemy's Geography into Latin in 1406. He first dedicated it to Pope Gregory IX and then to Pope Alexander V in 1409. He also brought new texts of Homer, Aristotle, and Plato to the attention of Western scholars of philosophy and ancient Greek literature.