Rucellai, Bernardo di Giovanni (1448–1514)

Italian patrician and diplomat, born in Florence. He was the son of Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai. Having married in 1466 into the ruling Medici family, Bernardo became a friend and adviser to Lorenzo de' Medici, serving regularly as an ambassador. He was among those leading figures of Florence who turned against Piero de' Medici. Rucellai's dissatisfaction continued after 1494, when he felt the constitution became too populist. He withdrew from politics in 1502 and went into voluntary exile in 1506.

Rucellai was, in his early days, a disciple of Marsilio Ficino and he was himself something of a writer, producing, among other works, De Bello Italico/On the Italian War, a history of the French invasion of 1494, and an antiquarian work, De Urbe Romana/On the City of Rome about 1500. He also laid out the gardens that became known as the Orti Oricellari and began the intellectual discussions there.