At least one Medici suffered from a deadly strain of malaria, according to an analysis of organ tissue from the Medici family tomb.
The Medici family‘s history includes power struggles, intrigue, and murder. However, the organs in the family tomb reveal another killer—malaria. The individual may have contracted it at the Medicis’ hunting grounds.
Researchers found evidence of the parasite that causes malaria. This marks the first observation of a parasite from that era that remains structurally intact.
The Medicis were an ultra-powerful, wealthy banking family who influenced Renaissance Florence and later ruled the Duchy of Tuscany in the 16th century.
Due to their power and status, the Medicis buried their dead like monarchs in the San Lorenzo Basilica in central Florence. They kept skeletal remains in coffins, while removing and storing organs separately in terracotta jars that often bore the Medici family crest.
