Since the medieval period they were one of the most distinguished banking and political families appointed to the highest offices of the Republic of Florence, friends and patrons of Galileo Galilei, Vasari, Raphael, and Michelangelo.

Through a predominant endogamous marriage policy they established alliances with dynasties of principal and papal nobility as the Medici, Cybo, Rospigliosi, Sacchetti, Corsini, and Aldobrandini.

Still in 14th century, the family allied with the Salviati, Gucci, Pucci, Sacchetti and Bardi and became strong supporters of the war against Pope Gregory XI.

Known as La Papessa due to the influence she held over her uncle Giambattista Cybo, Pope Innocent VIII, Antonio was made papal Master of the Mint.

He was appointed as Depository General, the leading banker of the Papal States and chief commissioner for collecting taxes, mainly allocated for the reconstruction of the St. Peter's Basilica.

Among his clients were duke Charles III of Savoy or king Henry II of France, and by shrewd political as well financial acumen he amassed one of the largest private fortunes in Italy.

Bindo's son, Antonio was initiated to the ecclesiastical career, under the protection of one of the most authoritative Florentine prelates of the early sixteenth century, Cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi.

In 1569, Pius V finally conferred the title of grand duke of Tuscany on Cosimo I. Bindo enjoyed the financial resources to undertake extensive renovations to the properties he inherited from his father including is suburban villa on the Tiber to indulge a growing passion for art.

[14] In Florence on Piazza del Limbo they had a palazzo with a large family coat of arms on the façade and detained the patronage of the church Santi Apostoli.

Cardinal Bonsi also became a mentor to Iacopo Altoviti, who was later appointed Archbishop of Athens and Patriarch of Antioch by his close friend Pope Alexander VII.

He continued to expand the family collection and became one of the most respected collectors of the Baroque and patron of Nicolas Poussin, Guido Reni and Pietro da Cortona.

Luigi was known as a skillful politician and became a senator as his father Alberto Altoviti or grandfathers Roberto Acciaioli and Niccolò Berardi, of the house of the Bosonids Counts of Marsi, before him.

Emperor Ferdinand II elevated him to the title of Marquis of the Holy Roman Empire and later members of the family became actively involved in the Berlin salon culture.

He embellished the city of Rome with famous works commissioned to Bernini, including the angels of Ponte Sant'Angelo next to Palazzo Altoviti and the colonnade of Saint Peter's Basilica.

He thus became known for building the new façade of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, beginning construction of the Trevi Fountain, and the purchase of Cardinal Alessandro Albani's collection of antiquities for the papal gallery.

One of the numerous Altoviti palazzos Florence was called dei Visacci with portraits of famous Florentine people such as Amerigo Vespucci, Francesco Guicciardini and Dante carved in the façade, and the halls frescoed by Lorenzo del Moro and Tommaso Redi.

In the mid 19th century, descendants of the Altoviti married to the Radziwiłł family, magnates of Poland and Lithuania, instituting a relationship to the Imperial Court of Prussia.

The Altoviti cultivated relationships with Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso, Edward Solly, Frédéric Chopin, Vincenzo Bellini, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Theodor Fontane.

Later, they established relationships with other prominent individuals such as, Alexander von Humboldt, Franz Liszt, Ferdinand Lassalle, Fanny Lewald, Alexander von Humboldt, Paul Klee, or Hedwig Dohm, as their Berlin residence eventually became the Palais Pringsheim.In the early 20th century, one descendant married a leading engineer involved in the Apollo space program and relative of Katja Mann, born Pringsheim wife of Thomas Mann.

Their contributions have included the reconstruction of the Dresden State Art Collections, involvement in the Saturn, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, and collaborations with Werner von Braun, Steven Weinberg, Geoffrey Chew, Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson, Eumir Deodato, or Emerson Fittipaldi.

Frequently members of the family distinguished themselves in value, defending or serving the Florentine Republic holding prestigious public, political, military and religious offices.