Having taken power from the Republic of Florence after being elected as a supposed figurehead, he restored the power of the Medici, who thereafter ruled Florence until the last of the Medici Grand Dukes, Gian Gastone de' Medici (1671-1737). The governmental structures he set up endured past that, when it was absorbed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Among his many accomplishments were the creation of the Uffizi, originally intended to house the government, and now one of the world's great art galleries; the creation of the Florentine navy, which played a key role at the battle of Lepanto; the expansion of Florence to control most of Tuscany, including Siena; taking over the Pitti Palace as a home for the Medici and finishing it off; the creation of the magnificent Boboli Gardens behind the Pitti; the promotion of the University of Pisa; and a host of other accomplishments in the economic, architectural and artistic spheres, including supporting Vasari and Cellini.
A large equestrian state of him in bronze, by Giambologna, erected in 1598, still stands today in the Piazza della Signoria, the main square of Florence.