This article introduces and discusses the ideological program of a motif identified by the author in humanistic mournful poetry. The motif was intended to commemorate the deceased eminent poet and referred to the epic tradition of introducing heroes into a special place in the Elysian Fields, hence the proposed name for it is amicitia elysea. The article focuses on what is presumed to be the first example of the motif, i.e., Carlo Marsuppini’s epicedium for Leonardo Bruni. The description of the Elysium inhabited by successive generations of scholars and poets here turns into a praise of Florence, which under the Medici rule resembled Paradise. First, the stages in the development of both the idea itself and the poetic form it took are discussed, starting from Greek literature through Roman and Medieval vernacular (Dante) to the form it assumed in the Elegia de morte Leonardi Aretini. This form of the motif was soon developed by the followers. Then, the exploitation of the amicitia elysea motif for political purposes is addressed. It is argued that the motif served to consolidate the power of the Medici and the position of the humanists as a professional group with a specific intellectual formation based on Classical education.