La conjuration des Pazzi

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The event that more than anything else fueled rumors and aroused the curiosity of historians, scriptwriters and even video game makers (e.g. Assassin’s Creed) is the Pazzi conspiracy. The Pazzi family aimed at overthrowing the ‘de Medici rulers of Florence.
Together with the Pazzi family and their allies also the Pope from Savona Francesco Della Rovere, known as Sixtus IV, took part in the plot.
As many other Popes, Della Rovere used his position to give power and wealth to his family and to give the governorship to his “nephews”.
Girolamo Riario was one of those “nephews”. He got married to Caterina Sforza, the Duke of Milan’s daughter, in this way obtaining the Duchy of Imola.
The Pope needed 40 thousand ducats to “buy” Imola, so he asked the ‘de Medici for a loan. However, Lorenzo did not want the Pope to get that close to Florence and he wanted to own Imola himself. Therefore, he refused to give money to the Pope, who received it by the Pazzi family.
Giovanni Della Rovere married the Duke of Urbino’s daughter. This marriage helped the Pope surround the city of Florence. The relation between the Pope and the ‘de Medici family inevitably broke off.
The relation broke for good when Pope Sixtus IV appointed Francesco Salviati as Archbishop of Pisa in 1474. That event would have required the imprimatur of Florence. Lorenzo did not accept the appointment and he denied Salviati access to Tuscany for three years.
The situation was irreparable and the conspiracy inevitable.
At the dawn of 1477, Girolamo Riario, Francesco Salviati and Francesco De Pazzi met in Rome.
The Pazzi family was one of the most ancient family of Florence, even more ancient than the ‘de Medici family. They were a very rich family of bankers. Testimony of their wealth can be found in the Pazzi Chapel near S. Croce and in their palace in Via del Proconsolo. In 1342, they had given up their lineage so that they could be elected to public office. Yet, they could not properly hold public office because the ‘de Medici family always denied them to, thus fueling hatred and revenge.
The conspirators decided that, in order to dethrone the ‘de Medici family, they had to assassinate Lorenzo and Giuliano. Francesco De Pazzi found a powerful ally in Gian Batista da Montesecco, a condottiero who had already worked for the Pope.
After receiving the blessing from the Pope, the conspirators decided to kick-start their plan.
First, they thought of assassinating the two brothers separately. Therefore, they invited Lorenzo to Rome. However, the Magnificent declined the invitation.
Then, the conspirators decided to kill the two of them together in Florence.
The opportunity arose when Raffaele Riario reached Florence. He was the Pope’s nephew and he had just been appointed cardinal.
A banquet was organized in Villa de Pazzi in Montughi. Yet, fate stroke and only Lorenzo came to attend the banquet, since Giuliano had hurt his leg riding a horse and decided to stay home.
The conspiracy was postponed. Riario asked Lorenzo to show him the Medicean Collection. Lorenzo loved art and was glad to show him the pieces of art he owned. Therefore, a banquet in Palazzo Medici was organized.
But fate stroke again. The conspiracy had to be postponed because Giuliano had not fully recovered yet, so he could not attend the banquet.
So far, too many people knew about the conspiracy. Therefore, the conspirators had to act. They decided to assassinate the two men the day after, during the High Mass at the Duomo of Florence, celebrated by Riario.
However, Montesecco had gotten to know and appreciate the Magnificent, so he decided to step down. As an excuse, he said it would have been an unforgivable sacrilege to spill blood on holy ground.
Two priests, Antonio Maffei and Stefano da Bagnone, were chosen to kill Lorenzo. Francesco de Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini Baroncelli would have killed Giuliano.
That day Giuliano was again absent. Francesco and Bernardo did not want to miss another opportunity, so they went to Palazzo Medici to convince Giuliano to attend the religious ceremony.
On their way to Santa Maria del Fiore, Francesco de Pazzi hugged Giuliano several times, pretending to do it to see if he had gained weight in his convalescence, while in reality he did it to check if he was wearing an armor.
The mass began and the conspirators could not step back anymore.
When the Most Holy Sacrament was being raised and the church bells were ringing, Lorenzo was vigorously pulled from his shoulder. He turned just in time to see Maffei strike a blow of dagger that hurt Lorenzo at his throat. Lorenzo managed to draw his sword and disarm the two priests. Helped by his friends Cavalcanti and Strozzi, he could escape and take refuge in the Sacristy.
He immediately asked about his brother. Nobody had the courage to tell him what they saw: his brother’s body had been torn into pieces, and was laying on the marble floor covered in blood.
Meanwhile, the archbishop Salviati and Jacopo di Poggio Braccioloni, together with a group of mercenaries from Perugia, went to Palazzo della Signoria to depose the Priori and the gonfalonier and take over the power.
Once they reached the palace, the archbishop asked to be received by gonfalonier Petrucci to deliver a message from the Pope.
Petrucci was having dinner and he ordered to receive them. The mercenaries were welcomed in a large hall and the doors closed behind them. Salviati, received by the gonfalonier, was clearly nervous and mumbled some incomprehensible words, thus alarming Petrucci who called the guards. Salviati did the same, but the mercenaries were trapped in the room, since the doors could be opened only from the outside. The vacca was rung to ask Florentines for help.
Supporters of the ‘de Medici family came to know about the conspiracy. They took control of Palazzo Vecchio and killed the mercenaries one by one.
Poggio and Salviati were hanged from the windows of Palazzo Vecchio. Francesco De Pazzi had a wounded leg, and was caught in his palace and he too was hanged from the window on Piazza della Signoria, together with two mercenaries of his. Poliziano, who saw the scene, told about how a cyanotic and dying Salviati used his last strength to bite Francesco de Pazzi’s body.
Lorenzo, wounded during the attack, went back to the palace, where a crowd was waiting to hear news about him. After his wounds were cured, he went out of the balcony of the palace to deny rumors of his death and to demand Florentines not to seek revenge or cause bloodshed. The people of Florence did not listen to his words: in the following days, nearly eighty people were assassinated.
After order was restored, the remaining conspirators received their punishment.
Raffaele Riario was saved by Lorenzo and taken to Rome were he stayed as a living corpse for the rest of his days. What happened on that tragic day had left a mark on him.
Jacopo De Pazzi tried to escape to Castagno. There, people recognized him: he was arrested and brought back to Florence. In Florence, he was tortured and hanged together with the others. His body was buried in Croce, then dag up again – as requested by Florentines – and thrown into a ditch. His body was taken out of the ditch and dragged throughout the city. As last punishment, he was beheaded and his head was used as a doorknocker in the palace for a few days. His corpse was thrown in the Arno River.
Antonio Maffei and Stefano da Bagnone were castrated and hanged.
As for Renato De Pazzi, nobody assessed he was really involved in the attack. Nevertheless, he was hanged himself too.
Montesecco was arrested and tortured. Under torture, he confirmed he took part in the conspiracy of the Pope. He was beheaded in the courtyard of Bargello.
Baroncelli managed to escape to Constantinople. There, people recognized him; he was extradited and executed in Bargello.
The revenge against the Pazzi was not over yet. Their name and blazon were banished ab aeterno. Their properties were confiscated and their palace renamed. Their symbol, the dolphin, was everywhere obliterated.
Sandro Botticelli, the painter, painted the conspirators in a fresco on a wall of the Bargello: the conspirators are depicted with a rope around their necks and epitaphs written by the Magnificent.

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