THE TRAGEDIES OF THE MEDICI
BY EDGCUMBE STALEY
AUTHOR OF "THE GUILDS OF FLORENCE," "RAPHAEL," "FRA ANGELICO," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED
TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER THOMAS STALEY
PREFACE
When Alexandre Dumas wrote his _Crimes of the Borgias_--and other
"Crimes"--he fully intended to compile a companion volume, treating of
episodes in the great family of the Medici. With this project in view,
he collected much material, and actually published, tentatively, two
interesting brochures: _Une Année à Florence_--in 1841, and _Les
Galeries de Florence_--in 1842.
Nothing, however, came of his more ambitious "idea," and, until to-day,
no one has taken in hand to write _The Tragedies of the Medici_. My
attention was first directed to the omission during the preparation of
my _Guilds of Florence_, published in 1906; and I determined to address
myself to the forging of that lurid link in the catena of Florentine
romance.
In the following pages my readers will see that I have entirely departed
from the conventional conceits of the ordinary historian. I have sought
to set out the whole truth--not a garbled version--whilst I have
fearlessly added decorative features where facts were absent or were
too prosaic.
The short "Introduction," dealing with the rise and progress of the
house of Medici, will be useful to my public, and the "Chart of the
Tragedies" will assist students and others in their appreciation of my
enterprise--it is my own compilation and as complete as possible.
The "Bibliography" will help serious readers to a wider reading of my
authorities, and the Illustrations--the best procurable--will fix in all
my readers' minds something of the actual personalities of my "Tyrants"
and my "Victims."
EDGCUMBE STALEY.
CONTENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I
_The Pazzi Conspiracy_--Lorenzo, "_Il Magnifico_"--Giuliano, "_Il
Pensieroso_".
CHAPTER II
_The First Tyrannicide_--Ippolito, "_Il Cardinale_"--Alessandro, "_Il
Negro_"--Lorenzino, "_Il Terribile_".
CHAPTER III
_A Father's Vengeance_--Maria, Giovanni, and Garzia de'
Medici--Malatesta de' Malatesti.
CHAPTER IV
_Three Murdered Princesses_--Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara and Creole de'
Contrari--Eleanora Garzia, wife of Piero de Medici, Alessandro Gaci, and
Bernardino degl' Antinori--Isabella, Duchess of Bracciano--Troilo
d'Orsini and Lelio Torello.
CHAPTER V
_True and False Lovers_--Francesco, "_Il Virtuoso_"--Bianca Cappello,
"_La Figlia di Venezia_"--Pietro Buonaventuri--Cassandra de'
Borghiani--Pellegrina Buonaventuri, wife of Ulisse Bentivoglio--Antonio
Riario.
CHAPTER VI
_Pathetic Victims of Fateful Passion_--Eleanora degli Albizzi and Sforza
Almeni--Cammilla de' Martelli--Virginia de' Medici e d'Este--Cardinal
Ferdinando de' Medici.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
CHART OF THE TRAGEDIES
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Bianca Cappello-Buonaventuri
Giovanni d'Averardo de' Medici
"Journey of the Magi" (Medici)
"Adoration of the Magi" (Medici)
Lucrezia de' Medici
Lorenzo Il Magnifico
Giuliano Il Pensieroso
Ippolito--Cardinal
Alessandro--First Duke of Florence
Giovanni--"Delle Bande Nere"
Eleanora de' Medici
Maria Lucrezia de' Medici
Giovanni--Cardinal
Garzia de' Medici
Lucrezia--Duchess of Ferrara
Eleanora--Wife of Piero de' Medici
Piero de' Medici
Isabella--Duchess of Bracciano
Francesco--Grand Duke of Tuscany
Giovanna de' Medici
Don Antonio "de' Medici"
Pellegrina Buonaventuri-Bentivoglio
Cosimo I--"Tyrant of Tyrants"
Cammilla de' Medici
Ferdinando de' Medici--Cardinal
INTRODUCTION
The origin of the Medici family is lost in the mists of the Middle Ages,
and, only here and there, can the historian gain glimpses of the lives
of early forbears. Still, there is sufficient data, to be had for the
digging, upon which to transcribe, inferentially at least, an
interesting narrative.
Away towards the end of the twelfth century,--exact dates are wholly
beside the mark--there dwelt, under the shadow of one of the rugged
castles of the robber-captains of the Mugello in Tuscany, a hard-working
and trustworthy bonds-man--one Chiarissimo--"Old Honesty," as we may
call him. He was married to an excellent helpmeet, and was by his lord
permitted to till a small piece of land and rear his family.
In addition to intelligence in agriculture, it would seem that he, or
perhaps his wife, possessed some knowledge of the virtues of roots and
herbs, for, in one corner of his _podere_, he had a garden of "simples."
The few peaceable inhabitants of that warlike valley, and also many a
wounded man-at-arms, sought "Old Honesty" and his wise mate for what we
now call "kitchen remedies."
Those, indeed, were happy days with respect to suffering human nature.
"Kill or Cure" might have been the character of the healing art, but
certainly specialists had not invented our appendicitis and other
fashionable twentieth-century physical fashions! A little medical
knowledge sufficed, and decoctions, pillules, poultices, and bleedings
made up the simple pharmacopoeia.
All the same, the satirical rhyme, which an old chronicler put into the
mouths of many a despairing patient, in later days, may have been true
also of "Old Honesty" and his nostrums:
"There's not a herb nor a root
Nor any remedy to boot
Which can stave death off by a foot!"
Of that good couple's family only one name has been
preserved--Gianbuono, "Good John." Passerini says he was a
priest--probably he means a hermit. Anyhow, he acquired more property in
the Valle della Sieve and founded a church--Santa Maria dell'
Assunta--possibly the enlargement of his cell--upon Monte Senario,
between the valley of the Arno and that of the Sieve.
Ser Gianbuono--ecclesiastic or not--had two sons--Bonagiunto, "Lucky
Lad," and Chiarissimo II. In those primitive times nobody troubled about
surnames--idiosyncrasy of any kind was a sufficient indication of
individuality. The brothers were enterprising fellows, and both made
tracks for Florence, which--risen Phoenix-like from barbarian ashes--was
thriving marvellously as a mart for art and craft.
Ser Bonagiunto, in the first decade of the thirteenth century, was
living in the Sestiere di Porta del Duomo, and working busily in wood
and stone, the stalwart parent of a vigorous progeny. It was his
great-grandson, Ardingo--a famous athlete in the _giostre_ and a soldier
of renown--who first of his family attained the rank of _Signore_.
Ser Chiarissimo, between 1201-1210, owned a tower near San Tommaso, at
the north-east angle of the Mercato Vecchio--later, the family church of
the Medici--and under it a _bottega_, or _canova_, for the sale of his
grandmother's recipes. Over the door he put up his sign--seven golden
_Pillole di Speziale_--pills or balls, which were emblazoned upon the
proud escutcheon of his descendants. He was called "_il Medico_"--"the
doctor"--hence the family name "Medici."
These were the days when the foundations of the fortunes of many great
Florentine families were laid. The loaning of money was the royal road
to affluence, and everybody who, by chance, had a spare gold florin or
two, became _ipso facto_ a "_Presto_" or bank. Next, after lending to
one another with a moderate profit--a _dono di tempo_ or a
_merito_--"quick returns," came the ambitious system of State loans,
with the regulated _interesso_ and the speculative dealings in
_Cambio_--on 'Change--with _boroccolo_--"unexpected gain," and
_ritravgola_--"sly advantage," or, as we say, "sharp practice."
Ser Filippo, or "Lippo"--the twin son, as the name implies, of Ser
Chiarissimo II.--what happened to the other twin we do not know--was
probably the first of his family of doctor-apothecaries to deliberately
abandon his less lucrative profession and establish himself as a banker
in the Mercato Nuovo. Anyhow, his two sons were born and baptised under
the happy auspices of plenty of money!
The elder, the prosperous doctor-banker, was jubilantly called
Averardo--"Blessed with good means," and the younger was christened
Chiarissimo III., to mark quite sententiously that, whilst his
bank-balance was considerable, it had been accumulated by honest
dealing!
True to the variable law of vicissitude, this Averardo I. failed to make
any very great name for himself, as might have been expected in a lad
of so much promise. He was shadowed doubtless by his more strenuous
parent. Still, he added to the family possessions by acquiring the
lay-patronage of the churches of San Pietro a Sieve and San Bartolommeo
di Petrone. Near the latter he built a _castello_, or fortress, which
was then considered a title to nobility. He made also a prosperous
marriage with Donna Benricevuta de' Sizi.
Messer Averardo's son, Averardo II., was, in the crisscross nature of
things, a man of stronger grit than his father. He came to great honour
as well as to great riches. Elected Prior in 1304, he was chosen as
_Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_ in 1314, and, between these dates, in 1311,
Ser Teghia de' Sizi, his mother's brother, made him his heir, and gave
him, besides full money-bags, much valuable property and ecclesiastical
patronage. To his surname of Medici he added that of Sizi: he was the
wealthiest citizen of his day in Florence. His wife, Donna Mandina di
Filippo de' Arrigucci of Fiesole, gave him six sons--Giacopo, Giovenco,
Francesco, Salvestro, Talento, and Conte. All of them rose to eminence
in the State, but of one only can the story be told here--Salvestro.
Messer Salvestro de' Medici--who must not be confounded with his
celebrated namesake and kinsman, the "Grand" Salvestro--married Donna
Lisa de' Donati, of which union three sons were the issue--Talento,
Giovenco, and Averardo III. Salvestro di Averardo II. bore another
Christian name--Chiarissimo--the old-world cognomen of his family.
Possibly his father thought it wise to stand well with the world and
parade his honesty; for whatever ill-gotten gains other bankers
acquired, he, at least, was an upright man, and his profits were just!
Anyhow, Messer Salvestro became popular for rectitude in his private
life, and for his unselfish discharge of public duties. He was chosen to
fill many responsible offices of State, and reached the goal of personal
ambition as ambassador to Venice, in 1336. His youngest son, Averardo
III., acquired the sobriquet of "Bicci"--the exact meaning of which is
problematical--it may mean a "worthless fellow" or "one who lives in a
castle!" Nothing indeed is related of him, but, perhaps, like Brer Fox,
of a later epoch, he was content "to lie low" and enjoy, without much
exertion, the good things his ancestors had provided for him.
Messer Averardo married twice--Giovanna de' Cavallini and Giovanna de'
Spini. By the first he became the father of one of the very greatest of
the Medici--Giovanni, the parent of a still more famous son--Cosimo.
At this period Florence was ruled by Whalter von Brienne--the so-called
Duke of Athens--sagacious, treacherous and depraved. He sought to make
himself Lord of Florence by skilfully playing the various political
parties one against the other. The _Grandi_ he kept in check by the
_Popolo Minuto_, but ignored the _Popolo Grasso_, to which the Medici
belonged. Under Giovanni de' Medici, Guglielmo degli Altoviti, and
Bernardo de' Rucellai, the middle class rose against the usurper; but
their plans miscarried, and the leaders were imprisoned and fined.
A Giovanni de' Medici was beheaded in 1342--the first recorded "Tragedy
of the Medici." As to who this unfortunate man was, it is difficult to
say. He is called "the son of Bernardo de' Medici," but no such name
appears in the early records of the family. He was probably a descendant
of Bonagiunto, a son of Ardingo de' Medici, who was a violent enemy of
the Ghibellines, and _Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_, in 1296 and 1307, and
brother of Francesco, Captain of Pistoja in 1338, and one of the
principal participants in the expulsion of the hated Duke.
The first of the "Grand" Medici was Salvestro, son of Alamanno, of the
line of Chiarissimo III., called "The German," because of his alien
Teutonic mother. Great-great-grandson of Ser Filippo, the last of the
doctor-apothecaries, Salvestro does not appear to have gone in for the
steady, unromantic life of a banker, but to have addressed his energies
to the profession of arms. Nevertheless, he was chosen Prior in 1318,
and contributed, during peace, to the advancement of his city's
interest. Upon the outbreak of war with the Visconti of Milan, in 1351,
he was appointed commander of the Florentine forces.
His sterling grit made itself apparent in the vigour with which at the
head of no more than one hundred men he relieved the town and fortress
of Scarperia, on the Mugello hills, besieged by the invaders. For his
bravery he was knighted by the _Signoria_. Cavaliere Salvestro de'
Medici sided with the aristocratic party, and proclaimed himself a
Ghibelline--consorting with the noble families of Albizzi, Ricci, and
Strozzi. Their aim was to convert the Republic into an oligarchy under
Piero degli Albizzi.
The _Popolo Minuto_, thoroughly alarmed at this menace of liberty and
popular government, appointed leaders, who approached Cavaliere
Salvestro, in 1370, when he held the supreme office of _Gonfaloniere di
Giustizia_, to safeguard the interests of the tradespeople and lower
classes. He gave heed to their representations, for he cunningly
perceived that he might ride into the undisputed leadership of the great
popular party, the Guelphs, and so checkmate his other allies, the
aristocrats! As head of a powerful branch of the rising family of
Medici, members of the _Popolo Grasso_, or wealthy middle class,
Cavaliere Salvestro became the champion of the people. All round his
popularity was established, for people said, "He was born for the safety
of the Republic." He was tactful enough to conceal the personal bent of
his policy, and acted upon the maxim, which he was never tired of
repeating: "Never make a show before the people!" As _Gonfaloniere_ he
summoned a Parliament of representatives of all parties and classes at
the Palazzo Vecchio, with a view to the composition of differences and
the maintenance of public order.
The Ghibellines would have none of his proposals, but privately they
were divided amongst themselves, seeing which, the Cavaliere astutely
announced the resignation of his office. This had the effect he
expected--the Palazzo and the Piazza outside rang with the old
cry--"_Liberta!_" "_Liberta!_" "_Evviva il Popolo!_" "_Evviva il
Gonfaloniere!_" Salvestro de' Medici was master of the situation--the
first of his family to attain the virtual, if not the real, control of
the State.
The revolution spread through the city; the palaces of the Ghibelline
nobles were sacked and burnt. A period of discord and disaster followed,
but, with the firm hand of Salvestro de' Medici upon the helm of the
ship of the Republic, matters settled. In 1376 he was unanimously chosen
_Capitano della Parte Guelfa_--an office of still more personal
influence than the Gonfaloniership. No one questioned his authority. He
was, as the historian, Michaele Bruto, has recorded, "The first of his
family to show his successors how that by conciliating the middle and
lower classes they could make their way to sovereignty."
Another crisis in the history of Florence arose in 1378, during
Cavaliere Salvestro de' Medici's second Gonfaloniership, when the
_Ciompi_--"Wooden Shoes" they were called in derision--the
wool-workers--rose _en masse_, and besieged the _Signoria_ sitting at
the Palazzo Vecchio. They claimed to rule the city and to abolish the
nobles, and a second time Salvestro was "the man of the hour!"
Acting upon his advice, terms were arranged with the revolutionaries,
and Michaele Lando--a common woolcarder by trade, but a born leader of
men--was elected _Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_, and a new government was
set up. Upon Salvestro, "the Champion of the People," was again
conferred by public acclamation the accolade of knighthood; moreover, as
a further mark of popular estimation, to him were allocated the rents of
the shops upon the Ponte Vecchio and other prerogatives.
The public spirit displayed by Cavaliere Salvestro gained for him not
only personal distinction and reward, but obtained for his family
recognition as the first in Florence. He married Donna Bartolommea, the
daughter of Messer Oddo degli Altoviti, by whom he had many children.
None of his sons seem to have added laurels to the family fame, but to
have lived peacefully in the glamour of their father's renown. The
Cavaliere retired into private life in 1380, and his death, which
occurred in 1388, marked the establishment of Medicean domination in the
affairs of Florence.
The second of the "Grand" Medici was Giovanni, the son of Averardo
III.--called "Bicci"--and his first wife, Donna Giovanna de' Cavallini,
born in 1360. He was just twenty-eight years of age when his popular
relative, Cavaliere Salvestro de' Medici, died. His young manhood found
him in the very forefront of party strife, and from the first he held
unswervingly with the Guelphs.
Married, in 1384, to Donna Piccarda, daughter of Messer Odoardo de'
Bueri, he was the father of four sons--Antonio, Damiano, Cosimo, and
Lorenzo--the two former died in childhood. The choice of names for two
of the boys is significant of the value Messer Giovanni placed upon his
family's origin--Saints Damiano and Cosimo, of course, were patrons of
doctors and apothecaries. Hence he was not ashamed of the golden
pillules of his armorial bearings!
Messer Giovanni developed extraordinary strength of character; he was a
born ruler of men, and a passionate patriot. He gained the goodwill of
his fellow-citizens by his unselfishness and generosity--truly not too
common in the bearing of men of his time. He served the office of Prior
in 1402, 1408, 1411; he was ambassador to Naples in 1406, and to Pope
Alessandro V. in 1409; and, in 1407, he held the lucrative post of
Podesta of Pistoja.
In 1421 Messer Giovanni de' Medici was elected _Gonfaloniere di
Giustizia_, as the representative of the middle classes, and in
opposition to Messeri Rinaldo degli Albizzi and Niccolo da Uzzano, the
Ghibelline nominees. The Republic sighed for peace, the crafts for
quietness; but the immense liabilities incurred by many costly military
enterprises had to be met. Messer Giovanni proposed, in 1427, a tax
which should not weigh too heavily upon anybody. Each citizen who was
possessed of a capital of one hundred gold florins, or more, was mulcted
in a payment to the State of half a gold florin (ten shillings _circa_).
This tax, which was called "_Il Catasto_" was unanimously accepted--"it
pleased the common people greatly." Messer Giovanni was taxed as heavily
as anyone, namely, three hundred gold florins--indicative, incidentally,
of his wealth and honesty.
Giovanni associated with himself another prominent man, Messer Agnolo
de' Pandolfini, the leader of the "Peace-at-any-Price" party, who is
remembered in the annals of Florence as "The Peaceful Citizen." The main
points of their policy were:--(1) Peace abroad; (2) Prosperity at home;
(3) Low taxation.
No combination of his opponents--and they were many and
unscrupulous--was able to damage Messer Giovanni's reputation and power.
He could, had he wished it, have proclaimed himself sole ruler of
Florence and her territory; but self-control and prudence--which were so
characteristic of the men of his family--never forsook him. He died
universally regretted in 1429, and was buried in the church of San
Lorenzo, which he, along with the Martelli, had restored and endowed.
Giovanni di Averardo de' Medici was looked upon as the first banker in
Italy, the controller of the credit of Florence and the prince of
financiers. Cavalcanti, Macchiavelli, Ammirato, and almost all other
historians, describe him as "Large-hearted, liberal-minded, courteous
and charitable, dispensing munificent alms with delicate consideration
of the feelings and wants of those whom he assisted. Never suing for
honours, he gained them all. Hostile to public peculations he strove
disinterestedly for the public good. He died rich in this world's goods,
but richer still in the goodwill of his fellow citizens."
Many have sought, nevertheless, to belittle Messer Giovanni's
reputation--attributing to him a motive for all his urbanity--that of
the permanent domination of his house in the government of the
Republic--not surely a fault. His old rival in the arena of politics,
Niccolo da Uzzano, ever spoke of him after his death with unstinted
praise and admiration.
Messer Giovanni shares with Cavaliere Salvestro the undying fame of
having raised, upon the excellent foundation laid by their ancestors,
the massive supporting walls of that superb edifice, of which his son,
Cosimo, formed the cupola, and his great-grandson, Lorenzo--the
lantern--"the Light of Italy."
The third and fourth "Grand" Medici were, of course, Cosimo, "_Il Padre
della Patria_," and Lorenzo, "_Il Magnifico_." The stories of their
lives and exploits are to be read in the stories, the literature and the
arts of Florence. Of Cosimo, Niccolo Macchiavelli wrote as follows:
"He applied himself so strenuously to increase the political power of
his house, that those who had rejoiced at Giovanni's death now regretted
it, perceiving what manner of man Cosimo was. Of consummate prudence,
staid yet agreeable presence, he was liberal and humane. He never worked
against his own party, or against the State, and was prompt in giving
aid to all. His liberality gained him many partisans among the
citizens."
Born in 1389, he early evinced mercantile proclivities, and when a lad
of no more than seventeen Messer Giovanni, his father, placed him in
charge successively of several of the foreign agencies of the Medici
bank. Young Cosimo used his opportunities so well that he was looked
upon as a successful financier, and came to be called "The Great
Merchant of Florence!"
He was jokingly wont to say: "Two yards of scarlet cloth are enough to
make a citizen!" Nevertheless he had a deep regard for the opinions and
privileges of his fellow Florentines. One of his constant sayings was:
"One must always consult the will of the people"--and "the people"
replied by acclaiming him "_Il Padre della Patria_."
Cosimo has been called "a great merchant and a grand party-leader: the
first of Florentines by birth and the first of Italians by culture." He
died in 1464. His father left in cash a fortune of nearly 180,000 gold
florins, but Cosimo's estate totalled upwards of 230,000--_circa_
£100,000--a vast amount in those days!
After the strong personality of Cosimo and his masterful manipulation of
commercial and political affairs, perhaps the unambitious rule of his
son Piero was a necessary and healthful corollary. Piero de' Medici
maintained the ground his father had made his own, and gave away nothing
of the predominance of his family, and he made way, after a brief
exercise of authority, for his brilliant son, Lorenzo.
Piero's character and career again prove the truth of the adage:
"Ability rarely runs in two successive generations." All the same, he
died in 1409, leaving his sons the heirs to nearly 300,000 gold florins!
Lorenzo, "_Il Magnifico_," was the first of the "Grand" Medici to give
up entirely all connection with commercial pursuits and banking
interests. His tenure of office, by a curious paradox, marks the
termination of the financial liberties of Florence! He was an all-round
genius--there was nothing he could not do--and do well! "Whatever is
worth doing at all," he was wont to say, "is worth doing well."
With his death, in 1492, as Benedetto Dei said, "The Splendour, not of
Tuscany only, but of all Italy, disappeared."
With the beginning of the sixteenth century dawned a new era.
Preliminary signs had appeared in the growth of wealth, in
enfranchisement from primitive methods, and in the evolution of
individualism. Love of country and the ties of family life were loosened
by the universal craving for self-indulgence and personal distinction.
Idleness, sensuality, and scepticism--three baneful sisters--gained the
mastery, weakening the fabric of society, and leading on to the evil
courses of tyrannicide.
"The gradual extinction of public spirit; the general deterioration of
private character, and the exercise of unbridled lust and passion, are
the livid hues which tinge with the purple of melancholy and the scarlet
of tragedy the later pages of Florentine story."
* * * * *
The direct line of Cosimo, "_Il Padre della Patria_," the elder
surviving son of Messer Giovanni di Averardo "Bicci" de' Medici, ended
with Caterina, Queen of France, the only legitimate child of Lorenzo,
Duke of Urbino, and last _Capo della Repubblica_ of Florence; and
Alessandro the Bastard, first Duke of Florence, the illegitimate son of
Pope Clement VII.
The sovereignty of the Medici was maintained in the person of Cosimo,
the only son of Condottiere Giovanni, "delle Bande Nere," the
great-grandson of Lorenzo, the younger of the two surviving sons of
Messer Giovanni di Averardo "Bicci" de' Medici. The rule of the Medici
Grand Dukes of Tuscany was carried on from Cosimo I. to Gian Gastone,
seventh Grand Duke and last of his line, who died in 1737.
The Grand Duchy then passed to the house of Lorraine, and with a
Napoleonic usurpation of eighteen years (1796-1814), it continued in the
Lorraine family, as represented by the collateral Hapsburgs, till the
year 1859. In that year, King Vittorio Emmanuele of Piedmont and
Sardinia, entered Florence, which, with all Italy, was united under the
Royal Crown of the House of Savoy.
THE TRAGEDIES OF THE MEDICI
CHAPTER I
LORENZO--"_Il Magnifico_."
GIULIANO--"_Il Pensieroso_."
"_Signori!_" "_Signori!_"
Such was the stirring cry which resounded through the lofty Council
Chamber of the famous Palazzo Vecchio that dull December day in the year
1469.
Never had such a title been accorded to any one in Florence, where every
man was as good as, if not better than, his neighbour. Foreign
sovereigns, and their lieutenants, who, from time to time, visited the
city and claimed toll and fealty from the citizens, had never been
addressed as "_Signori_"--"Lords and Masters." The "_Spirito del
Campanile_" as it was called, was nowhere more rampant than in the "City
of the Lion and Lily," where everybody at all times seemed only too
ready to disparage his fellow.
The cry was as astounding as it was unanimous--"_Signori!_" "_Signori!_"
"_Evviva i due Signori de' Medici!_" "_Signori!_" "_Signori!_" "_Evviva
i due figli della Domina Lucrezia._" Thus it gathered strength--its
importance was emphatic--it was epoch-marking.
"_Signori!_" "_Signori!_" was the acknowledgment of the sovereignty of
the Medici, made quite freely and spontaneously by the dignified Lords
of the Signory, in the name of the whole population of Florence and
Tuscany.
* * * * *
Piero de' Medici died on 3rd December 1469, and his interment, which was
conducted with marked simplicity, in accordance with his will, was
completed that same evening. He had, during his short exercise of power
as _Capo della Repubblica_, given a pageant--"The Triumph of Death," he
called it, by way of being his own funeral obsequies--a grim
anticipation of the future indeed!
At midnight a secret meeting of citizens was convened, by the officials
of the _Signoria_, within the Monastery of Sant' Antonio by the old
Porta Faenza, to debate the question of filling the vacant Headship of
the State. Why such a remote locality was chosen is not stated, but it
was in conformity with Florentine usage, which, for general and personal
security, required secrecy in such gatherings.
More than six hundred--"the flower of the city" as Macchiavelli called
them--attended, and upon the proposition of Ridolfo de' Pandolfini,
Messer Tommaso Soderini, by reason of seniority of years and priority of
importance, was called upon to preside. "Being one of the first citizens
and much superior to the others, his prudence and authority were
recognised not only in Florence, but by all the rulers of Italy."
The Soderini had, for three hundred years, held a leading position in
the affairs of Florence; but they were rivals and enemies of the Medici.
Indeed Messer Tommaso's uncle--Ser Francesco--was one of the principal
opponents in the city counsels of Cosimo--"_il Padre della Patria_."
Messer Niccolo, his brother, carried on the feud, and was, with
Diotisalvi Neroni, Agnolo Acciaiuolo, and others, banished in 1455, for
their complicity in the abortive attempt to assassinate Piero de'
Medici.
Messer Tommaso, more prescient and prudent, threw in his lot with the
Medici, and was chosen by Piero, not only as his own chief counsellor
and intimate friend, but as the principal adviser of his two young
sons--Lorenzo and Giuliano. He had, moreover, allied himself to the
Medici by his marriage with Dianora de' Tornabuoni, sister of Domina
Lucrezia, Piero's wife.
All the same, he kept his own counsel and took up a perfectly
independent line of action, being quite remarkable for his display of
that most pronounced characteristic of all good Florentines--the
placing of Florence first--"_Firenze la prima!_"
At the meeting, at Sant' Antonio, his rising to speak was the signal for
general applause. In a few generous words he eulogised the gentle
virtues of Piero and bemoaned his premature death. In a longer and more
serious oration, on the conditions politically and socially of Florence
and of the whole State, he put before his hearers two uncontrovertible
considerations, to guide them in the exercise of the selection of a new
_Capo della Repubblica_,--first. The maintenance of unity and
tranquillity; and second. The preservation of the _status quo_.
Many and friendly were the interruptions of the oration, and over and
over again shouts were raised for "_Tommaso Soderini il Capo!_"
Gracefully he bowed his acknowledgment, but, with much feeling, declined
the rare honour offered him. Then he went on to say that as the supreme
office had been worthily served by Cosimo and Piero de' Medici, it was
but fitting that it should be continued in that illustrious family.
He expatiated upon the advantages which had accrued to Florence under
the Headship of the Medici; and he urged upon the assembly to offer
their allegiance to Piero's sons, and to give them the authority that
their father and grandfather had possessed.
Keen debate followed Messer Tommaso's speech: some wished that he would
reconsider his decision, others were in favour of trying a new man and
of another family--Niccolo Soderini's name was freely mentioned, but
gradually the meeting came to accept the proposal. It gained at all
events the adhesion of such pronounced ante-Mediceans as Gianozzo de'
Pitti and Domenico de' Martelli, and led to a fusion, there and then, of
the two parties, "_del Poggio_" and "_del Piano_." Unanimity was the
more readily reached when those who demurred perceived that Messer
Tommaso would be the virtual ruler of the State in the personal
direction of his two young nephews. A deputation was accordingly chosen
to convey to Domina Lucrezia and her sons the condolences of the city,
and to offer to Lorenzo the coveted Headship of the State.
At noon on the following day the deputation was honourably received at
the Medici Palace. "The principal men of the State and of the City,"
wrote Lorenzo in his _Ricordi_, "came to our house to condole with us in
our bereavement, and to offer me the direction of the Government in
succession to my grandfather and father. I hesitated to accept the high
honour on account of my youth and because of the danger and
responsibility I should incur; and I only consented in order to
safeguard our friends and our property."
A plenary Parliament was summoned by Tommaso Soderini and those
associated with him in the conduct of public affairs during the
interregnum. It was held in the great Council Chamber of the Palazzo
Vecchio, and was attended by a full concourse of senators and other
prominent citizens, deputations from the Guilds, and representatives of
the Minor Orders. In the Piazza della Signoria and the adjoining
streets, was assembled an immense crowd of people, the greater part
being supporters of the Medici.
Inside the Chamber again Messer Tommaso Soderini was unanimously elected
president, and forthwith proceeded to report the result of the
deputation. His speech was repeatedly interrupted by cries that he
should reconsider his decision and accept then and there the Headship of
the State. He again emphatically declined the honour his fellow-citizens
desired to confer upon him, and proclaimed Lorenzo de' Medici _Capo
della Repubblica Fiorentina_.
At a preconcerted signal the arras over the doorway leading to the
private audience chamber was lifted, and there advanced Piero's widow
with her two sons, clothed in the dark habiliments of mourning. Domina
Lucrezia threw back her thick black veil, revealing upon her kindly face
a sorrowful expression and her eyes suffused with tears. Making a lowly
curtsey she drew herself up--a queenly figure--and holding the hands of
Lorenzo and Giuliano, on either side, made her way to where Messer
Tommaso Soderini was standing.
All eyes were bent upon the pathetic little group, and a sympathetic
murmur moved the whole audience. Every man of them had for years
regarded the Domina as the model of what a woman and a wife, a mother
and a queen, should be. She had no rivals and no detractors. Hers had
been the wise power behind the throne, for her tactful counsels had
guided the actions of her husband unerringly.
Florence was greatly beholden to Domina Lucrezia--a debt which nothing
could repay. Her influence for good upon the Court, her munificence in
charity, and her unsparing unselfishness had not been without powerful
effect upon every one of those hard-headed, hard-hearted citizens. They
called to mind that well-known saying of the "Father of his
Country"--"the great merchant"--Cosimo: "Why, Lucrezia is the best man
among us!"
They reflected, too, upon the auspicious example set at the Palazzo
Medici, where the mother's part was conspicuous in the wise training of
her family and in the loving deference she received from her sons. And
as they gazed upon Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici--"the hope of
Florence"--they recognised in the former a statesman, already a ruler in
the making. Young though he was, he had widely gained a reputation for
shrewdness and energy, for Piero had taken his eldest son early into his
confidence, and had entrusted to him much important State business. He
had sent him with embassies to Rome, Venice, and Naples; he had
despatched him upon a round of ceremonious visits to foreign courts; and
had encouraged him to make himself acquainted with all Tuscany and the
Tuscans.
Lorenzo's accomplishments in the school of letters were known to all. He
was a scholar and a gentleman, and these points had great weight in
Florentine opinion. In figure and physiognomy he very greatly resembled
his grandfather. His dignified bearing greatly impressed the assembly,
whilst his unaffected modesty, pleasant courtesy, and graceful oratory,
gratified them all.
In Giuliano they had a typical young courtier, handsome, athletic,
accomplished, and enthusiastic. His physical charms appealed to every
one, for most Florentines were Greeks of the Greeks. A precocious boy of
sixteen years of age, he had the promise of a brilliant young manhood
and a splendid maturity.
The personal equation is always a prominent factor in human ambitions,
and nowhere was it more emphatically dominant than in the mutual
jealousies of the men of Florence. The "x+y" sign of absolute assurance
had its match and equal in the "x-y" sign of restrictive deference. If
one _Messer_ arrived at some degree of prominence, then the best way for
him to attain his end was to pit himself against another of his class
nearest to him in influence. If _he_ was not to gain the guerdon, then
his rival should not have it!
This was the spirit which permeated the _raison d'etre_ of each noble
lord in that great assembly. After the first wave of enthusiasm had
passed, each man began to reflect that the best way, after all, for
settling the contentious question of the Headship of the Republic, was
to rule every one of the "magnificent six hundred" out of the running;
and by taking the line of least resistance plump for the unassuming
youths before them--Medici although they were.
"_Signori!_" "_Signori!_" again ran through the lofty chamber, "_I
Signori di Firenze!_" Some cried out "Lorenzo," and some "Giuliano," and
others "_I tutte due_"--but shouts for Lorenzo waxed the loudest. Thus
by general acclamation was the new _Capo della Repubblica_ elected.
Abashed by the vociferations of their elders and yet encouraged by the
unanimity of the assembly, the two young men stood gravely bowing their
acknowledgments, the heightened colour of their faces and the nervous
tension of their frames indicating the fervency of their emotions. In a
few well-chosen sentences Lorenzo expressed his pleasure and Giuliano's,
and the gratitude of their mother at this signal mark of confidence; and
promised to uphold the traditions of the City and the State, as his
forbears had done, craving from the noble lords their united sympathy
and support.
Gently leading the now smiling Domina Lucrezia by the hand, the two
brothers returned to the private Hall of Audience, while the great bell
of the Palazzo boomed forth the news to the waiting crowd outside. The
wool-workers had ceased their toil, the artists had left their
_botteghe_, the markets were deserted, and all Florence forgathered in
the Piazza to welcome "_I Signori di Firenze!_"
Loud plaudits greeted the noble matron and her sons--not the battle-cry
"_Palle! Palle!_" indeed--but "_Evviva i Medici!_" "_Lorenzo!_"
"_Giuliano!_" "_La buona Domina Magnifica!_" ... Their progress was a
triumph, they could scarcely make their way, short as it was, to the Via
Larga, for everybody pressed forward to kiss and stroke their hands.
Never had there been anything like so popular an election in Florence;
men and women shed tears as they uttered rapturously their names; for
were not "Lorenzo" and "Giuliano" the "pets of the people," and was not
the Domina Lucrezia beloved by everyone!
The plenary Parliament, having completed its labours, broke up
immediately, and the excellent lords and worthy citizens hied them to
their palaces, their banks, and their offices, more or less pleased with
the morning's work. Not a few reflected, rather grimly, that they had
placed two young lives between themselves and the seat of supreme
authority. Their sons might live to rule Florence, but their own chances
had vanished for ever!
* * * * *
Lorenzo was not backward in gripping, with a firm hand, the reins of
power. Young as he was, he had already formed his ideals and laid out
his plans as to the best government of the State. The yearly symposia in
the Casentino had been productive of much good in the training of the
youthful ruler. The direction of his opinions was signified in that
saying of his: "He who would live in Florence must know how to govern!"
The repetition of this phrase was perhaps indiscreet, and it caused
searchings of heart, as the meaning of it was borne in upon the
comprehensions of the least friendly of the citizens. Lorenzo was
clearly set upon the aggrandisement of his house and the dependence of
all others. Allowance was made for a lad's impetuosity, but at the same
time many a leader kept his hands tightly pressed upon the machinery of
government.
Everyone perceived that the young _Capo della Repubblica_ was in full
possession of the solid grit of his pushful grandfather. He had not
studied the careers of his famous ancestors, Salvestro, Giovanni, and
Cosimo, for nothing. Indeed Piero, his father, in writing to his sons at
Cafaggiuolo to acquaint them with the death of Cosimo, "_Il Padre della
Patria_," in 1463, had pointedly said: "Your mother and I offer the
character and example of your grandfather to our sons."
Besides these strong characteristics he had inherited, in a superlative
degree, the shrewd common-sense of Piero, and his mother's passionate
love of Florence, with all her enthusiasm for what was pure, cultured,
philanthropic, and religious. Niccolo Macchiavelli, somewhat
unwillingly, admitted that--"Lorenzo has all the high-mindedness and
liberality which anybody could expect in one occupying such an exalted
station."
Giuliano tacitly and contentedly accepted a less ambitious and
responsible role. Whilst Lorenzo took the first place and occupied
himself in questions of State policy and in the affairs of the family,
Giuliano drew to himself all the younger men in physical exploit and
mental effort. From boyhood addicted to sports and pastimes, he became
_facile princeps_ in all manly exercises.
"_Il bel Giulio!_" as he was called generally, was moreover the leader
of fashion and the organiser of all the pageants and jousts with which
Lorenzo and he delighted the citizens. Whilst devoting most of his time
to fun and frolic, the young prince was acknowledged as one of the chief
_litterati_, and a conspicuous ornament of the Platonic Academy.
The serious side to his character and his, studious disposition gained
for him the gentle title of "_Il Pensieroso_." His mother's fond hope
was that he should be named a Cardinal, not merely a Papal princeling,
nor of course a religious reprobate--as, alas, most of the Cardinals
were--but a devout wearer of the scarlet hat, and that one day he might
even assume the triple tiara!
Anyhow Giuliano's youth was as spotless as it might be amid unchaste
surroundings. His passion for the bewitching Simonetta, "The Star of
Genoa," seems to have been the only serious romance of his life, and
therein he never aroused Marco de' Vespucci's jealousy by his attentions
to his young wife. Indeed the loves of "_Il bel Giulio_" and "_La bella
Simonetta_" were the talk and the admiration of the whole city:--the
Apollo or the Mercury of the New Athens with his Venus--Venus de'
Medici!
The magnificent _Giostra_, or Tournament, which Lorenzo celebrated a
year before his accession to the Headship of the Republic was but the
prelude to the exhibition of lavish hospitality such as Florentines, and
the strangers within their gates, had never witnessed. Banquets, ballets
and pageants succeeded one another in rapid succession. Church and
national festivals gained splendour and circumstance unrivalled in any
other city. Indeed the citizens, from the highest to the meanest, lived
in a whirl of festivities--and they liked it well!
The visits of friendly princes and other distinguished personages were
hailed with enthusiasm. Apparently there was no bottom to the Medici
purse; but actually the _Capo della Repubblica_ was playing rather fast
and loose with his opulent patrimony. There came a day when the strain
grew excessive, and Lorenzo was unable, had he been willing, to make
advances to princely suitors, and he lived to repent his prodigality.
The first notable visitors were Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza of Milan and
his Duchess Bona, Princess of Savoy. The retinue which accompanied the
sovereigns was gorgeous, and filled the people of Florence with
amazement; but their wonder was tenfold greater when Lorenzo displayed
still greater magnificence in their reception. Macchiavelli has
attributed the vast increase in the luxurious habits of the citizens to
this splendid hospitality.
Another remarkable demonstration was that which was made in 1471 upon
the occasion of the succession of Cardinal Francesco delle Rovere to the
Papal throne as Sixtus IV. Lorenzo, in person, headed the special
embassy which was despatched from Florence to congratulate the new
pontiff. The other principal members were Domenico de' Martelli, Agnolo
della Stufa, Bongianio de' Gianfigliazzi, and Donato de' Acciaiuolo.
Whilst the mission and its wealth of offerings were received graciously
by the Roman Court, Sixtus by no means extended a cordial welcome to
Lorenzo. The request which he made for the bestowal of a Cardinal's hat
upon his brother, Giuliano, was refused somewhat brusquely, although, to
be sure, the Pope did agree to the transfer of the custody of the
finances of the Curia to the Medici bank, through the intervention of
Messer Giovanni de' Tornabuoni--Lorenzo's uncle, a resident in Rome.
Lorenzo appears to have made, however, rather a favourable impression
upon Sixtus, for he entered into negotiations concerning the sale of the
costly jewels which had been collected by Pope Paul II. In the end
Lorenzo purchased the cabinet and its contents, and made thereby a very
excellent bargain.
During his sojourn in the Eternal City, Lorenzo acquired a number of
precious antiques, rare manuscripts, and valuable works of art. Sixtus,
noting his artistic tastes, sent him many handsome gifts, and promised,
at his solicitation, to prevent the destruction of ancient buildings and
monuments. They parted apparently excellent friends.
Giuliano's _Giostra_ was even more brilliant than that of Lorenzo, six
years before. It was celebrated in honour of "La bella Simonetta," with
whom the impressionable young prince became daily more and more madly in
love. Whether his infatuation went at all beyond the bounds of Platonic
affection is doubtful. His lovely _innamorata_ was the wife of his best
friend, and his honour went for much in the loyal estimation of
Giuliano. Besides this, his good mother's influence in the cause of
virtue and modesty was all-powerful with both her sons.
Strange to say, this romantic attachment stirred the jealousy of a very
prominent citizen, no less a personage than Messer Francesco de' Pazzi.
He and his brothers declined the invitation to the _Giostra_, and
abstained from participation in the general festivities. It was a case
of race rivalry and of personal jealousy, but it meant much in the
relations of the two families.
The efforts which Lorenzo continually made "to gain a firm footing in
Florence"--as Francesco de' Guicciardini has recorded--quite naturally
were productive of opposition and animosity. The men who had placed him
in power were again in two camps--those who were content with the
_status quo_, and those who were not. The latter made less and less
effort to conceal their real sentiments, and at length set about to
question Lorenzo's motives, and defeat his projects. He was a
_beau-ideal_ citizen, for, with all his love of show and circumstance,
even in the fulness of his dignity and dominion, he knew how to retain
and exhibit certain homely and simple traits, which were quite after the
Florentine manner.
He met criticisms and oppositions with the very characteristic
statement: "I will," said he, "allow no man to put his foot on my
throat!" This threat--for so it was accounted by those who wished to
discredit him--was like a red gauntlet thrown down, and, later on, a
hand--if not a foot--and a dagger, were at Lorenzo's throat!
The overstrain of desire, the feverishness of acquisitiveness, and the
lust for power, often in their intensity defeat the purpose sought. The
personality of Lorenzo waxed greater and mightier day by day in the
nervously articulated constitution of Florence. The greatest genius of
his age, he was not only the master of the Government, but the
acknowledged chief of the Platonic Academy, the first of living poets, a
most distinguished classical scholar, and the greatest benefactor the
city had ever known. Everything was within his grasp and everyone had to
bow to his will; his aim was to be autocratic Prince of Tuscany.
It was the mark of a "perfect gentleman" to unbend to plainer folk, and
to mingle with them in moments of relaxation. As a youth he had, with
Giuliano, frequented the village fairs in the Mugello, for amusement and
good fellowship: indeed they brought him inspiration and popularity as
well. When in residence in the Medici Palace he was wont to take his
walks abroad quite freely, and to sit and chat with the habitues of the
_osterie_ by the Porta San Gallo, and other similar taverns.
Florentine of the Florentines, he loved tricks and jokes, and was never
tired of making fun at the expense of others: be it said, too, he knew
how to take as well as give. An amusing story is told of him: being at
Pisa, he chanced to see among the students of the University--which, by
the way, he was instrumental in re-establishing and re-endowing--a
youth who squinted. He remarked with a laugh: "That lad should easily be
the head of his class!" When questioned as to his meaning, he replied
jocosely: "Because he will read at the same time both pages of his book,
and so will learn double!"
Entering thus unostentatiously into the lives and habits of his
fellow-citizens, it was perfectly natural that he should gain their
esteem, friendship, and loyal support. He soon became out and away the
most popular man in Florence, notwithstanding the unworthy sneer of that
ill-conditioned and self-opinionated monk, Girolamo Savonarola.
"Lorenzo," he muttered, "occupies the people with feasts and shows in
order that they may think more of their own amusement than of his
ambitions."
Lorenzo was under no delusion with respect to the permanence, in a more
or less subjective degree, of the spirit of revolt which had rendered
his father's succession to the Headship of the Republic difficult. The
very men who had, for their own ends, misguided Piero, of course were no
longer powerful--such at least of them as were still alive were in
banishment; but their sons and their adjoints were ready enough to
question his authority.
Swiftly enough, Lorenzo took the measures of these men, and prepared to
counteract their opposition. Naturally he sought the counsel of Domina
Lucrezia, than whom nobody understood better the men of Florence, their
manners and their moods. Long and serious were the deliberations of
mother and son. With her pregnant assistance he roughed out a scheme, so
warily conceived and so faithfully elaborated, that, on its presentation
to the Lords of the Signory, it was accepted almost unanimously.
This measure touched citizens in their tenderest spot,--pride and love
of display,--for it proclaimed the appointment of the leading _Signori_
as ambassadors to foreign courts and communes. The one great absorbing
ambition of all prominent Florentines was, through all their history, to
head a foreign mission, with all its honours and emoluments.
With infinite grace and persuasiveness Lorenzo put before the Council
the advisability of the despatch of envoys, incidentally to announce his
succession to the Headship of the State, but principally to proclaim the
grandeur, the wealth, and the power, of the great Tuscan Republic. It
was a master-stroke thus to appeal to the patriotism, no less than to
the egotism, of their Excellencies, and, at the same time, to confirm
his own supremacy!
The bait, dangled before avaricious eyes, was eagerly snapped up, and
when Lorenzo backed up his proposition by munificently mounting each
embassy, and by the promise of knighthood upon the return of the
ambassadors, scarcely a man of those nominated held back. The scheme
worked splendidly, and Lorenzo had the supreme satisfaction of bidding
courteous and thankful farewells to his most prominent rivals.
Among them were such distinguished leaders of public opinion as Bernardo
de' Buongirolami, Cesare de' Petrucci, Bernardo del Nero, Agnolo de'
Niccolini, and Piero Filippo de' Pandolfini. Their departure was the
signal for the advancement of many less known men,--friends and protégés
of the two brothers or of Domina Lucrezia. In this way Lorenzo greatly
strengthened his hold upon the supreme power.
Two very prominent men, however, rejected the proposal--at once the most
popular and most dangerous--Tommaso de' Soderini and Francesco de'
Pazzi.
Tommaso de' Soderini added immensely to his popularity by his noble
exhibition of self-abnegation. His prudence and ability had for long
pointed him out as the most trustworthy and experienced of his peers.
His whole-hearted loyalty to the cause of the Medici, and the
consistency with which he maintained the position he had taken up, at
the plenary Parliament in 1469, and subsequently, made him, by the
contrariety of circumstances, the most redoubtable rival of the
ambitious and impulsive _Capo della Repubblica_.
The trusty pilot, who had so effectively steered the ship of State
through the troubled waters of the interregnum, was, quite
unintentionally and unwillingly, the greatest obstacle in the way of
the young captain! Everybody who had a grievance--real or
imaginary--against the government of Lorenzo, sought Messer Tommaso's
advice and sympathy, so that the situation became charged with
difficulties and embarrassments. The very merest change in the whim of a
fickle people might upset the Medici, and then the Soderini would be
called upon to fill the vacancy. Messer Tommaso's presence in Florence
was both a source of strength to Lorenzo and his house, and a menace.
When the subject of the embassy to Rome--the chief diplomatic
appointment of the Republic--was broached, Messer Tommaso, with the
utmost sincerity, expressed his fervent wish to meet Lorenzo's views in
every respect, but he expressed, quite emphatically, his disinclination
to undertake such an arduous duty. Not only did he plead the infirmities
of age, but declared that his wife, Madonna Dianora, would never leave
Florence. Her love of her own city and its people equalled that of her
sister, the Domina Magnifica Lucrezia--their social, charitable and
literary interests were alike and equal.
Here was a condition of affairs which called for the exercise of the
greatest tact and ingenuity, and Lorenzo committed the task of
overcoming the scruples of his uncle and aunt to his mother. Her efforts
were entirely successful, and Lorenzo, with a deep sigh of relief,
handed Messer Tommaso his credentials, and personally conducted him and
his suite to the Porta Romano, and thence speeded him upon his journey.
* * * * *
Francesco de' Pazzi was cast in a very different sort of mould--the very
antithesis in character, demeanour, and aspiration to Tommaso de
Soderini--he has very appropriately been called "the Cataline of
Florence." Possessed of immense wealth, much of which had come to him
from his father, Messer Antonio, he rapidly dissipated it by selfish
extravagance: no man surpassed him in the virtue or the vice--which you
will--of self-seeking.
In the bitterness of an overweening and mortified ambition he rejected,
with the utmost discourtesy, Lorenzo's overtures, at the same time
remorselessly exposing his intentions, and vowing that no Pazzo should
"go round the corner" for a Medico! Messer Francesco displayed
unreservedly the true character of his family: he was in truth the
"Mirror of his race"--"_L'implacabile Pazzi_."
The descent of the Pazzi was one of the most ancient among the noble
families of Tuscany. The senior branch claimed Greek descent, and its
members were early denizens of the hill-country about Fiesole. Leaders
of men, they became adherents of the aristocratic party--the
Ghibellines--and were consistent and energetic in their allegiance to
the Emperor. The junior branch of the Pazzi were dwellers in the Vale of
Arno--men of peaceful predilections in agriculture and commerce,
throwing in their lot with the Guelphs--the democratic party of the
Pope.
Giano della Bella's "_Ordinamenti di Giustizia_," in 1293, led to the
disqualification of the Pazzi and many other notable families from the
exercise of the franchise, and, as a consequence, they were deprived of
all share in the Government.
They recognised, even in those early days of the formation of the first
of modern states, that the Medici were rivals and opponents not only in
domestic and commercial enterprise, but also in political advancement,
and no love was lost between the two families. Nevertheless, the Pazzi
were beholden to their rivals for the restoration of their civil rights.
On the return of Cosimo de' Medici from exile in 1434, they were
reinstated, and thenceforward maintained their position. Messer Andrea,
next after Cosimo the most influential citizen of Florence, was elected
to the Priorate in 1435, and in 1439 he was called upon to entertain no
less a personage than King René of France. In 1441 he was _Gonfaloniere
di Giustizia_.
Messer Andrea left three sons--Piero, Giacopo and Antonio. Piero served
the supreme office of _Gonfaloniere_ in 1462. He was the father of a
numerous family--some historians say he had nineteen children by his
wife, Madonna Fiammetta de' Guigni! None of them, however, made their
mark in the life and history of the city, except the fourth son,
Belforte Renato, who was a prominent man but suffered for the ill-doings
of his relations.
If Piero and his sons were unassuming citizens, Messer Andrea's second
son, Giacopo, was of a very different disposition. A man of far greater
ability and more vaulting ambition than his brother, he was looked upon
as the head of the family. In appearance he was prematurely old and
withered up, with a pallid face and palsied frame, with great restless,
staring eyes. He perpetually tossed his head about from side to side, as
though afflicted with St Vitus' dance. Giacopo was unmarried, a
libertine, notorious as a gambler and a blasphemer, a spendthrift, and
jealous--beyond bounds--of the popularity and pre-eminence of Piero and
Lorenzo de' Medici. He was pointed at as the most immoral man in
Florence. In the year of Lorenzo's succession to the place of _Capo
della Repubblica_, he obtained by bribery the high office of
_Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_ as a set-off, but, by an inconsistency as
unexpected as it was transparent, he accepted, on vacating office, a
knighthood at the hands of his rival.
Cavaliere Giacopo's relations with Lorenzo were fairly cordial,
outwardly at least, for as late as 1474, when at Avignon, he wrote
several letters to him, full of grateful expressions for favours
received and of wishes for a continuance of a good understanding. None
of Cavaliere Giacopo's illegitimate children arrived at maturity, and,
on account of the failure of his elder brother's sons to achieve
distinction, the proud banner of the family was clutched by the hands of
the four boys of the youngest of Messer Andrea's sons--Guglielmo,
Antonio, Giovanni, and Francesco. Their mother was Cosa degli
Alessandri, a granddaughter of Alessandro degli Albizzi, who first
adopted the new surname.
The brothers were very wealthy, they had amassed large fortunes in
commerce, and their houses extended for a considerable distance along
that most fashionable of streets--the Borgo degli Albizzi. The Palazzo
de' Pazzi doubtless was commenced by their grandfather, whose emblem--a
ship--is among the architectural enrichments. The building was finished
by their uncle, Giacopo--it is in the Via del Proconsolo.
As bankers, the Pazzi were noted for their enterprise generally, and for
their competition with the Medici in particular. They had agencies in
all the chief cities of Europe and the East, but their reputation for
avarice and sharp dealing was proverbial. Perhaps no family was quite so
unpopular in Florence. Their traditions were aristocratic, whilst the
Medici were champions of the people.
This distinction was referred to by Madonna Alessandra Macinghi di
Matteo degli Strozzi, in one of her letters to her son Filippo, at
Naples. "I must bid you remember," she wrote, "that those who are upon
the side of the Medici have always done well, whilst those who belong
to the Pazzi, the contrary. So I pray you be on your guard."
The growing importance of the Pazzi gave Piero and Lucrezia de' Medici
much uneasiness, and it is quite certain that the marriage of their
eldest daughter, Bianca--"Piero's tall daughter" as she was called--to
the eldest of the three brothers, was a stroke of domestic policy by way
of controlling the race for wealth and power.
Lorenzo, very soon after his accession to the Headship of the State,
"took the bull by the horns" and excluded the Pazzi from participation
in public office. It was an extreme measure and not in accordance with
his usual tact and circumspection, and of course it produced the
greatest ill-will and resentment against him and his administration in
every member of the proscribed family.
The situation became greatly embittered when, in 1477, Lorenzo
interfered in a law-suit which concerned the marriage dower and
inheritance of Beatrice, the daughter of Giovanni Buonromeo. By
Florentine law the daughter should have inherited the fortune without
demur, under the express will of her father, who died intestate; but, at
Lorenzo's command, the estate was passed on to Beatrice's cousin, Carlo
Buonromeo, who was the winner of the second prize in Lorenzo's _Giostra_
of 1468. This decision was in direct opposition to Giuliano de' Medici's
opinion, and he did all he could to reassure Giovanni de' Pazzi,
Guglielmo's brother, and Beatrice's husband, of friendship and
confidence.
These were not the only incidents which followed one another at the
parting of the ways of the two families, but the affair of Giovanni and
Beatrice was resented with peculiar bitterness by all the Pazzi. "Hence
arose," as Francesco de' Guicciardini has testified, "the wronging of
the Pazzi!"
In Francesco, the youngest of the brethren, was exhibited the most
violent animosity and hatred. Blessed with superabundant self-conceit,
which went so far as to cause him to spend hours a day having his
unusually light-coloured hair dressed at the barber's and his face
salved and puffed at the apothecary's to conceal his muddy complexion,
he was reckoned, in the Mercato Nuovo, as little better than an
ill-conditioned _braggadoccio_! His shortness of stature he sought to
atone for by his accentuation of the Florentine pout and the Tuscan
strut--he was well known, too, for his contemptuous jokes at the expense
of others.
Francesco denounced Lorenzo and his Government with unmeasured scorn,
and, careless of restraint, threatened that "he would be even with him,
even though it cost him his life." Macchiavelli says: "He was the most
unscrupulous of his family." "A man of blood," Agnolo Poliziano called
him, "who, when he meditated any design, went straight to his goal,
regardless of morality, religion, reputation and consequences."
Early in March he quitted Florence suddenly, giving out that his
presence was required at Rome in connection with the affairs of the
Pazzi bank. To say that his departure was a relief to Lorenzo is but
half the truth, for he was greatly perturbed with respect to the
influence which such a passionate and reckless rival would have upon his
relations with the Holy See. Francesco was the subject of watchfulness
upon the part of the Medici agents in Rome, where Giovanni de'
Tornabuoni set himself to thwart any hostile movement which might be
made.
Among prominent men with whom Francesco de' Pazzi was thrown into
contact were Archbishop Francesco de' Salviati and Count Girolamo de'
Riari. The Archbishop and Francesco were no strangers to one another;
their families had risen to affluence and power side by side in
Florence, actuated by like sentiments and engaged in like
activities--hatred of the Medici was mutual.
Sixtus had proposed, in 1474, to bestow upon Francesco de' Salviati the
Archbishopric of Florence, but the _Signoria_, instigated by Lorenzo,
refused to confirm his appointment and declined to grant him the
temporalities of the See. The Pope yielded very ungraciously to the
representations of the Florentine Government and named Rinaldo d'Orsini,
Lorenzo's brother-in-law, to the vacancy. This intervention was adduced
by Sixtus afterwards as insubordination worthy of punishment, and he did
not forget to take his revenge.
The following year Francesco de' Salviati was chosen as
Archbishop-designate of Pisa, and again the Florentines objected--being
joined by the Pisans, who conspired to prevent him taking possession.
The Archbishop was, according to Agnolo Poliziano--the devoted historian
and poet-laureate of Lorenzo il Magnifico--"An ignorant man, a contemner
of all law--human and divine--a man steeped in crime, and a disgrace to
his family and the whole State."
Count Girolamo de' Riari, accounted a nephew of Sixtus, was, like his
elder brother Piero and Caterina his sister, a natural child of the
Pope. The three were treated with parental affection by the pontiff, and
had their home in his private apartments, being waited upon by their
unrecognised mother in the guise of nurse and guardian.
Piero de' Riari was created a Cardinal when a spoilt boy, and became, as
a man, infamous for his debauchery and villainy. Sixtus had the
effrontery to select him as successor to Archbishop Orsini in Florence,
but his action was prompted by a motive, which was firmly fixed in his
heart. This was nothing less than the supplanting of Lorenzo de' Medici
by Piero or Girolamo! So far, however, as Cardinal de' Riari was
concerned, Sixtus' ambitions were wholly disappointed by his sudden
death, due to violent excesses of all kinds.
Like his brother, Count Girolamo, the offspring of illicit lust, and
brought up in the depraved atmosphere of the Papal court, was a
reprobate; but Sixtus' vaulting ambition stopped not at character and
reputation. He was bent upon the permanent aggrandisement of all the
branches of the Delle Rovere family. Casting about for territorial
dignity, the Pope set his heart upon the Lordship of Imola, where Taddeo
Manfredi of Faenza, being in financial difficulties, had surrendered the
fief to the Duke of Milan.
The proposal to bestow the Lordship upon Count Girolamo de' Riari by
purchase was warmly resented by the Florentines. Sixtus approached the
question in a most underhand and suspicious manner. He knew perfectly
well that negotiations were on foot for the acquisition of the property
and title by Lorenzo, on behalf of the Florentine Government.
Nevertheless he sent a secret mission to Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan,
offering the handsome sum of fifty thousand gold ducats, with a proviso,
that the Duke should bestow the hand of his illegitimate daughter
Caterina upon Girolamo.
By way of adding insult to injury, Sixtus impudently sought a loan from
the Medici bank, with which to pay the Duke: this greatly offended
Lorenzo and all the leading men in Florence. What made the Pope's
conduct more despicable, was the knowledge that he regarded this matter
as the first step in a line of policy which aimed at supersession of the
Medici by the Riari in the direction of Tuscan affairs--himself being
Over-Lord.
The Pope's demand was refused indignantly by Lorenzo, who, in the name
of the _Signoria_, administered to his Holiness a severe rebuke for his
interference in the affairs of Florence. The relations between the two
Governments became strained, but Sixtus was perfectly indifferent to
opposition where personal interests were concerned.
His next move was the withdrawal of the Duke of Urbino, his relative,
from the military service of the Republic, and his appointment as
Commander-in-Chief of the Papal forces. This manoeuvre was regarded with
alarm by all the Italian States, and a league was formed by Florence,
Venice, and Milan, to check Papal encroachments.
Sixtus made overtures to the Duke of Milan to detach him from the
alliance, but, apparently, they failed of their object. The Duke was
friendly with Lorenzo and had no wish to become embroiled with Florence.
All these plots and counterplots were exactly to the liking of Francesco
de' Pazzi, and he laid himself out to make capital out of them. Not only
did he encourage the Pope in his inimical policy, but he placed at his
command the sum of money which had been refused by the Medici bank.
Sixtus was delighted with his new and wealthy adherent, and forthwith
gave the presidents of the Medici bank in Rome notice that they no
longer retained his confidence as Papal bankers, and that, accordingly,
he had transferred the accounts of the Curia to the care of the rival
Pazzi house. Upon Francesco de' Pazzi he conferred the accolade of
knighthood. This hostile action of course further estranged Lorenzo and
the Government of Florence, and, quite naturally, a system of
quarrelsome incidents was set up, with a very complete equipment of
spies.
Sixtus never concealed his desire for the overthrow of Lorenzo and the
subversion of the Florentine Government, and his hostility found a
whole-hearted response in the persons of Count Girolamo de' Riari,
Archbishop Francesco de' Salviati, and Cavaliere Francesco de' Pazzi.
The Pope exulted openly in what capital he could make out of tales and
gossip about Lorenzo and his entourage. Two prominent Florentines
fomented this factious spirit. Giovanni Neroni--the Archbishop of
Florence in succession to Archbishop d'Orsini, brother of the notorious
Diotisalvi, who was banished in 1466--and Agnolo Acciaiuolo--also
banished the same year, who resided in Rome and was an especial
favourite at the Vatican.
Charges of opposition to the policy of the Pope were freely thrown in
the teeth of Lorenzo, and some of them were true, for the actions of
the Pope led all observant men to the conclusion that he proposed to
assume the rôle of arbiter in the affairs of all the Italian States. On
the other hand, Lorenzo's policy was peaceful, his aim being the
consolidation of Medicean domination in the affairs of the Republic.
Causes such as these brought about the initiation of the dastardly plot
known in history as "The Pazzi Conspiracy." The name is somewhat open to
criticism, for, although the Pazzi were the chief instruments employed,
and exceeded all others in detestation of the Medici, the "forefront and
head of the offending" was no less a personage than Pope Sixtus IV.
"His Holiness hates Lorenzo," said Count Girolamo de' Riari; this was
the cue to all that followed. Doubtless the Pope was much in the power
of sycophants and adventurers--all immoral rulers are. Each knew his man
and held him in the palm of his left hand; and none were backward in
impressing this knowledge upon him.
"We can always make our lord the Pope do as we please," was Archbishop
Salviati's very apposite declaration! It was re-echoed by Francesco de'
Pazzi, who added significantly, "and we mean to rid Florence of the
Medici."
* * * * *
All through the year 1477 the three arch-conspirators were elaborating
their plan of action. Possibly Sixtus--and we may give the miscreant
the favour of the doubt--at first merely wished to upset the Government
of Florence and banish Lorenzo and Giuliano by direct means. When,
however, it was borne in upon him that the immense popularity of the
Medici would, in the event of their supersession, only lead to their
triumphant recall, he agreed that there was nothing for it but the
removal of the two brothers in a more summary manner.
This association of Giuliano with Lorenzo was a miserable exhibition of
personal spite. He had refused him the Cardinalate simply because he
foresaw the succession of a Medici to the Papal throne, whilst he
purposed handing over the triple tiara to his son, Cardinal Piero de'
Riari. Nevertheless, there was some idea in the mind of Sixtus, which he
conveyed to his fellow-conspirators, of making an agreement with
Giuliano, that if he would condone the exile of his brother, then his
should be the reversion of the Popedom after Cardinal de' Riari!
Some authorities say Giuliano lent a not unwilling ear to those
overtures, but a saner view is that expressed by Agnolo Poliziano in an
epigram:--
"Lorenzo--Giuliano--one spirit, love, and aim
Animate you both--this, truly, I, your friend, proclaim."
Giuliano's love for Lorenzo was, like that of David and Jonathan, "a
love surpassing that of women." He consistently submitted his own
ambitions to the exaltation of his brother's magnificence.
The cogitations of the leaders of the conspiracy were disturbed by the
fact that, however excellent their schemes might be, there was absolute
necessity for the co-operation of other influences. Rome unaided could
not cope with Florence, backed as she was by France, Venice, Milan,
Ferrara, and Mantua. Sixtus consequently broached the subject of the
suppression of the Medici to the King of Naples and to the Duke of
Urbino--the support of Siena was always assured in any attack on her
great rival.
The king had a personal quarrel with Lorenzo, because he had married
Clarice d'Orsini in preference to his daughter, whose hand he had, in a
way, offered to the young prince. He at once acceded to the Pope's
invitation, and, as good as his word, he despatched his son, the Duke of
Calabria, at the head of an armed force, professedly to demand prompt
payment by the Republic of arrears due to him for service rendered to
Florence.
At the solicitation of Sixtus these troops were retained in Tuscany on
the pretext that the Papal fief of Imola required protection. Of course
the real purpose was a menace to Lorenzo: the force being at hand to
strike a swift blow when necessary.
Duke Federigo of Urbino was made more or less conversant with the Papal
policy, and with the special question of Lorenzo's removal. He at once
rejected the proposition that resort should be had to violent or secret
measures, and in disgust at Sixtus's conduct, he threw up his
appointment as Commander of the Papal forces.
Whilst Sixtus was making all these military preparations for the
furtherance of his intentions, his co-conspirators removed the scene of
their activities to the neighbourhood of Florence, where the Pazzi and
Salviati were at one in their readiness to lay down their lives for the
undoing of the Medici. They first of all took into their confidence one
of the Papal Condottieri, a man of undoubted courage and
ability--Giovanni Battista da Montesicco, a native of the Roman
Campagna--who was under heavy obligation to Count Girolamo de' Riari. Of
course he was perfectly willing, as became his calling, to sell his
sword for good payment: he further undertook to enlist his lieutenant,
Hieronimo Comiti, in the cause.
The Condottiere was sent off to Florence to communicate to Cavaliere
Giacopo de' Pazzi the "idea" of the three chief plotters, to test his
feelings, and, if possible, secure his adherence. At first the old man
was "as cold as ice"--so Montesicco said in his confession later on--and
declined to take any part in the conspiracy. After hearing all that was
put before him, he enquired whether Sixtus approved the scheme.
"Why, his Holiness," replied the Condottiere, "has sent me straight to
your Honour to ask your support.... I speak for the Pope."
"Then," said Giacopo, "I am with you."
A few days later Archbishop Salviati and Francesco de' Pazzi joined
Montesicco at Giacopo's country villa, at Montughi, just beyond the
Porta Rosso, on the high road to Bologna. Consultations between the
heads of the two families, Pazzi and Salviati--were held there, with the
concurrence of a certain number of influential citizens inimical to the
Medici.
These meetings were given out as hunting-parties and, to blind their
eyes, overtures were made to both Lorenzo and Giuliano to honour the
sport with their presence. Needless to say, Francesco de' Pazzi's return
to Florence, in company with the unfriendly Archbishop, aroused
Lorenzo's suspicions, but he does not appear to have taken any action.
Montesicco was instructed to make himself and his lieutenant familiar
with the stage upon which he was destined to play his part of the plot,
and especially to observe the persons and the habits of the two Medici
princes. Furthermore, he was directed to seek a personal interview with
Lorenzo, on the pretence of submitting suggestions, propounded by Count
Girolamo, with respect to the acquisition of some _poderi_ near Faenza.
Lorenzo received his visitor with his usual courtesy and hospitality,
and, whilst he wondered why Riario should depute such a redoubtable
warrior to deal with peaceful matters, he never dreamt that foul play
was intended. Montesicco was greatly impressed by the Magnifico's
ingenuousness and nobility of character, and still more by the evident
esteem and affection in which he was held by all classes of the
population. He earnestly reconsidered the bargain he had made: "I
resolved," he said in his confession, "that my sword should not slay
that just man."
The counsels at Montughi were divergent and acrimonious. At length a
resolution was agreed to, as offering a suitable and secure locality for
the perpetration of the deed in contemplation, namely, to invite Lorenzo
to Rome in the name of Sixtus. Such a step would be regarded as a proof
that the Pope no longer opposed Lorenzo's government, but that a _modus
vivendi_ had been reached, agreeable to all parties. Giuliano was to be
included in the invitation as well. Of course the hope was entertained
that a favourable opportunity would be afforded, during the Papal
hospitalities, for the murder of the two brothers.
The Archbishop took the lead in all these deliberations--he and Giacopo
de' Pazzi were boon companions. "They made no profession of any virtue,"
wrote Ser Varillas, in his _Secret History of the Medici_, "either moral
or Christian; they played perpetually at dice, swore confoundedly, and
showed no respect for religion."
Confident in the general support of all the members of his family, in
any demonstration against the hated Medici, he took into his personal
confidence his brother, Giacopo de' Salviati--"an obscure, sordid
man"--and his nephew, Giacopo--"a wastrel and a fanatical
anti-Medicean."
Among the trustworthy Florentine confederates the Archbishop enrolled
Giacopo, son of the famous scholar, Poggio Gucchio de' Bracciolini,
originally a protégé of Lorenzo, but "dismissed his service for
insolence and rapacity"; Giovanni Perugino, of San Gimignano, a
physician attached to Cavaliere Giacopo's household; Giovanni Domenico,
a bridle-maker and athlete, but "an idle sort of fellow"; and Napoleone
de' Franzesi, a friend of Guglielmo de' Pazzi, Lorenzo's brother-in-law.
Another adherent was Messer Giovanni da Pisa, a notary, but "a factious
and bad man."
Before leaving Rome, Francesco de' Pazzi and the Archbishop had agreed
with Count Girolamo de' Riari to engage the services of two desperadoes
in the pay of the Pope--Bernardo Bandino of the Florentine family of
Baroncelli, "a reckless and a brutal man and a bankrupt to boot," and
Amerigo de' Corsi, "the renegade son of a worthy father,"--Messer
Bernardo de' Corsi of the ancient Florentine house of that ilk. Two
ill-living priests were also added to the roll of the conspirators
--Frate Antonio, son of Gherardo de' Maffei of Volterra, and Frate
Stefano, son of Niccolo Piovano da Bagnore. The former was exasperated
against Lorenzo for the reckless sack of Volterra, and because he had
taken possession of a valuable alum-pit belonging to his family. The
latter was _Vicario_ of Monte Murlo, an upstart Papal précis-writer,
whose family was plebeian and employed upon Pazzi property in that
locality; he was "a man steeped in crime and a creature of Cavaliere
Giacopo de' Pazzi."
So many having been admitted into the secret of the conspiracy, it
became a matter of urgent importance that no delay should arise in the
fulfilment of the design; the fear of espionage and leakage was ever
present to the minds of the leaders. But what to do, and where, and how,
baffled all their ingenuity. At last a lead came, quite unexpectedly
from Sixtus himself.
At Pisa was a youth, studying law and philosophy--Raffaelle Sansoni--the
son of Count Girolamo's only sister, just sixteen years of age, and
"very tender in the heart of the Pope." Early in 1478 Sixtus had
preconised him Cardinal of San Giorgio, and added the honour of Legate
for Archbishop Salviati's induction to that See--the richest, by the
way, in all Italy.
The boy Cardinal, in April, was directed, by Sixtus, to make a progress
to Imola on a visit to his uncle and aunt, and to take Florence on his
way, for the purpose of paying his respects to Lorenzo. There was, of
course, much more in this apparently innocent proceeding than appeared
at first view. Francesco de' Pazzi at once obtained Cavaliere Giacopo's
permission to offer the hospitality of his villa to his youthful
eminence and his suite.
Montesicco was ordered to furnish an escort of cavalry in the name of
the Pope--"men who were perfectly trustworthy and prepared to carry out
whatever commands they received."
After the cavalcade had set forth, Francesco sent a message to Lorenzo
de' Medici, suggesting that it might be agreeable to all parties if he
could see his way to entertain the Cardinal. Both he and the Archbishop,
who was in the company of the Cardinal, knew very well that the
proposition would be cordially entertained by the hospitable Magnifico.
As they had anticipated, no sooner had the news reached Florence that
the distinguished visitors were approaching the city, than a dignified
deputation of _Signori_ set out to meet them, conveying a courteous
invitation to be Lorenzo's guests at Fiesole.
A splendid reception was followed by a noble entertainment, whereat all
the more notable dignitaries of the city and the principal members of
the Platonic Academy assisted. Among the guests of honour were
Archbishop Francesco de' Salviati, with the Ambassadors--Giovanni
Morino, representing Ferrante, King of Naples; Filippo Sagramoro, the
Duke of Milan; and Ercole di Bendio, the Duke of Ferrara. In special
attendance upon Lorenzo, and of ambassadorial rank, were the Cavalieri
Agnolo della Stufa, Luigi de' Guicciardini, Bernardo de' Buongirolami,
and Buongiano de' Gianfigliazzi, and others.
The conspirators were in a state of the highest expectation that
Montesicco and his lieutenant would have no difficulty in finding
opportunities to effect their dastardly purpose during the festivities.
They were doomed to disappointment, for at the last moment, and when the
banquet was in progress, it was remarked that Giuliano was absent--he
was indisposed and unable to attend the function!
* * * * *
The Sunday following, 26th April, happened to be the name-day of the
Cardinal, and he expressed a wish to hear High Mass in Santa Maria del
Fiore. Lorenzo announced his intention of personally conducting his
eminence to the Duomo, and requested him to honour the Domina Clarice
and himself by attending a State dinner at the Medici Palace, in the Via
Larga, at the conclusion of the ceremony.
This was much to the mind of the confederates, for, surely, there would
be a favourable opportunity for the execution of the plot. In secret
session it was arranged that, at the moment of the Elevation of the
Host, Giovanni Battista da' Montesicco should stab Lorenzo, whilst
Francesco de' Pazzi and Bernardo Bandino should fall upon Giuliano.
The Condottiere, however, firmly refused to commit the double crime of
sacrilege and murder, and, point-blank, declined all further share in
the conspiracy. Here was an entirely unlooked-for situation, and an
alternative plan was not easy to arrange. Francesco de' Pazzi seemed
inclined to step into the breach, but detestation of Lorenzo checked his
ardour--he would not soil his hands with the blood of such a
contemptible tyrant, a menial should administer the blow! There was no
lack of volunteers ready to take Montesicco's place, but excessive
caution was requisite that no prominent Florentine conspirator should be
chosen, lest suspicion should be aroused.
Finally the two clerical members of the conspiracy, Frati Antonio and
Stefano, were entrusted with the grim duty. The appointment was quite
the best that could be made, because, at the Cathedral, Lorenzo and his
immediate entourage would be placed with the clergy, within the choir,
whereas to the Pazzi and the other confederates places would be assigned
outside the screen, among the unofficial congregation.
Everything was in order, the great bell of the Duomo was sounding its
invitation, and the sacred building was packed with worshippers and
spectators. In full state Lorenzo, accompanied by Domina Clarice and
their Court, led Cardinal Sansoni to his chair of estate by the high
altar.
If, as he himself affirmed, Lorenzo was deprived of the pleasure of
smell, he had compensation in the greater acuteness of the other four
senses, and it must have struck his keen eyes, as he passed to his
place, that there seemed to be an unusually large muster of adherents of
the Pazzi and Salviati. Probably he reflected that they were there armed
in honour of the Cardinal, who was the guest of Cavaliere Giacopo and
under the guidance of Archbishop Francesco, as deputy of his Holiness
the Pope.
In the vast congregation everybody of importance in Florence was
assembled, with two notable exceptions--the mother and the only brother
of Lorenzo il Magnifico. The Domina Lucrezia, who had suddenly retired
from the prominent position she held at the Court of her son, remained
at Careggi with the venerable Madonna Contessina, Cosimo's widow, upon
whom she waited with the utmost devotion.
The other absentee was, once more, Giuliano! Consternation seized upon
the conspirators, for the slaughter would not be complete without the
shedding of his blood.
The preliminary anthems were being sung as the procession of the
celebrant of the Mass, with his sacred ministers moved from the New
Sacristy, and every head was bowed before the symbol of the cross.
Hesitation on the part of the confederates meant ruin, and, perhaps,
death: this no one knew better than Francesco de' Pazzi. Beckoning to
Bernardo Bandino, he led the way to the north door of the Cathedral, and
hurried off with him to the Medici Palace, not many yards away.
Asking to see the Lord Giuliano, the porter led them into the courtyard,
and presently the groom of the chamber conducted them into the young
prince's apartment. Giuliano was nearly dressed, and his valet was
giving some final touches to his abundant brown hair and to his robes.
"Hasten, my lord, the Mass is in saying, or you will be too late,"
exclaimed Francesco, "we have come to conduct you to the Duomo."
Giuliano was in a gleeful mood, and joked his visitors upon their
unexpected attentions. At length he cried out: "Lead on, Pazzo--Medico
will follow!"
Taking him in his humour, Francesco slipped his arm round Giuliano's
waist--apparently as a mark of good-fellowship, but really for the
purpose of feeling whether he was wearing armour under his blue velvet
tunic. With Bandino on the other side, the three made the rest of their
way through the dense crowd in the Via Larga, being greeted respectfully
by old and young, though many wondered at "_Il bel Giulio's_" unwonted
companions.
Entering the Duomo, the three stood a moment whilst a clear course was
made for Giuliano to the centre of the congregation. Lorenzo and the
clergy and dignitaries within the choir were already upon their knees,
ready to prostrate themselves as the celebrant held aloft the Sacred
Host. Near Lorenzo were Giovanni de' Tornabuoni, his uncle,--famous for
his wealth, influence at Rome, and his probity,--Antonio and Lorenzo de'
Cavalcanti, Lorenzo de' Tornabuoni, Marco de' Vespucci, and Filippo
degli Strozzi, Chamberlains of Honour, and other distinguished
Florentines and the foreign ambassadors.
No sooner had Giuliano reached the entrance to the choir and was about
to genuflect, than Francesco de' Pazzi, who had followed him closely,
whipped out his sword, at the very moment of the Elevation, and ran the
devout prince, through the back! At the same time Bandino leaped upon
him and stabbed him repeatedly in the breast!
It was all the work of an instant, and Giuliano fell over upon his side,
his crimson life's blood ebbing swiftly out of nineteen gaping wounds
and dyeing his scarlet robe deep purple. Francesco's frenzy was
diabolical, for he leaped upon the still quivering body of his victim,
and stabbed him again and again--wounding his own thigh in his fury!
Bandino next attacked Francesco Nori, a chief agent or manager of the
Medici bank, a man of renown and honour, who vainly threw himself
forward to shield his unhappy young patron, and he cut him down to the
ground. With a filthy execration, he raised the dripping weapon in the
air, prepared for yet another victim.
Meanwhile the two perjured priests, who, by the mock grace of their
Order were placed within the choir, had taken up positions immediately
behind Lorenzo, as though to render him assistance in the divine
service, suddenly attacked him with daggers, but unskilfully. Lorenzo
scrambled to his feet, and, casting his heavy mantle of State over his
shoulders, drew his sword in self-defence. Turning to see who his
opponents were, he received a scratch in the neck from Stefano's steel.
Then, from the raised dais, he descried the tumult at the choir gates,
whilst cries of "_Il Giuliano e morto_" reached his ears!
Desperadoes were struggling with the clergy and the acolytes by the
great lectern, and calling out his name for vengeance. One, more
murderous than the rest, was scaling the low sanctuary wall, holding his
gory dagger in the air, and making for the chairs of estate--it was
Bernardo Bandino. Commending the Domina Clarice to the care of his
uncle, Lorenzo passed hurriedly up the steps of the altar and gained the
New Sacristy, followed closely by the two Cavalcanti, who were battling
with the infuriated Bandino and his confederates--"_Abbasso il
Lorenzo_," they yelled.
Escaping through the doorway, Luca della Robbia's great bronze gates
were slammed to, by Angelo Poliziano, almost crushing Antonio
Cavalcanti, who fell with a deep wound in his shoulder, and actually
flinging to the ground, outside in the aisle, the raging, baffled
Bandino. "Then arose," wrote Filippo Strozzi, in his family
_Ricordi_--he was an eye-witness of the tragedy--"a great tumult in the
church. Messer Bongiano and other knights, with whom I was conversing,
were stupefied, one fled hither and another thither, loud shouts filled
the building, and the hands of friends of the Pazzi and Salviati all
held gleaming weapons.... The young Cardinal remained alone, crouching
by the high altar, until he was led away by some priests into the Old
Sacristy, whence he was escorted by two of the 'Eight,' with a strong
bodyguard, to the Palazzo del Podesta."
Inside the New Sacristy it was discovered that Lorenzo's wound was
serious enough to call for immediate treatment, and one of his devoted
pages, young Antonio de' Ridolfi, sucked it for fear of poison. The
great heavy metal doors were incessantly battered from without, but no
one dared to open them, and Lorenzo remained where he was until the
hubbub in the Duomo appeared to be abating. Then another page, Sismondo
della Stufa, climbed up into the organ gallery, whence he could look
into the church, and reported that none but friends of the Medici
remained, and they were crying out for Lorenzo to accept their escort to
the palace. So the Magnifico departed.
All the while the great bell of the Palazzo Vecchio was booming out its
dread summons for the city trained bands and the armed members of the
Guilds to assemble for the defence of the city and the maintenance of
their liberties. Loud cries of "_Liberta!_" "_Liberta!_" rolled up the
street, drowned by a great chorus of "_Evviva le Palle!_" "_Abasso i
Traditori!_" The whole city was in an uproar and blood was being spilt
on every side.
What had happened was tragically this. Whilst one half of the
conspirators was told off to strike the fatal blow, the other half was
directed to rally round Archbishop Salviati, who, by the way, made some
excuse for not assisting ministerially at the Mass, but took up his
station close to the north door of the Duomo. Directly they saw Giuliano
struck to the ground, they made all haste to the Palazzo Vecchio, and
demanded an interview with Messer Cesare de' Petrucci, the _Gonfaloniere
di Giustizia_, who had been detained by urgent matters in the Courts.
When Messer Petruccio enquired the nature of their business, the
Archbishop replied: "We are come, all the family of Salviati, to pay our
respects to the _Gonfaloniere_, as in duty bound." Messer Cesare was at
lunch, but, rising from table, he welcomed the Archbishop, who entered
the apartment alone. He asked him to be speedy, as he had to join the
banquet to the Cardinal di San Giorgio almost immediately.
Salviati said he was the bearer of his family's greetings to the
_Gonfaloniere_, and also of a private Brief to him from the Pope. His
manner seemed so strange, and his errand so irregular, that Petruccio's
suspicions were aroused, and raising the arras, he saw the passage was
filled with armed men. At once he called the palace guard to arrest the
intruders, and caused every door of exit to be locked.
The object, of course, of the Archbishop and those with him was to seize
the person of the _Gonfaloniere_ and possess themselves of the Banner of
Justice--that they might rouse the citizens to fight in its defence.
On the contrary, the people were for the Medici, and "_Palle!_"
"_Palle!_" prevailed. Noting that the Salviati did not leave the palace,
and that the guards had been withdrawn from the gate and every door was
bolted, the populace broke into the building, rescued the
_Gonfaloniere_, and the _Signori_ with him, and seized the persons of
the intruders.
Without more ado they ran the miscreants, Francesco, Giacopo, and
Giacopo di Giacopo de' Salviati, Giacopo de' Bracciolini, and Giovanni
da Perugia, up to the lantern of the Campanile, and, thrusting their
bodies through the machicolations, hung them head downwards! Others of
the party and some of the Cardinal's servants, who had accompanied the
Archbishop, were flung from the windows.
Cavaliere Giacopo de' Pazzi was neither at the Duomo, nor did he
accompany the Archbishop to the Palazzo Vecchio. His part was to await
news from Salviati that he had seized the _Gonfaloniere_ and the
palace, and then to ride fully armed with a retinue of mercenaries and
Montesicco's bodyguard of the Cardinal to the Piazza della Signoria.
Without awaiting the signal he advanced, raising the cry "_Liberta!_"
"_Liberta!_" but none rallied to his side.
Instead, he and his escort were pelted with stones and, on arriving in
the Piazza, he beheld the gruesome human decoration of the Campanile.
Without a moment's hesitation, spurring his horse, he rode swiftly
towards the Porta della Croce, and set off into the open country--a
fugitive!
Francesco de' Pazzi, after the slaughter of Giuliano, escaped to his
uncle's house, and stripping himself, received attention to his wound,
which was of a very serious nature. He was not, however, left very long
in peace, for the cry had gone forth in the streets--"Death to the
traitors!" "Down with the Pazzi and the Salviati!" "Fire their houses!"
The sword, still reeking red with the bluest blood of Florence, was
swiftly crossed by the sword of retribution. Francesco was dragged
forth, naked as he was from his bed, buffeted, pelted, and spat upon,
they thrust him with staves, weapons, hands and feet, right through the
Piazza della Signoria; up they forced him to the giddy gallery of the
Campanile, and then, flinging his bleeding, battered body out among his
bloodthirsty comrades, they left him to dangle and to die with them
there! The Archbishop, still in his gorgeous vestments, turned in
fury, as he hung head downwards in that ghastly company, and, seizing
his fiendish confederate, fixed his teeth in his bare breast, and so the
guilty pair expiated their hellish rage--unlovely in their lives,
revolting in their deaths!
* * * * *
Poor Giuliano's corpse was left weltering in his blood, where he had
been done to death, outside the choir screen of the Duomo. At length he
was picked up tenderly by the good _Misericordia_. His terrible wounds
were reverently washed and his godlike body prepared for sepulture. News
of his assassination had been swiftly carried out to Careggi, and Domina
Lucrezia, bracing herself for the afflicting sight, hastened to lay his
fair head in her lap, a very real replica of "_La Pietà_"--Blessed Mary
and her Son.
Ah! how she and the women who bore her company wept for the beloved
dead. Ah! how with tender fingers they counted each gaping wound. Ah!
how gently they cut off locks of his rich hair, as memorials of a sweet
young life.
They buried Giuliano that same evening, with all the honours due to his
rank, amid the tears of an immense concourse of people--stayed for a
while from their savage man-hunt. To the Medici shrine of San Lorenzo
they bore him--the yellow light of the wax candles revealing the tombs
of Cosimo and Piero.
"There was not a citizen," says Macchiavelli, "who, armed or unarmed,
did not go to the palace of Lorenzo in this time of trouble, to offer
him his person and his property--such was the position and the affection
that the Medici had acquired by their prudence and their liberality."
Lorenzo came out on the loggia, and addressed the people massed in the
street. He thanked them for their devotion and assistance, but entreated
them, for his dear, dead brother's sake, to abstain from further
atrocities and to disperse to their homes in peace.
Nevertheless, all the Pazzi and Salviati were proclaimed "_Ammoniti_"
and they were pursued from house to house, whilst the peasants took up
the hue and cry in the _contado_. Bleeding heads and torn limbs were
everywhere scattered in the streets; door-posts and curb-stones were
dashed with gore; men and women and the children, too, were all
relentless avengers of "_Il bel Giulio's_" blood. It is said that one
hundred and eighty stark corpses were borne away by the merciful
_Misericordia_ and buried secretly!
Cavaliere Giacopo, who had escaped into the hilly country of the
Falterona, near the source of the Arno, was recognised by a couple of
countrymen, who were frequenters of the markets in Florence. They seized
him and took him to the city gate, where they sold him for fifty gold
florins. His shrift was short, for his purchasers, adherents of the
Medici, hacked off his head in the street, and carried it upon a pole to
the Ponte Vecchio! Buried at Santa Croce, in the chapel of the Pazzi,
his mutilated body was not left long in its grave. It was pulled up,
denuded of the shroud, and, with a rope tied round the feet, dragged by
men and women and even children to the Lung' Arno, and pitched, like a
load of refuse, into the dusky river!
Several of the arch-conspirators hid for a while in various places,
mostly in convents, but their time came for punishment. The two priests,
Antonio and Stefano, were, two days after the tragedy in the Duomo,
brought out of the cellars of the _Badia_ of the Benedictines at Santa
Firenze, and killed, not swiftly and mercifully, but tortured and
mutilated to the satisfaction of the rabble.
Bernard Bandino, after picking himself up at the New Sacristy doors,
immediately realised the failure of the conspiracy, and, wise man that
he was, put his own safety before all other considerations. He worked
his way through the struggling crowd in the Cathedral and got out by the
south portal. Luckily enough, the Cardinal's horse had been left
tethered by its affrighted groom hard by, so without awaiting news from
the Archbishop, he vaulted into the saddle and made off at a hand gallop
to the Porta Santa Croce.
With more cunning than Giacopo had shown, he made, not to the Tuscan
hills, but to the Tuscan sea, and reached Corneto just in time to board
a ship bound for the East, and at the point of weighing anchor. At
Galata he went ashore and communicated with Sixtus, who sent him a
goodly sum of money and sundry Papal safeguards, with his blessing!
There he lay hid for many weeks, but, as luck would have it, one day he
came out of his lair in a Turkish divan, and encountered an agent of the
Medici, who recognised him, followed him, and charged him before the
Pasha. Put in irons by the Sultan's command, communication was made with
Lorenzo. An envoy was despatched to Constantinople, to whom the wretch
was handed, and, two months after his crimes in Santa Maria del Fiore,
his living body was added to the string of stinking corpses, upon the
side of the Campanile, which still dangled in their iron chains, betwixt
earth and heaven, rained on and withered by the elements, and fed upon
by carrion!
All the seven sons of Piero de' Pazzi were banished for life. They seem
to have had no very intimate knowledge of the conspiracy; indeed, they
were all away from Florence, except the fourth, Renato, and he was
beheaded "for not having revealed the plot, he being privy to the
treachery of his uncle Giacopo and his cousin Francesco."
Renato, indeed, tried to escape, knowing that he was implicated,
although not engaged in the plot, but the garrison of Radicofani
discovered him and his hiding-place, and he was despatched under guard
to Florence. Giovanni de' Pazzi, Francesco's brother, who had married
Beatrice Buonromeo, hid, for a time, in the monastery of Degli Angeli,
and then, with his wife, was banished to the castle of Volterra, where
he died in 1481. It does not appear that he took any active part in the
plot, although his wronging by Lorenzo was the spark which fired the
whole conspiracy.
Guglielmo de' Pazzi, the husband of Bianca de' Medici, Lorenzo and
Giuliano's sister, was protected by _Il Magnifico_, and allowed to
reside in a villa twelve miles outside Florence.
Napoleone de' Franzesi, alone of all the conspirators, effected his
escape, but Piero de' Vespucci, father-in-law to "_La bella
Simonetta_"--"_Il bel Giulio's_" _innamorata_,--who assisted him, was
sentenced to two years' imprisonment in the Stinche, with a heavy fine.
Giovanni Battista da Montesicco's fate was, perhaps, the only one which
excited commiseration, even from the point of view of the Medici. A
soldier of fortune, his weapon was at your command, did you but fill his
pouch with ducats of Rome or florins of Florence. To him it mattered not
whether the adventure partook of romance and espionage, or of intrigue
and murder. Unlike many of his profession, he was a religious man, and
just. He drew back from his bargain as soon as he had experience of
Lorenzo's character, and he refused point-blank to slay him in a spot
"where Christ could see him," as he said. It does not appear that he
was inside the Cathedral that dread April morning, but remained on watch
to see what transpired. On the defeat of the conspiracy he fled, with
many more, right out of Tuscany. Agents of the Medici, however, pursued
him and, having captured him, dragged him back to Florence. Before the
Lords of the _Signoria_ he made confession of what he knew of the
conspiracy and of his own part therein. On 4th May, just seven days
after the tragedy, he paid the penalty of his misplaced devotion, and he
was hanged within the Palace of the Podesta.
Two arch-conspirators are still to be accounted for, Pope Sixtus IV. and
Count Girolamo de' Riari! The former never expressed the least regret or
concern at the tragic occurrences in Florence, but openly deplored the
failure of his scheme to replace Lorenzo by Girolamo. Furthermore, he
issued a "Bull," which began: "Iniquitatis filius et perditionis
alumnus," and ended by anathema of Lorenzo, whereby he was
excommunicated, and all Florence placed under an Interdict!
Moreover, he laid violent hands upon Donato Acciaiuolo, the Florentine
ambassador, and, but for the prompt intervention of the envoys of Venice
and Milan, would have cast him, uncharged, into the dungeons of the
castle of Sant Angelo. The majority of the Florentine merchants in Rome
were arrested, their property confiscated, and, to add insult to
injury, Sixtus demanded from the _Signoria_ the immediate banishment of
Lorenzo. He expressed his keen sorrow for the deaths of the Pazzi and
Salviati, his "devoted sons and trusty counsellors." He spoke of the
execution of the Archbishop as "a foul murder caused by the tyranny of
the Medici," and he put a price upon the head of Cesare de' Petrucci,
the _Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_!
As for Count Girolamo, who had, coward-like, kept in the background--he
was probably little more than a complacent tool in the hands of the
pontiff--he was permitted to leave Florence in the train of the young
Cardinal, immediately before the reception of the Interdict. He returned
to Rome and abandoned himself to a life of profligacy; his palace became
a brothel and a gambling hell, and there he lived for ten years,
dishonoured and diseased. His retributive death was by the hand of an
assassin in 1488.
The failure of the plot, whilst it added tremendously to the popularity
of the Medici and strengthened still more Lorenzo's position, threw the
Pope frantically into the arms of the King of Naples. He persuaded him
to join in a combined and powerful invasion of Tuscany. At Ironto the
Neapolitan troops crossed the frontier and encamped, whilst the Papal
forces moved on from Perugia and Siena.
Lorenzo at once called a Parliament to consider the position, and to
take steps for the protection of the city and the defence of the State.
He addressed the assembly as follows: "I know not, Most Excellent Lords
and Most Worshipful Citizens, whether to mourn or to rejoice with you
over what has happened. When I think of the treachery and hatred
wherewith I have been attacked, and my brother slain, I cannot but
grieve; but when I reflect with what eagerness and zeal, with what love
and unanimity, on the part of the whole city, my brother has been
avenged and myself defended, I am moved not merely to rejoice, but even
to glory in what has transpired. For, if I have found that I have more
enemies in Florence than I had thought I had, I have at the same time
discovered that I have warmer and more devoted friends than I knew....
It lies with you, my Most Excellent Lords, to support me still, or to
throw me over.... You are my fathers and protectors, and what you wish
me to do, I shall do only too willingly...."
All the hearers were deeply affected by Lorenzo's oration, some indeed
shed tears, but all vowed to support him in resisting the enemy at the
gate. "Take courage," they cried, "it behoves thee, Lorenzo, to live and
die for the Republic!"
At the same time they enrolled a bodyguard of twelve soldiers, whose
duty it should be to accompany Lorenzo whenever he went abroad, and to
protect him in his palace or at his villas. Doubtless they thought the
Pope might resort to further secret measures for the slaughter of his
enemy.
Thus ended the terrible "Conspiracy of the Pazzi."