IPPOLITO--"_Il Cardinale_."
ALESSANDRO--"_Il Negro_."
LORENZINO--"_Il Terribile_."
_The First Tyrannicide_
"Go at once, ye base-born bastards, or I will be the first to thrust you
out--Begone!"
These were the passionate words of the proudest and most ambitious
princess that ever bore the great name of Medici--Clarice, daughter of
Piero di Lorenzo--"Il Magnifico," and wife of Filippo di Filippo degli
Strozzi--"Il Primo Gentiluomo del Secolo."
They were spoken on 16th May 1527, in the Long Gallery of the Palazzo
Medici in Florence, and were addressed to two youths--sixteen and
thirteen years old respectively, who shrank with terror at the aspect
and the vehemence of their contemner. Clarice was a virago, both in the
Florentine sense of man's equal in ability and action, and in the sense
of the present day--a woman with a mighty will and endowed with physical
strength to enforce it.
The two "bastards" were Ippolito, the natural son of Giuliano de'
Medici, Duke of Nemours, and Alessandro, the so-called illegitimate son
of Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, the virtual ruler of Florence.
The lads were not alone in their exposure to the wrath of Madonna
Clarice, for, sitting in his chair of estate, was Silvio Passerini,
Cardinal of Cortona, their Governor, and Pope Clement VII.'s Regent of
the Republic.
"Begone"! Well had it been if the Cardinal had taken his charges right
away from Florence never to return.
* * * * *
"The splendour, not of Tuscany only, but of the whole of Italy has
disappeared!" wrote Benedetto Dei, in his _Cronica_. "The Burial
Confraternity of the Magi laid his body in the sacristy of San Lorenzo,
and the next day the funeral obsequies were held without pomp--as is the
custom of the _Signori_--but quite simply. Truly it may be said that
however gorgeous the ceremonies might have been, they would have proved
altogether too mean for so great a man."
This relates to the death of Lorenzo il Magnifico, which occurred on 8th
April 1492. That year is one of the most memorable in modern history:
Columbus discovered America; Roderigo Borgia was elected Pope; Charles
VIII. became the most prominent political figure in Europe; and the
power of Florence had reached its zenith.
She was not only the Head of the Tuscan League and the chief Republic in
Europe, but also the first of modern states. If the spirit of the
Greeks inspired the physical prowess of the Romans, the enlightenment of
the Florentines brought forth the renascence of the arts and crafts of
Italy and of the world.
Cosimo, "_Il Padre della Patria_," laid the foundation-stone of Medici
renown in the iron grip of his powerful personality, and Piero, his son,
maintained unimpaired its eminence by his urbanity and good sense. To
Lorenzo, however, was reserved the distinction of placing upon that
mighty column its magnificent copestone, and he adorned it with the
sevenfold balls of his escutcheon, whilst on the summit he held unfurled
the great Red Cross Oriflamme of Florence.
Lorenzo left three sons and three daughters to uphold that ensign and to
exhibit the glory of their house. To the first-born, Piero, came the
great inheritance of his father's place and power, and no man ever
entered into a greater possession,--a possession, so firm, so
unquestioned and so portentous, that nothing seemed likely to disturb
its equilibrium or to sully its triumph.
But, "the son of his father is not always his father's son," and this
quaint saying is perfectly true of Piero de' Medici--a youth of
twenty-one years of age--the exact age of his father on his succession
to the Headship of the State. Physically the young prince was well
favoured, he was cultured and, like his unfortunate uncle Giuliano, he
was an adept in all gentlemanly exercises.
Alas, he took not the slightest interest in politics, nor in the
business affairs of his house, and the proverbial urbanity and
pushfulness of the Medici were alike absent. Whilst he lightly handed
over to Piero Dorizzi di Bibbiena, his Chancellor, the conduct of public
affairs, he listened to the proud persuasions of his mother, to whom
anything like commercial pursuits were abhorrent. Clarice d'Orsini's
forbears had all been soldiers, Lorenzo's merchants, that made all the
difference in Rome's degenerate days.
Of course there was no Florentine girl good enough to be the bride of
young Piero de' Medici--at least, Domina Clarice, his mother, decided
so. She was the proudest of the proud, and as ignorant and prejudiced as
she was haughty. Her son could only wed a Roman princess, and, by
preference, a daughter of the Orsini; consequently Alfonsina, daughter
of Roberto d'Orsini, Clarice's cousin, entered Florence in state on 22nd
May 1488, for her magnificent nuptials with the young _Capo della
Repubblica_.
The same year the Domina died. Her influence had not been for good, and
her want of tact and her unpopularity caused Lorenzo much anxiety.
Perhaps, however, a prince of his conspicuous and, in many ways, unique
ability, was better mated with an unsympathetic spouse than with a woman
who could, from parity of gifts, enter into his feelings and
aspirations. He lived for the magnanimous renown of Florence--she for
the selfish prominence of her family.
Francesco de' Guicciardini wrote of Piero de' Medici thus: "He was born
of a foreign mother, whereby Florentine blood got mixed, and he acquired
foreign manners and bearing, too haughty for our habits of life." The
prince gave up most of his time to pleasure and amusement with the young
nobles of his court, and encouraged the aims and ambitions of the
self-seeking scions of his mother's family. At a single bound the
immense personal popularity of Lorenzo, his father, disappeared.
Florentines took the young ruler's measure, and he was found wanting.
The imprisonment and threatened execution of his cousins, Lorenzo and
Giuliano de' Medici, was a flagrant mistake. The three had quarrelled
about Lorenzo il Magnifico's pretty daughter, Luigia, but it was a
baseless rumour that she had been poisoned. Bad blood was made always in
Florence by such romances and such interference.
In September 1494, Charles VIII. crossed the Alps, and, whilst
Savonarola fanatically hailed his coming to Florence as "God's Captain
of Chastisement," politicians of all parties looked to Piero to show a
bold front and resist the French invader as commander-in-chief of a
united Italian army.
Piero made no sign, but went on playing _pallone_ in the Piazza Santa
Croce. The enemy seized the Florentine fortresses of Sargana, Sarzanello
and Pietra Santa. The news sobered the headstrong, self-indulgent prince
for the moment, and then craven fear seized his undisciplined mind. In
a panic he mounted his horse and, attended only by two officers of the
city guard, he galloped off to King Charles' camp.
In the royal tent Piero fell upon his knees, craved forgiveness for
Florence's opposition, and pleaded for generous terms for himself and
his fellow-countrymen. Charles demanded the cession absolutely of the
three fortresses, with the cities of Pisa and Livorno, and with them the
"loan" of 200,000 gold florins! Piero's report was listened to in solemn
silence by the _Signoria_, but when its tenor was conveyed to the
concourse of citizens, outside the Palazzo Vecchio, cries of
"_Liberta!_" "_Liberta!_" rent the air.
When Piero rode out of the Piazza, accompanied by an armed escort, he
was met by an exasperated mob who assailed him with missiles and stones.
The big bell, up in the Campanile, began to speak its ominous summons,
and, in reply to faint cries of "_Palle!_" "_Palle!_" renewed shouts of
"_Liberta!_" "_Liberta!_" proclaimed the abdication of the Medici.
A Parliament was convened and five ambassadors were appointed to treat
with Charles and revoke Piero's surrender. One of them, speaking for the
rest, denounced him as "No longer fit to rule the State"--it was Piero
de' Capponi. The _Signoria_ passed a sentence of expulsion upon Piero
and his brothers, and placed a reward of two thousand gold florins upon
his head, and five thousand more, if he and Giovanni, his Cardinal
brother, were captured together.
Needless to say, before the decree was promulgated Piero and Giovanni
flew precipitately through the Porta San Gallo, upon their way to
Bologna, at the head of a few mercenaries, and with them went Piero's
chancellor.
An enraged mob of citizens rushed pell-mell into the Via Larga, sacked
the Palazzo Medici, and scattered the treasures which Piero and Lorenzo
had gathered together. The streets were strewn with costly furniture,
carpets and tapestry, and priceless works of art were either burnt or
broken in pieces. It was not a question of looting but of destruction,
and for eighteen years the building was a mark for obscenities and
imprecations.
The French army marched through the humiliated city, and terror filled
the hearts of the people. Charles occupied a portion of the palace,
which the _Signoria_ hastily put into some sort of order, borrowing or
buying furniture and other articles for his use.
On their knees, an entirely new experience for the proud Florentines,
the _Signoria_ besought the Emperor's clemency. He took a high hand with
them, demanding a huge indemnity and threatening to command his trumpets
to sound for pillage. One man alone asserted his liberty, a man who
throughout Piero's short government had voiced the public
discontent--Piero de' Capponi--the most capable soldier Florence
possessed. Boldly and alone he faced the Conqueror and denounced his
demands. He tore in pieces the fatal document of Piero's capitulation,
flung the pieces in Charles' face, and defied him, saying, "If you sound
your trumpets we shall ring our bells!"
Charles was cowed, he signed a treaty of peace with honourable terms for
Florence, and left the city, after a stormy scene with Savonarola. "Take
heed," the latter said, "not to bring ruin on this city and upon thyself
the curse of God!"
Piero outlived his cowardly surrender and shameful flight three
years--an outcast from his country and a disgrace to his family. He
found an asylum in the house of his wife Alfonsina's father, Roberto
d'Orsini, Count of Tagliacozzo and Alba. In 1502 he entered the service
of the King of France, the enemy of his country, against the Spanish
conquerors of the kingdom of Naples. The French were worsted and took to
their ships at Gaeta. Piero escaped, but his death followed shortly, for
the boat in which he was crossing the River Garigliano, or Liri, near
the famous stronghold of that name, was swamped by the fire of the
Spanish artillery and he was drowned. Cambi, who relates the history,
sententiously winds up his narrative with the apposite words, "Thanks be
to God!"
After Savonarola's death in 1498, Piero de' Soderini was placed at the
head of the Government as _Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_, whilst Piero's
brother, Cardinal Giovanni, took up the leadership of his discredited
party. The terrible sack of Prato in 1512 was an opportunity for the
Medici, which they did not neglect to use to their advantage. In terror
the Florentine Government paid 140,000 gold florins to the Spanish
Viceroy and commander, who made it a condition of his evacuation of
Tuscany, that the Medici should be recalled as private citizens, and be
granted permission to purchase back their forfeited property. On 12th
September of the same year, Giuliano, the third son of Lorenzo il
Magnifico, with his young nephew, Lorenzo, Piero's son, entered
Florence, attended by a small following. He was one of the noblest of
his race, but he was wholly lacking in initiative and energy. He made no
claim to political eminence, and his self-abnegation led to the return
to Florence of his more pushful brother, the Cardinal, who was
accompanied by Giulio de' Medici, the bastard son of the murdered
Giuliano. They installed themselves in the restored palace, assumed much
of the wonted state of their family in bygone days, and were accorded
public recognition and honour.
The following year Cardinal Giovanni was elected Pope as Leo X., and, at
the same time, Giuliano was created Duke of Nemours--a dignity bestowed
by Francis I. of France--and Lorenzo became Duke of Urbino. The
conferring of these titles stirred the rancour of a considerable number
of ambitious _Signori_, and intrigue and plots to upset the rising
fortunes of the Medici were rife. The very next day after the death of
Pope Julius II., Bernardo de' Capponi and Pietro Papolo de' Boscoli were
condemned to be hung within the Palace of the Podesta, for an attempt
upon the lives of Giuliano, Lorenzo, and Giulio de' Medici. Eighteen
accomplices were tortured and many others banished: Niccolo Macchiavelli
was implicated in the conspiracy, but he appears to have escaped
punishment.
Quietly but persistently the power of the great family was recovered.
"The Pope and his Medici" became a proverb throughout Italy: all men
noted their rising fortunes and their bids for power. Giulio was
preconised Cardinal, Giuliano appointed _Gonfaloniere_ of the Papal
army, and Lorenzo became the virtual Head of the Florentine Republic.
Giuliano died in 1516, Lorenzo in 1519, and Pope Leo X. in 1521. The
first left no legitimate offspring, and the second only one daughter,
Caterina, besides a natural son, Alessandro.
* * * * *
Upon the death of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici
hastened to Florence, where he was permitted to assume almost autocratic
control of State affairs. Possibly he was regarded in the light of
Regent for Lorenzo's only legitimate child, Caterina. He had undoubtedly
personal fitness for the post of Chief of the Republic. During the
brief period, barely five months, of his administration, he did very
much to place public interests upon a firm and practical basis.
Very adroitly he played off the "_Ottimati_," under Pietro de' Ridolfi,
against the "_Frateschi_," led by Giacopo de' Salviati, without
identifying himself with either party. Recalled to Rome on the death of
Leo X., he left Cardinal Silvio Passerini of Cortona his deputy: a man
useful as a tool but of no ability or judgment. Adrian VI., who
succeeded to the Papacy, was a weak pontiff, and Rome became a hot-bed
of intrigue and villainy.
A plot to assassinate Cardinal de' Medici failed, and, in 1523, he was,
after many weeks of wrangling, elected Pope, with the title of Clement
VII. In the Vatican, that "refuge for bastards and foundlings," room was
found for two boys, cousins, each the offspring of a Medici father, but
illegitimate. They were brought up under the immediate eye of the Pope,
indeed one of them, the younger, was said to be the son of Clement.
Ippolito, just fourteen years old, was the bastard son of Giuliano de'
Medici, Duke of Nemours. His mother was a noble lady of Urbino, Pacifica
Brandini, but she permitted her child to be exposed in the streets, in a
basket, where he was rescued, and taken into the foundling ward of the
Confraternity of Santa Maria di Piano d'Urbino. There the kindly
Religious gave him the name of "Pasqualino," indicative of the Church
season of Easter, when he entered surreptitiously upon the world's
stage.
When the child was less than two years old the nuns of Santa Maria were
removed to Rome, and they took with them, along with other unfortunates,
little Pasqualino. Upon a visit, which Pope Leo paid to the convent, he
noticed the young boy, and as he smiled and tried to get at his
Holiness, Leo was struck with his good looks and made enquiries about
his origin. In the end, Leo undertook the little fellow's education and
maintained his interest in him, and, moreover, ordered his name to be
changed to Ippolito.
Alessandro--the younger boy--twelve years old, was the son of Lorenzo
de' Medici, created Duke of Urbino in 1536, when the Pope annexed that
principality to the pontifical estates, upon the excommunication of the
rightful sovereign. His mother was a woman of colour, a Tartar
slave-girl, who passed for the wife of a _vetterale_ or courier, in the
pay of the Duke. He was a native of Colle Vecchio, near Riete, in
Umbria, and went by the name of Bizio da Collo, whilst the girl was
simply called Anna. Alessandro, later on, was made to feel the baseness
of his origin, for he was greeted contemptuously as "Alessandro da Colle
Vecchio!" His supposed father, Bizio, died in 1519, but Cardinal Giulio
de' Medici adopted him.
The two boys grew up together at the Vatican, alike in one respect
only, their mutual hatred of each other. They were, indeed, as unlike as
two boys could be. Ippolito, as the child of gentle parents, had an
aristocratic bearing. He was a clever lad and excelled especially in
classical learning, in music and poetry. In appearance he became
remarkably handsome, with polished manners and a fondness for spending
money and for ostentation.
Alessandro, on the other hand, exhibited the attributes of his low-born
mother. Physically well-made, he was dark of skin, with dark, curly
hair, thick lips, and close-set Eastern eyes. His tastes were unrefined.
He had none of Ippolito's gentleness and attractiveness, but in
disposition he was morose, passionate, and cruel. His manners were
marked by abruptness and vulgarity. He was no genius, and refused to
receive the lessons of his masters, and set at defiance all who claimed
authority. Alessandro was a shrewd lad all the same, and became
Clement's inseparable companion--no doubt he was his son!
Everybody noticed the mutual affection between "uncle" and "nephew,"
which gave clear indication of a nearer relationship. Clement's word was
Alessandro's law, and, when the cousins fell out, as they did many times
a day, the interference of their uncle brought peace, but for Ippolito
dissatisfaction, as he was usually ruled to be in the wrong. This boyish
rivalry led to more considerable emulation and the proprieties of the
Papal palace were rudely shaken by the quarrels and the struggles of the
cousins.
They were parted and removed each to a remote portion of the palace,
with separate suites of attendants, and their only meetings took place
in the private apartments of the Pope, and rarely. Thus Ippolito and
Alessandro entered upon their teens with no judicious, kindly, or
formative influences around them. It was said that each boy threw in the
other's face the fact of his illegitimacy, which fawning dependants had
revealed to them. Their environment and associates were most
undesirable, and nothing was done to instil and encourage sentiments of
honour, self-control, truthfulness, and charity. Their initiation into
the hypocrisies of spiritual life and ecclesiastical duty produced
distaste and contempt for religious exercises.
There was yet another protégée of Clement's left upon the world of
mutability and chance--an orphan child, the only issue of Lorenzo, Duke
of Urbino and his wife Maddalena, daughter of Jean de la Tour d'Auvergne
et de Bourbon. Married in 1518, the delicate young mother died in
childbirth the following year, leaving her sweet little baby girl,
Caterina, to the care of her broken-hearted husband.
The future Queen of France was placed with the foundling nuns of the
convent of Santa Lucia in the Via San Gallo. Thence she was removed to
the convent of Santa Caterina di Siena, back to the nuns of Santa Lucia
once more, and then handed over to the charge of the noble convent of S.
Annunziata delle Murate until 1525, when her aunt, Madonna Clarice de'
Medici, wife of Messer Filippo negli Strozzi, was constituted her
guardian and instructress.
Right well the new _governante_ carried out the instructions of Clement,
and she only relinquished her charge when the Pope commanded the young
girl, just eleven years old, to Rome. Apartments were provided for her
and her suite in the Palazzo Medici, where Madonna Lucrezia, Lorenzo il
Magnifico's daughter, and wife of Giacomo de' Salviati, was appointed
her protectress.
Without a mother's care, and tossed about here and there, Caterina grew
up devoid of high principles, and became the toy of every passing
pleasure and indulgence. All the eligible princes of Europe were, in
turn, supposed to be her admirers, and rivals for her hand and fortune.
And truly the last legitimate descendant, as she was, of the great
Cosimo, was a prize in the matrimonial market--if not for her beauty and
her virtues, at all events for her wealth and rank. Indeed, there was a
project, seriously entertained, seeing that the elder line of the Medici
had failed to produce a male heir, of acknowledging Caterina as "_Domina
di Firenze_," with a strong council of Regency to carry on the
government in her name.
This proposal did not gain any favour outside the Papal cabinet: in
Florence it was scouted with derision. Two violent politicians, if not
more, lost their heads over the young girl's destiny--Battista Cei, for
proposing that she should be placed in the lions' den, and Bernardo
Castiglione, for demanding that she should be put upon the streets of
Florence, wearing the yellow badge of woman's shame!
In Rome Caterina conceived at once an invincible repugnance for
Alessandro--her father's son. His appearance, his manner, his language
appalled her; probably she was not long before she knew the story of his
birth. On no account would she speak to him, and, if he entered an
apartment where she happened to be, she rushed out, crying,
"_Negrello--Bastardo!_"
With Ippolito, on the contrary, she was the best of friends. She admired
the good-looking boy, his talents for music, and his skill in
gentlemanly exercises. The Venetian ambassador at the Vatican remarked,
in a letter to his Government: "We have here a little Medici princess,
Caterina, the only child of the late Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino. She and
Don Ippolito, the bastard son of Duke Giuliano, are inseparable
companions. The boy is very fond of his young cousin, whilst she is
devoted to him. She has confidence in nobody else, and she asks him only
for everything she wants." Ultimately, of course, Caterina de' Medici
became Queen of France, as the consort of Henry II.
The trend of affairs in Florence gave Pope Clement grave anxiety, for,
of course, his own personal control became less and less effective upon
his elevation to the Papacy. Accredited representatives of the family
were required to be in residence there for the maintenance of Medici
supremacy. Alas, legitimate male heirs of the senior branch from Cosimo,
"_Il Padre della Patria_," were non-existent, and Giovanni delle Bande
Nere and his family would not, had he been chosen as _Capo della
Repubblica_, consent to be dependent upon Rome.
Clement took counsel with the Florentine ambassadors, who had been sent
to congratulate him upon his elevation. Very adroitly he placed by his
chair of state the two youths, who passed for Medici, and who were "as
dear to him as sons"--Ippolito and Alessandro. In compliment to the
Pope, and certainly not from conviction, the fourteen envoys agreed in
asking him to send the two boys to Florence, under the charge of a
worthy administrator, who should hold the reins of government in
Clement's name.
Delighted with the success of his stratagem, Clement chose the Cardinal
of Cortona, one of his most obedient and faithful creatures, to
accompany Ippolito, nearly sixteen years old, to Florence as
quasi-Regent for the lad. With them went, as Ippolito's chamberlains,
four Florentine youths of good birth who were favourites of the Pope,
Alessandro de' Pucci, Pietro de' Ridolfi, Luigi della Stufa, and Palla
de' Rucellai. The cortege was received in Florence without
demonstrations of any kind; but certainly Ippolito made a very
favourable impression by his good looks and gaiety. The Cardinal and his
companions drew rein first at the Church of the SS. Annunziata, where
they heard Mass, and they then rode on to the renovated Palazzo Medici.
A meeting of the _Signoria_ was convened, and by a narrow majority
Ippolito was declared eligible for the offices of State.
The appointment of Passerini was unfortunate. "He was," writes Benedetto
Varchi, "like most prelates, extremely avaricious; he had neither the
intellect to understand the Florentine character nor the judgment to
manage it, had he understood it." Ippolito assumed at once the style of
"Il Magnifico," and began to display a lust for power and a taste for
extravagance quite unusual in so young a lad. The Cardinal yielded to
every whim, and very soon a goodly number of courtiers rallied round the
handsome youth.
Having launched one of his protégés successfully upon the troubled sea
of Florentine politics, Clement despatched Alessandro, under the care of
Rosso de' Ridolfi, one of his most trustworthy attendants, with little
Caterina de' Medici. They were instructed to report themselves to
Cardinal Passerini, and then without delay to proceed to the Villa
Poggio a Caiano.
This was a very wise arrangement on the part of Clement, in view of the
strenuous rivalry and emphatic dislike the two lads had for each other.
The two were kept apart as they had been at the Vatican, but this led
naturally to the creation of rival parties and rival courts, each of
which acclaimed their respective young leaders as _Il Capo della
Repubblica_ and "_Il Signore di Firenze_." Better far as matters turned
out, had it been deemed sufficient to advance Ippolito alone. His
splendid talents--although linked to fickleness and inconsistency--and
his liberality, appealed to the Florentines, and he might have proved a
second Lorenzo il Magnifico.
The sack of Rome in 1527 and the imprisonment of Clement VII. in the
fortress of Sant Angelo, raised the spirits of the Republicans of
Florence. Niccolo de' Soderini, Francesco de' Guicciardini and Pietro
de' Salviati took up a strong position as leaders of a popular party,
and once more the cry of "_Liberta!_" "_Liberta!_" was raised. Cardinal
Passerini was advised to leave Florence and to take the two lads with
him.
Among those who escaped from Rome were Filippo negli Strozzi and his
wife Clarice. They posted off to Florence, and whilst Filippo temporised
with the Cardinal and with the party of reform on either hand, Clarice
declared openly for the opponents of her own family.
She attended a specially convened meeting of the anti-Medicean party,
and placed her services at their disposal. It was arranged that she
should visit the Cardinal the following day. Dressed superbly, wearing
the family jewels, and conveyed in a State sedan-chair, she proceeded to
the Palazzo Medici--the house of her fathers. Ippolito and Alessandro,
with their tutors and attendants, met her upon the grand staircase, and
conducted her to the presence of the Cardinal.
Standing in the Long Gallery, she poured forth a torrent of scornful
words upon the base-born scions of her family. "My Lord," she cried, "my
Lord, to what a pass has my family sunk. Do you think that any of my
great ancestors would have borne you so long. Alas! that my race has
none but female legitimate offspring." Then turning to the astonished
lads she continued: "You had better both look out for yourselves and go
away before the Cardinal here destroys you and Florence!"
Some of the suite tried to interfere and to pacify the enraged woman,
but to no avail, she went on vehemently to denounce the intrusion of the
two bastards.
"Begone, you who are not of the blood of the Medici, both of you, from a
house and from a city to which neither of you, nor your patron,
Clement--wrongfully Pope and now justly a prisoner in Sant Angelo--have
any legitimate claim, by reason of birth or of merit. Go at once, ye
base-born bastards, or I will be the first to thrust you out!"
Her hearers quailed under her invective, and Passerini humbly promised
to quit the palace, but when Clarice had gone, he sent for Filippo
negli Strozzi and expostulated with him. Filippo's apology was as quaint
as it was effective. "Had she not been," said he, "a woman and a Medici,
he would have administered to her such a public chastisement as would
have gone bad with her!" He, nevertheless, strongly advised the Cardinal
to depart, and he conveyed the intelligence that the lives of the two
lads were by no means secure, and that should anything happen to them,
the Pope would demand them at his hands.
On 29th May 1527, Cardinal Passerini, with Ippolito and Alessandro and
their suite, accompanied by Filippo, rode out to Poggio a Caiano, amid
the execrations of the populace. Thence they departed for Rome, where
the young men lived more or less quietly for two years in Clement's
private apartments at the Vatican.
* * * * *
In spite of Ippolito's superiority of appearance, manners and
attainments, the Pope made no concealment of his preference for
Alessandro. He created him Duke of Citta di Penna--a fief within the
Papal States--and decided that the riches and greatness of the House of
Medici should be continued in Alessandro and not in Ippolito.
"Ippolito," wrote Varillas, "was seized with incredible grief and
indignation, and it seemed to him, that being older, a nearer relation
to the Pope, and better endowed by nature, so rich an inheritance
should rather be his ... either not knowing or not believing the rumours
that Alessandro was Clement's son."
Goaded by what he conceived to be a legitimate ambition, Ippolito posted
off to Florence with the idea of seizing the executive power. Clement
despatched Baccio Valori after him, with entreaties and promises, and
finding that he had no welcome among the Florentines, Ippolito returned
quietly to Rome.
The Pope immediately, and without consulting him, preconised him
Cardinal--greatly to his disgust. He had no wish for ecclesiastical
preferment, he was a soldier at heart, and meant to be ruler of
Florence. Clement noted the young man's partialities--he was only just
twenty years of age, and he encouraged him in his extravagant tastes by
liberally endowing his Cardinalate. A Brief "_In commendam_" was
bestowed upon him, whereby the revenue of all vacant benefices and Papal
dignities, for six months, were transferred to his account. Moreover, in
1529, he was appointed Archbishop of Avignon, Legate of Perugia, and
Administrator of the See of Casale. These fat endowments very
considerably affected Ippolito's position. In Rome he had a Court of
three hundred notable personages of all nations; his most intimate
friends were soldiers and statesmen of renown, and writers and artists
of the highest abilities and fame.
Clement having placated Ippolito, set to work to carry out his plans
for Alessandro. He wrote on his behalf to the Emperor Charles V. to
invite him on his way from Flanders, whither he had travelled to avoid
disputes with Ippolito, to visit the Imperial Court. Charles received
Alessandro with great honour, and expressed his pleasure at greeting the
near relative of the Pope.
A treaty was subsequently signed at Barcelona between Charles and
Clement, whereby it was agreed that Alessandro should espouse Margaret,
Charles' illegitimate daughter, and that Clement should create Florence
a Dukedom in favour of Alessandro. At the same time the Emperor was
asked to intercede between the rival cousins but he naively replied,
"Neither wants liberty but aggrandisement! Let them be."
Alessandro entered Florence on 5th July 1531 accompanied by Giovanni
Antonio Muscettola, envoy and chancellor of the Emperor. He proceeded to
the Palazzo Vecchio, there he read aloud the injunction of Clement,
countersigned by Charles, which established him as Duke of Florence. The
office of _Gonfaloniere di Giustizia_ was abolished, and the _Signoria_
restricted in their powers as merely consultative authorities. At the
same time the Republic was superseded and the citizens allowed to
exercise the franchise only in the election of civil magistrates.
The _coup d'état_ was complete and meekly enough the _Signoria_ declared
that--"Considering the excellent qualities, life and habits of the most
illustrious Duke Alessandro de' Medici, son of the late Magnificent
Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino; and in recognition of the many and great
benefits received, both spiritual and temporal, from the House of
Medici, he was eligible for all the offices of State."
Alessandro at once began to follow the bent of his base inclinations. As
supreme Head of the State he ruled autocratically, and set justice and
decency at defiance. The Florentines abashed by the pass in which they
found themselves, seemed powerless to oppose the Duke's aggression upon
their liberties. That had come to pass against which they had striven
for hundreds of years--Florence was subject to _Il governo d'un solo_.
Significantly enough, Alessandro took as his motto "_Un solo Signore,
una sola Legge_," and this he stuck up all over Tuscany. He applied it
quite autocratically by disarming the citizens, building fortresses,
banishing the disaffected nobles, and confiscating all properties he
coveted. These were but the beginnings of troubles.
Taxes were doubled, every office at court was held by a creature and
toady of the Duke, bribery and corruption of all kinds ruled the State,
and there appeared to be no limit to his lust and rapacity, and no
barrier against the chicanery of his adherents.
Added to all this was the dislocation of public order. Florence became a
hot-bed of immorality and a sink of iniquity. Women were openly
ravished in the streets, the inmates of convents were not spared, men
were wronged and removed suspiciously, the eyes and ears of the children
were assailed by unblushing depravity. The _oubliettes_ of the Bigallo
had their fill of victims.
"Tyrant of Florence" was the designation which best fitted the new
ruler. He destroyed the fabric of society and polluted the sanctity of
family life. Dismay and revenge alternated in the feelings of the
people. Those who dared, began to flock to Ippolito, who, with grim
satisfaction, received at his palace in Rome all disaffected refugees.
Meetings were held at Filippo negli Strozzi's house, and a movement was
set on foot for the overthrow of Alessandro and his dissolute
government. A deputation was sent to the Emperor Charles to complain of
the tyranny of the Duke and to expose his immoral life. This sealed
Ippolito's fate, for Alessandro at once took steps, not only to
checkmate the action of the deputation, but to circumvent the
destruction of his rival.
Clement had of course full knowledge of the condition of affairs in
Florence, and of the increase of hostility between the cousins, but both
he and Paul III., who succeeded him as Pope in 1534, kept Ippolito
engaged in military and diplomatic duties away from Italy. Knowing his
predilection for soldiering, he was despatched, at the head of eight
thousand horsemen, to the assistance of the Emperor against the Turks
who had invaded Hungary under the Sultan Soliman. His valour and ability
were remarkable; and the dash with which he marched, later on, to the
defence of Rome, marked him as a commander of rare distinction.
Returning once more to Rome, he abandoned himself to a career of
debauchery and extravagance. Catillo, his castle-villa at Tivoli, became
the resort of immoral and disreputable persons. The Pope sought to
redress the disorder: he owed much to Ippolito at the time of his
election to the Papacy, which was in a great measure achieved by his
keen advocacy, so he sent him on embassies to the Emperor at Barcelona,
and to the King of Naples, under promise of rich revenues.
At the castle of Fondi, near the little town of Itri in the Neapolitan
province of Terra di Lavoro, eight miles from the fortress of Gaeta, and
overlooking the high road from Rome to Naples, was living, in strict
retirement, a girl greatly beloved by the Cardinal. Giulia Gonzaga, such
was her name, was the attractive and clever daughter of Messer
Vespasiano Colonna, whose brother, Cavaliere Stefano, had taken a
prominent and honourable part in the defence of Florence during the
memorable siege of 1529-1530.
Giulia was certainly only one of the many eligible maidens proposed at
various times as a wife for the young ecclesiastic; but, in her case,
the betrothal was all but effected, and with the approval of Pope
Clement, whose conscience smote him when he saw that his handsome and
gay young nephew was anything but disposed to observe the conventions of
his Order.
Nevertheless, the lovers were parted, and Giulia was confined in the
conventual fortress, and carefully guarded. Pope Paul, it appears, did
not relax the imprisonment of the unfortunate girl, as he surely ought
to have done, in recognition of the Cardinal's successful advocacy of
his own advancement.
Naturally, poor Giulia pined and pined for her lover with whom, she was
of course forbidden to correspond. At length her health gave way, and
she appealed to her father to obtain just one interview with Ippolito
before she died. Reluctantly permission was given by the Pope, and
Ippolito, after the completion of his diplomatic duties in Naples,
sought the neighbourhood of his _innamorata_; ostensibly upon the plea
that his health needed the rest and change which the invigorating air of
the _Foresteria_, a sanatorium at Itri, offered.
Among Giulia's attendants was an old retainer of Alessandro de' Medici,
still devoted to his service, and mindful of youthful escapades together
at the Vatican. Him Alessandro persuaded, by means of a heavy bribe and
the promise of efficient protection, to undertake the removal of
Ippolito. Whilst dallying with his former mistress, the Cardinal fell
ill of malarial fever, common in the swampy plain of Garigliano, where
he had gone shooting snipe.
Giovanni Andrea da Borgo San Sepolcro, the accomplice of his master,
prepared some chicken broth, which he persuaded Ippolito to take. In
spite of its bitter taste he partook largely, but during the night he
was attacked with immoderate sickness. Before morning dawn the brilliant
career of Ippolito, Cardinal de' Medici, ended, and the harvest sun of
10th August 1535 rose upon his rigid corpse in Giulia's chamber!
The poisoner fled to Florence, and was lodged safely in the Palazzo
Medici, under the Duke's special protection. Alessandro received the
news of Ippolito's death with the utmost satisfaction. "Now," said he,
"the vile wasp is crushed at last!" The dead body of his victim was
buried hurriedly at Itri, but, by Pope Paul's direction, it was exhumed
and given honourable burial within the church of San Lorenzo-e-Damaso in
Rome. Paul lamented the tragedy which had removed his friend so cruelly,
and he boldly accused Alessandro of having brought it about.
No one died more regretted. All Rome was in deepest mourning, and great
and small thronged to his burial. He had played the part of Lord
Bountiful ungrudgingly and with indiscriminating liberality. Very
fittingly it was remarked that he bore as his motto "_Inter omnes_." He
had all the making of a great man, but fickleness, inconsistency,
impatience, and self-indulgence, belittled his reputation. Nevertheless,
his character shone resplendently when contrasted with that of his rival
Alessandro.
Ippolito de' Medici left a son by his mistress, Asdrubale, who became a
soldier and a knight of Malta.
Neither Pope nor Emperor made any very energetic protests to Alessandro,
but were busy with anxious personal enterprises--and self-interests
usually exclude any other. True, Charles wrote to the Duke and
questioned him about the death of Ippolito, and required that all the
facts of the case should be laid before him, but the matter ended there.
Alessandro made no reply!
In six months the sensation had blown over, and the Emperor visited
Florence in gorgeous State on 24th April. He was royally entertained by
Alessandro, but he made no friends among the nobles, and departed
without bestowing the usual honours. The Medici Palace had been
redecorated, and it witnessed a revival of the lavish hospitality of
Lorenzo il Magnifico.
Margaret of Austria entered the city for her marriage with Alessandro on
19th July 1536. She came from Naples accompanied by the Vice-Queen and
Cardinals Santi Quattro and Cibo. The nuptial Mass was sung at San
Lorenzo, and then the whole city was given over to feasting and
debauchery. "The young Duchess was serenely happy, for the Duke paid
her great court, and she knew not that he paid as much to other women of
all grades!" Banquets, masked balls, street pageants, _Giostre_, and
musical comedies crowded one upon another.
Among the wedding guests was Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, who
held the Lordship of Piombino, the lineal descendant and heir of Cosimo,
"_Il Padre della Patria's_" brother Lorenzo. His father died when he was
an infant, but his mother, Maria de' Soderini--a woman possessed of all
the prudence and culture of her family--devoted herself to his rearing
and education. Just twenty-three years old, he was small of stature and
slightly built, dark complexioned, and of a melancholy aspect. His
health was indifferent, and he was liable to uncontrollable fits of
passion: he was restless and dissatisfied, and the associate of low and
evil companions.
In Rome--where he had lived in the Medici "happy family" of the Pope--he
acquired the reputation of a coward and a provoker of disturbances. He
was fond of defacing and mutilating ancient monuments, and became liable
to pains and penalties from which Cardinal Ippolito rescued him. By his
depraved and foolish habits he greatly incensed Clement, who at length
dismissed him in disgrace. Lorenzo retired to Florence, where he was
welcomed and entertained by Alessandro. In return for favours Lorenzo,
nicknamed in Florence "_Lorenzino_," "Lorenzo the Little," became useful
to the Duke and appointed himself spy-in-chief of the Florentine exiles.
His studious character and his literary talent endowed him with another
and a worthier sobriquet "_Filosofo_," and he carried out the rôle by
dressing as a Greek and living as a sybarite. Devoted to the study of
the classics and encouraged by his sensuous tutor, Giovanni Francesco
Zeffi, when not engaged in vulgar orgies, he translated Plato and other
writers, and even composed a comedy, which he called _L'Aridosio_.
Lorenzino entered fully into the Duke's life of profligacy and became
his inseparable companion. Both of them admired physical charms and
indulged in all physical passions: they set a base fashion in Florence,
which degraded her men and women. They habitually made lewd jokes of
everything human and divine, and were noted for their cruelty to
animals. If Alessandro became execrated as "The Tyrant and Ravisher of
Florence," Lorenzino was scouted as "A monster and a miracle," and his
depreciative nickname underwent a new spelling--"_Lorenzaccio_,"--
"Lorenzo the Terrible!"
* * * * *
Satiety of excesses produced a revulsion of feeling between the two
debauchees. Alessandro began to show irritation at his companion's
freedom. The latter refused to be corrected, and into his mind came
once more the inspiration of classical heroes of liberty and foes of
oppression. Why should he not be a Florentine "Brutus," and have his
name engraved upon the pinnacle of fame as the "Saviour of his Country!"
Lorenzino studied and studied well the part he now set himself to play.
Not a word did he breathe to man or woman of what was paramount in his
mind, and he made not the slightest difference in his intercourse with
Alessandro--indeed, he drew himself to him more intimately than ever.
The Carnival of 1536 saw the maddest of all mad scenes, and everything
and everybody ran wild riot. Disguised as country minstrels and mounted
upon broken-down donkeys, the two comrades rode about the city, paying
visits to their various mistresses and flatterers, and playing practical
jokes upon the respectable citizens they encountered.
Returning one evening, weary with their follies, they supped together at
the Palazzo Medici, and then Lorenzino inquired how they were to spend
the night.
"I shall go to bed," replied Alessandro, "for I am worn out."
"Caterina?" whispered Lorenzino.
Alessandro rose abruptly and said, "Lead on, Lorenzo, I will follow."
Seeing his valet and confidant, Giustiniano da Sesena, he said: "We are
going to Signore Lorenzino's, but what shall I put on?" Giustiniano
handed him a crimson silk dressing-gown, and asked him whether he would
wear his sword and steel gauntlets, or whether his cane and his scented
kid gloves would not be more suitable.
"Yes," the Duke replied, "toss me over my lovers' gloves, for I am about
to see my lady!"
Snatching a cloak, lined with fur, and grasping a light sword in his
hand, Alessandro left the palace by the garden wicket, followed by his
valet and two secret guards, Giomo da Carpi, and an Hungarian wrestler
nicknamed "Bobo."
Meanwhile Lorenzino had sought the street, and at the corner he found
his usual attendant, Michaele del Tovallaccino, a soldier possessed of a
splendid physique, combining the soft contour of Apollo and the brute
force of Hercules. His comrades called him "Scoronconcolo," on account
of his wild, lustful nature. "He could kiss and bite," they said, "at
the same time!"
"Michaele," said Lorenzino, "I want you to kill the man who is my
greatest enemy."
"My lord," replied the ruffian, "I am at your service. Tell me the name
of the fellow who has wronged you and I will kill him right off. I would
kill Jesus Christ himself if he hated you!"
"Stay at your post and I will return for you presently," said Lorenzino,
going on to his own house across the way.
In the Piazza San Marco he overtook Alessandro, who dismissed his
attendants, and went on alone with his cousin. In Lorenzino's chamber
was a good fire, and Alessandro, complaining of the heat, loosened his
attire and removed his sword, handing it to Lorenzino, who deftly
entangled the sash and belt in the hilt and placed it upon the bed.
"Where is Caterina?" inquired the Duke. "Why is she not here?"
"She is quite ready," was the reply, "and only awaits me to conduct her
hither."
"Go at once and delay not!" cried Alessandro.
Locking the door from without, and putting the key in his pocket,
Lorenzino hastened to Michaele.
This "Caterina" was Caterina Ginori, Lorenzino's mother's sister. Forced
by her father, Paolo d'Antonio de' Soderini, to renounce her lover,
Luigi degli Alamanni, and to marry Leonardo de' Ginori--a disreputable
spendthrift and gambler, who fled to Naples to escape his creditors--she
attracted the notice of Duke Alessandro. She was as accomplished as she
was beautiful and very commanding in appearance, the mother of
Bartolommeo, the giant manhood model of Giovanni da Bologna for his
famous "Youth, Manhood, and Age," miscalled "The Rape of the Sabines,"
in the Loggia de' Lanzi.
At the rendezvous Lorenzino slapped Michaele upon the shoulder.
"Brother," he said, "the moment has arrived. I have locked my enemy in
my room. Come on, now is your opportunity." "March!" was the ruffian's
terse reply.
"Don't fear to strike," said Lorenzino, as they strode on side by side.
"Strike hard, and if the man should seek to defend himself, strike still
harder. I trust you."
"Never you fear, my lord, were the man to swear he was the Duke or the
Devil, it matters not. Strike I will, and hard."
Mounting the stairs quietly, Lorenzino opened the door of his apartment
softly, and there lay Alessandro, fast asleep upon the bed, with his
face to the wall. Coward, as he was wont to call himself, he no longer
feared to slay the "Tyrant of his People," but whipping out his sword,
not waiting for Michaele's attack, he thrust it right through the Duke's
back!
With a frantic yell Alessandro stumbled upon the floor. "Traitor!
assassin!" he screamed. Then, turning his eyes full upon Lorenzino, he
faintly added: "This from thee--my lover!"
Alessandro made as though to defend himself, and with the red blood
gushing from his back, he threw himself upon his murderer and they
struggled on the floor.
Michaele was powerless to strike: his weapon might have slashed his
master. Alessandro, with dying energy, seized the hand of Lorenzino and
bit two of his fingers to the bone, so that the miscreant yelled with
agony. Then they parted--Lorenzino to bind up his broken bones and
Alessandro to staunch his wound. "At him," cried the madman, and
Michaele struck at him with his sword, cutting off his right cheek and
his nose, and then he got his dagger at his throat, and turned it round
in the gaping wound, until he nearly decapitated his unhappy victim.
Again Lorenzino heaved at him with his reeking weapon and fell upon him,
covering himself with blood, and bit his face in savage rage! Alessandro
fell away and lay, breathing heavily in a fearsome heap. Then Lorenzino,
chuckling with fiendish glee, roared out, "See, Michaele, my brother,
the wretch is dead!"
Raising the body of the still breathing Duke, his murderers threw it
upon the bed and covered it with the sheets. Then Lorenzino opened a
window and looked out upon the Via Larga, to see if anybody was about.
Not a soul was there. It was early morning, and by the new light of day
he tore off a piece of paper and scribbled upon it, with Alessandro's
blood, "_Vincit amor patriae laudumque immensa cupido_," and pinned it
over Alessandro's heart!
Both he and Michaele washed their hands and their swords--their clothes
they could not cleanse--and Lorenzino, having filled his pouch with the
money and jewels he possessed, they picked up their cloaks and hats,
and, locking the door behind them, departed. In the basement they
encountered Fiaccio, Lorenzino's faithful body-servant, groom and valet
combined, and he was bidden to follow his master.
The three made their way with haste to the residence of Bishop Angelo
Marzi, the chief custodian of the City Gates, of whom Lorenzino demanded
post-horses, showing to the servant Alessandro's signet-ring, which he
had pulled off his victim's finger. The Bishop made no demur, being well
accustomed to the erratic ways of the cousins. They took the road to
Bologna, where Lorenzino had the two broken fingers removed, and his
hand dressed, and then on they posted without further halt.
Lorenzino made at once for the house of Filippo negli Strozzi, the
leader of the exiled Florentines in that city, and rousing him from his
slumbers, embraced him with emotion, and said: "See, this is the key of
the chamber where lies the body of Alessandro. I have slain him. Look at
my clothes, this blood is his, no more shall Florence suffer at his
hands. Revenge is sweet, but freedom is sweeter!"
Filippo could scarcely believe the glad tidings, and surveyed his
visitor from head to foot. Lorenzino, noting his hesitation, called
Michaele into the room crying, "Here is Scoronconcolo the Assassin, and
I am Lorenzaccio the Terrible!"
"Thou art our Brutus, my Lord Lorenzino!" exclaimed Filippo, with tears
running down his cheeks. "Tarry awhile, till I can summon our chief
allies, and rest yourselves. Bravo! Bravissimo!"
Next day alarm spread through the Medici Palace when the Duke failed to
make his appearance, especially as at noon he had summoned a meeting of
his new Grand Council of Two Hundred. No one knew where he had gone.
Lorenzino was gone too, at least he did not make his usual early morning
call. All the houses of their mistresses and other boon-companions were
searched in vain, but apparently no one dreamt of calling at
Lorenzino's, across the way. Probably, it was thought, the two had gone
off to Cafogginolo--their favourite haunt.
Madonna Maria, Messer Jacopo de' Salviati's daughter, the widow of
Giovanni de' Medici, "delle Bande Nere," who resided near Lorenzino,
certainly heard loud cries which terrified her, but it was not an
unusual occurrence. Lorenzino had, in his villainous scheme, devised a
cunning decoy to accustom neighbours and passers-by to noisy behaviour.
He had repeatedly gathered in his house groups of young men with swords,
whom he instructed to cross their weapons as in serious self-defence,
and to cry out "Murder!" "Help!" and such like.
The first intimation of the tragedy was furnished by Lorenzino's porter,
who kept his keys--that of the bedchamber was missing and the door was
locked! The man sought an interview with Cardinal Cibo, then in
Florence, and his former master, and told him his fears. The door was,
by his order, forced and then, of course, the terrible truth was made
clear.
Under the pain of losing their heads, the Cardinal commanded absolute
secrecy on the part of the domestics and guards who had looked upon that
gruesome corpse. At the same time he ordered the game of "Saracino" to
be played in the _Piazza_ close by, to remove the fears of a fast
gathering crowd of citizens. When asked if he knew where the Duke was,
he replied quite casually: "Oh, don't worry about the Duke, he's in bed
of course, sleeping off the effects of last night's conviviality. He'll
appear when he thinks fit. Go away and mind your own affairs."
Somehow or another at last the news leaked out that Alessandro was dead,
and that Lorenzino had killed him. Cardinal Cibo convened the Council of
Forty-eight to discuss the situation. To him full powers were accorded
to administer the government for three days, until a settlement was
reached. This decision was most unpopular with the citizens, who began
to rise in opposition.
Just when another bloody revolution seemed imminent, Cosimo de' Medici,
the young son of Giovanni "delle Bande Nere," rode into the city,
accompanied by a few of his friends. Everywhere he was hailed with
enthusiastic cries--"_Evviva il Giovanni e il Cosimo_."
The young Duchess Margaret fled precipitately from the Via Larga to the
fortress of San Giovanni, which Alessandro had only just built and
fortified. With her went three young children--not her own indeed, for
she had proved to be barren,--but children she found in her husband's
house. By Florentine law they were recognised as belonging to the
family, and no one troubled about their precise origin.
These little ones were probably the issue of the Duke by a handsome
_contadina_ employed in the palace, who went by the name of Anna da
Massa. Francesco Guicciardini, however, says she was the Marchesa da
Massa, a noble lady, one of Alessandro's chief favourites. Giulio, some
five years old, became a soldier, and died Prior of the new military
Order of St Stephen of Pisa; Porczia died an enclosed nun in Rome; and
Giulia married Francesco de' Barthelemmi.
Margaret herself married Ottavio Farnese, Prince of Nepi and Camerino, a
lad of sixteen years of age, and, a second time, being left a widow, she
espoused the Duke of Parma, and died in 1586--fifty years after her
ill-starred marriage with Alessandro de' Medici.
It was reputed that shortly before his assassination, a Greek soothsayer
one day stopped the Duke's cortege in the street, and cried out, so that
all might hear: "Alessandro, Duke of Florence, thou shall be slain by a
relative, a thin man, small of stature, and dark of countenance. He will
have one accomplice. Beware!"
As for Lorenzino, whilst no action was taken publicly in Florence
against him--for, secretly all men, and openly the majority, praised his
act--there was a party whose members were sworn to avenge Alessandro's
blood. They enlisted a service of irreconcilables to track the murderer
to his death.
For eleven long years Lorenzino traversed land and sea, pursued, not
only by relentless foes, but tormented by an accusing conscience. He was
no Brutus to himself, but relapsed once more into a craven, stalking
coward. At length retribution overtook him, for two soldiers, devoted to
Alessandro's memory, hunted him down in the waterways of Venice, to
which he had returned. One day, in May 1548, Bedo da Volterra and
Cecchino da Bibonna caught him by the Rialto, unattended and unarmed,
and their daggers did the work as effectively for him as did his sword
for Duke Alessandro!
What became of Lorenzino's body nobody knew and nobody cared, probably
it was tossed by his assassins into the Grand Canal, and being washed
out into the sea, will await that day when the deep shall yield up all
that is therein.
Some authorities state that a reward of ten thousand gold florins was
offered for his head, that his effigy was burnt with every mark of
opprobrium in the Piazza della Signoria, and that the rabble pulled his
house down and burnt out the site.