A Wanderer in Florence | Page 8

periodical revolts against the power and
prestige of the Medici often occurred, and none was more desperate
than that of the Pazzi family in 1478, acting with the support of the
Pope behind all and with the co-operation of Girolamo Riario, nephew
of the Pope, and Salviati, Archbishop of Pisa. The Pazzi, who were not
only opposed to the temporal power of the Medici, but were their rivals
in business--both families being bankers--wished to rid Florence of
Lorenzo and Giuliano in order to be greater both civically and
financially. Girolamo wished the removal of Lorenzo and Giuliano in
order that hostility to his plans for adding Forli and Faenza to the
territory of Imola, which the Pope had successfully won for him against
Lorenzo's opposition, might disappear. The Pope had various political
reasons for wishing Lorenzo's and Giuliano's death and bringing
Florence, always headstrong and dangerous, to heel. While as for
Salviati, it was sufficient that he was Archbishop of Pisa, Florence's
ancient rival and foe; but he was a thoroughly bad lot anyway.
Assassination also was in the air, for Galeazzo Maria Sforza of Milan
had been stabbed in church in 1476, thus to some extent paving the way
for this murder, since Lorenzo and Sforza, when acting together, had
been practically unassailable.
In 1478 Lorenzo was twenty-nine, Giuliano twenty-five. Lorenzo had
been at the head of Florentine affairs for nine years and he was steadily

growing in strength and popularity. Hence it was now or never.
The conspirators' first idea was to kill the brothers at a banquet which
Lorenzo was to give to the great-nephew of the Pope, the youthful
Cardinal Raffaello Riario, who promised to be an amenable catspaw.
Giuliano, however, having hurt his leg, was not well enough to be
present, but as he would attend High Mass, the conspirators decided to
act then. That is to say, it was then, in the cathedral, that the death of
the Medici brothers was to be effected; meanwhile another detachment
of conspirators under Salviati was to rise simultaneously to capture the
Signoria, while the armed men of the party who were outside and
inside the walls would begin their attacks on the populace. Thus, at the
same moment Medici and city would fall. Such was the plan.
The actual assassins were Francesco de' Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini,
who were nominally friends of the Medici (Francesco's brother
Guglielmo having married Bianca de' Medici, Lorenzo's sister), and
two priests named Maffeo da Volterra and Stefano da Bagnone. A
professional bravo named Montesecco was to have killed Lorenzo, but
refused on learning that the scene of the murder was to be a church. At
that, he said, he drew the line: murder anywhere else he could perform
cheerfully, but in a sacred building it was too much to ask. He therefore
did nothing, but, subsequently confessing, made the guilt of all his
associates doubly certain.
When High Mass began it was found that Giuliano was not present, and
Francesco de' Pazzi and Bandini were sent to persuade him to come--a
Judas-like errand indeed. On the way back, it is said, one of them
affectionately placed his arm round Giuliano--to see if he wore a shirt
of mail--remarking, to cover the action, that he was getting fat. On his
arrival, Giuliano took his place at the north side of the circular choir,
near the door which leads to the Via de' Servi, while Lorenzo stood at
the opposite side. At the given signal Bandini and Pazzi were to stab
Giuliano and the two priests were to stab Lorenzo. The signal was the
breaking of the Eucharistic wafer, and at this solemn moment Giuliano
was instantly killed, with one stab in the heart and nineteen elsewhere,
Francesco so overdoing his attack that he severely wounded himself too;

but Lorenzo was in time to see the beginning of the assault, and,
making a movement to escape, he prevented the priest from doing
aught but inflict a gash in his neck, and, springing away, dashed behind
the altar to the old sacristy, where certain of his friends who followed
him banged the heavy bronze doors on the pursuing foe. Those in the
cathedral, mean-while, were in a state of hysterical alarm; the youthful
cardinal was hurried into the new sacristy; Guglielmo de' Pazzi
bellowed forth his innocence in loud tones; and his murderous brother
and Bandini got off.
Order being restored, Lorenzo was led by a strong bodyguard to the
Palazzo Medici, where he appeared at a window to convince the
momentarily increasing crowd that he was still living. Meanwhile
things were going not much more satisfactorily for the Pazzi at the
Palazzo Vecchio, where, according to the plan, the gonfalonier, Cesare
Petrucci, was to be either killed or secured. The Archbishop Salviati,
who was to