# CHAPTER I

CHAPTER I

State of the family of the Medici at Florence--Enmity of Sixtus IV.
toward Florence--Differences between the family of the Pazzi and that
of the Medici--Beginning of the conspiracy of the Pazzi--Arrangements to
effect the design of the conspiracy--Giovanni Batista da Montesecco
is sent to Florence--The pope joins the conspiracy--The king of Naples
becomes a party to it--Names of the conspirators--The conspirators make
many ineffectual attempts to kill Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici--The
final arrangement--Order of the conspiracy.

This book, commencing between two conspiracies, the one at Milan already
narrated, the other yet to be recorded, it would seem appropriate, and
in accordance with our usual custom, were we to treat of the nature and
importance of these terrible demonstrations. This we should willingly do
had we not discussed the matter elsewhere, or could it be comprised in
few words. But requiring much consideration, and being already noticed
in another place, it will be omitted, and we shall proceed with our
narrative. The government of the Medici having subdued all its avowed
enemies in order to obtain for that family undivided authority, and
distinguish them from other citizens in their relation to the rest,
found it necessary to subdue those who secretly plotted against them.
While Medici contended with other families, their equals in authority
and reputation, those who envied their power were able to oppose them
openly without danger of being suppressed at the first demonstration of
hostility; for the magistrates being free, neither party had occasion to
fear, till one or other of them was overcome. But after the victory of
1466, the government became so entirely centred in the Medici, and
they acquired so much authority, that discontented spirits were obliged
either to suffer in silence, or, if desirous to destroy them, to attempt
it in secrecy, and by clandestine means; which plots rarely succeed and
most commonly involve the ruin of those concerned in them, while they
frequently contribute to the aggrandizement of those against whom they
are directed. Thus the prince of a city attacked by a conspiracy, if
not slain like the duke of Milan (which seldom happens), almost always
attains to a greater degree of power, and very often has his good
disposition perverted to evil. The proceedings of his enemies give him
cause for fear; fear suggests the necessity of providing for his
own safety, which involves the injury of others; and hence arise
animosities, and not unfrequently his ruin. Thus these conspiracies
quickly occasion the destruction of their contrivers, and, in time,
inevitably injure their primary object.

Italy, as we have seen above, was divided into two factions; the pope
and the king on one side; on the other, the Venetians, the duke, and the
Florentines. Although the flames of war had not yet broken out, every
day gave rise to some new occasion for rekindling them; and the pope,
in particular, in all his plans endeavored to annoy the Florentine
government. Thus Filippo de' Medici, archbishop of Pisa, being dead,
Francesco Salviati, a declared enemy of the Medici, was appointed his
successor, contrary to the wish of the Signory of Florence, who being
unwilling to give him possession, there arose between them and the pope
many fresh grounds of offense, before the matter was settled. Besides
this, he conferred, at Rome, many favors upon the family of the Pazzi,
and opposed that of the Medici, whenever an opportunity offered. The
Pazzi were at this time, both on account of nobility of birth and their
great wealth, the most brilliant in France. The head of this family was
Jacopo, whom the people, on account of his distinguished pre-eminence,
had made a knight. He had no children, except one natural daughter, but
many nephews, sons of his brothers Piero and Antonio, the first of whom
were Guglielmo, Francesco, Rinato, Giovanni, and then, Andrea, Niccolo,
and Galeotto. Cosmo de' Medici, noticing the riches and rank of this
family, had given his granddaughter, Bianca, to Guglielmo, hoping
by this marriage to unite the houses, and obviate those enmities and
dissensions so frequently occasioned by jealousy. However (so uncertain
and fallacious are our expectations), very different feelings were thus
originated; for Lorenzo's advisers pointed out to him how dangerous
it was, and how injurious to his authority, to unite in the same
individuals so much wealth and power. In consequence, neither Jacopo
nor his nephews obtained those degrees of honor, which in the opinion of
other citizens were their due. This gave rise to anger in the Pazzi, and
fear on the part of the Medici; as the former of these increased, so did
the latter; and upon all occasions, when the Pazzi came in competition
with other citizens, their claims to distinction, however strong, were
set aside by the magistracy. Francesco de' Pazzi, being at Rome, the
Council of Eight, upon some trivial occasion, compelled him to return,
without treating him with the respect usually observed toward great
citizens, so that the Pazzi everywhere bitterly complained of the
ill usage they experienced, and thus excited suspicion in others, and
brought down greater evils upon themselves. Giovanni de' Pazzi had
married the daughter of Giovanni Buonromei, a very wealthy man, whose
riches on his decease, without other children, came to his daughter. His
nephew, Carlo, however, took possession of part, and the question being
litigated, a law was passed, by virtue of which the wife of Giovanni de'
Pazzi was robbed of her inheritance, and it was given to Carlo. In this
piece of injustice the Pazzi at once recognized the influence of the
Medici. Giuliano de' Medici often complained to his brother Lorenzo of
the affair, saying he was afraid that by grasping at too much they would
lose all.

Lorenzo, flushed with youth and power, would assume the direction of
everything, and resolved that all transactions should bear an impress
of his influence. The Pazzi, with their nobility and wealth unable to
endure so many affronts, began to devise some means of vengeance. The
first who spoke of any attempt against the Medici, was Francesco, who,
being more sensitive and resolute than the others, determined either to
obtain what was withheld from him, or lose what he still possessed. As
the government of Florence gave him great offense, he resided almost
constantly at Rome, where, like other Florentine merchants, he conducted
extensive commercial operations; and being a most intimate friend of
Count Girolamo, they frequently complained to each other of the conduct
of the Medici. After a while they began to think that for the count to
retain his estates, or the Pazzi their rights in the city, it would be
necessary to change the government of Florence; and this they considered
could not be done without the death of Giuliano and Lorenzo. They
imagined the pope and the king would be easily induced to consent,
because each could be convinced of the facility of the enterprise.
Having acquired these ideas, they communicated them to Francesco
Salviati, archbishop of Pisa, who, being ambitious and recently offended
by the Medici, willingly adopted their views. Considering their next
step, they resolved, in order to facilitate the design, to obtain the
consent of Jacopo de' Pazzi, without whose concurrence they feared it
would be impracticable. With this view, it was resolved that Francesco
de' Pazzi should go to Florence, while the archbishop and the count
were to remain at Rome, to be ready to communicate with the pope when
a suitable opportunity occurred. Francesco found Jacopo de' Pazzi more
cautious and difficult to persuade than he could have wished, and on
imparting this to his friends at Rome, it was thought he desired the
sanction of some greater authority to induce him to adopt their views.
Upon this, the archbishop and the count communicated the whole affair to
Giovanni Batista da Montesecco, a leader of the papal forces, possessing
military reputation, and under obligations to the pope and the count.
To him the affair seemed difficult and dangerous, while the archbishop
endeavored to obviate his objections by showing how much assistance
the pope and the king would lend to the enterprise; the hatred of the
Florentines toward the Medici, the numerous friends the Salviati and
the Pazzi would bring with them, the readiness with which the young men
might be slain, on account of their going about the city unaccompanied
and without suspicion, and the facility with which the government
might then be changed. These things Giovanni Batista did not in
reality believe, for he had heard from many Florentines quite contrary
statements.

While occupied with these deliberations, Carlo, lord of Faenza, was
taken ill, and tears were entertained for his life. This circumstance
seemed to the archbishop and the count to offer an opportunity for
sending Giovanni Batista to Florence, and thence to Romagna, under
pretence of recovering certain territories belonging to the latter,
of which the lord of Faenza had taken possession. The count therefore
commissioned Giovanni Batista to have an interview with Lorenzo de'
Medici, and on his part request his advice how to proceed with respect
to the affair of Romagna; that he should then see Francesco de' Pazzi,
and in conjunction with him endeavor to induce his uncle Jacopo to adopt
their ideas. To render the pope's authority available in their behalf,
Giovanni Batista was ordered, before his departure, to communicate with
the pontiff, who offered every means at his disposal in favor of their
enterprise. Giovanni Batista, having arrived at Florence, obtained an
interview with Lorenzo, by whom he was most graciously received; and
with regard to the advice he was commissioned to ask, obtained a wise
and friendly answer; so that he was astonished at finding him quite a
different character from what he had been represented, and considered
him to possess great sagacity, an affectionate heart, and most amicably
disposed toward the count. He found Francesco de' Pazzi had gone to
Lucca, and spoke to Jacopo, who was at first quite opposed to their
design, but before they parted the pope's authority seemed to have
influenced him; for he told Giovanni Batista, that he might go to
Romagna, and that before his return Francesco would be with him, and
they would then consult more particularly upon the subject. Giovanni
Batista proceeded to Romagna, and soon returned to Florence. After
a pretended consultation with Lorenzo, upon the count's affairs, he
obtained an interview with Francesco and Jacopo de' Pazzi, when the
latter gave his consent to their enterprise. They then discussed the
means of carrying it into effect. Jacopo de' Pazzi was of opinion that
it could not be effected while both the brothers remained at Florence;
and therefore it would be better to wait till Lorenzo went to Rome,
whither it was reported he had an intention of going; for then their
object would be more easily attained. Francesco de' Pazzi had no
objection to Lorenzo being at Rome, but if he were to forego the
journey, he thought that both the brothers might be slain, either at
a marriage, or at a play, or in a church. With regard to foreign
assistance, he supposed the pope might assemble forces for the conquest
of the fortress of Montone, being justified in taking it from Count
Carlo, who had caused the tumults already spoken of in Sienna and
Perugia.

Still no definite arrangement was made; but it was resolved that
Giovanni Batista and Francesco de' Pazzi should go to Rome and settle
everything with the pontiff. The matter was again debated at Rome; and
at length it was concluded that besides an expedition against Montone,
Giovan Francesco da Tolentino, a leader of the papal troops, should go
into Romagna, and Lorenzo da Castello to the Val di Tavere; that each,
with the forces of the country, should hold himself in readiness to
perform the commands of the archbishop de' Salviati and Francesco
de Pazzi, both of whom were to come to Florence, and provide for the
execution of their design, with the assistance of Giovanni Batista da
Montesecco. King Ferrando promised, by his ambassador, to contribute all
in his power to the success of their undertaking. Francesco de' Pazzi
and the archbishop having arrived at Florence, prevailed upon Jacopo
di Poggio, a well educated youth, but ambitious and very desirous
of change, to join them, and two others, each of the name of Jacopo
Salviati, one a brother, the other a kinsman, of the archbishop. They
also gained over Bernardo Bandini and Napoleone Franzeni, two bold young
men, under great obligations to the family of the Pazzi. Besides those
already mentioned, they were joined by Antonio da Volterra and a priest
named Stefano, who taught Latin to the daughter of Jacopo de' Pazzi.
Rinato de' Pazzi, a grave and prudent man, being quite aware of the
evils resulting from such undertakings, refused all participation in the
conspiracy; he held it in abhorrence, and as much as possible, without
betraying his kinsmen, endeavored to counteract it.

The pope had sent Raffaello di Riario, a nephew of Count Girolamo, to
the college of Pisa, to study canon law, and while there, had advanced
him to the dignity of a cardinal. The conspirators determined to bring
this cardinal to Florence, as they would thus be better able to conceal
their design, since any persons requisite to be introduced into the city
might easily be made to appear as a part of his retinue, and his arrival
might facilitate the completion of their enterprise. The cardinal came,
and was received by Jacopo de' Pazzi at his villa of Montughi, near
Florence. By his means it was also intended to bring together Giuliano
and Lorenzo, and whenever this happened, to put them both to death. They
therefore invited them to meet the cardinal at their villa of Fiesole;
but Giuliano, either intentionally or through some preventing cause, did
not attend; and this design having failed, they thought that if asked to
an entertainment at Florence, both brothers would certainly be present.
With this intention they appointed Sunday, the twenty-sixth of April,
1478, to give a great feast; and, resolving to assassinate them at
table, the conspirators met on the Saturday evening to arrange all
proceedings for the following day. In the morning it was intimated to
Francesco that Giuliano would be absent; on which the conspirators again
assembled and finding they could no longer defer the execution of their
design, since it would be impossible among so many to preserve secrecy,
they determined to complete it in the cathedral church of Santa
Reparata, where the cardinal attending, the two brothers would be
present as usual. They wished Giovanni Batista da Montesecco to
undertake the murder of Lorenzo, while that of Giuliano was assigned
to Francesco de' Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini. Giovanni Batista refused,
either because his familiarity with Lorenzo had created feelings in his
favor, or from some other reason, saying he should not have resolution
sufficient to commit such a deed in a church, and thus add sacrilege
to treachery. This caused the failure of their undertaking; for time
pressing, they were compelled to substitute Antonio da Volterra and
Stefano, the priest, two men, who, from nature and habit, were the most
unsuitable of any; for if firmness and resolution joined with experience
in bloodshed be necessary upon any occasion, it is on such as these; and
it often happens that those who are expert in arms, and have faced death
in all forms on the field of battle, still fail in an affair like this.
Having now decided upon the time, they resolved that the signal for the
attack should be the moment when the priest who celebrated high
mass should partake of the sacrament, and that, in the meantime, the
Archbishop de' Salviati, with his followers, and Jacopo di Poggio,
should take possession of the palace, in order that the Signory, after
the young men's death, should voluntarily, or by force, contribute to
their assistance.