Magnifico (64 page)

CHAPTER XIV: CONSPIRACY

“And since he [Francesco] was very friendly with Count Girolamo”:
Machiavelli,
Florentine Histories,
VIII, 2.

“his state would not be worth a bean”:
“Confession of Giovanni Battista da Montesecco,” in Roscoe, Appendix XV.

“devoid of knowledge of and also respect for the law”:
Poliziano, “The Pazzi Conspiracy,” in
Humanism and Liberty,
172.

“I wanted something important in your affairs”:
Ficino,
Letters,
no. 117.

“Our delightful feasts all came to an end”:
Pastor, 254. Stefano Infessura.

“depraved and malignant spirit”:
Lorenzo,
Lettere,
II, 59.

“The matter is of utmost importance”:
Ibid., II, no. 182.

And while in the letter of the said Count:
Ibid.

“keep himself safe”:
Fubini, “La Congiura dei Pazzi,” in
Lorenzo de’ Medici: New Perspectives,
230.

“those who wish to engage in machinations”:
Lorenzo,
Lettere,
II, 121. Lorenzo adds, significantly, that his internal enemies are doomed to failure unless they have the support of “the King or others” causing the rebellion of certain dependencies “as happened in the case of Volterra.”

I find that all of this comes from the same source:
Ibid., II, no. 201. Lorenzo to Galeazzo, September 7, 1475.

“if it could be done without scandal”:
Ibid., II, no. 240. Lorenzo to Baccio Ugolini, February 1, 1477.

Città di Castello:
See ibid., II, Excursus I, 475–84 for the fullest explanation of the battle for Città di Castello.

“an example to all the lands of the Church”:
Ibid., II, 476.

and began laying siege to the town:
Dei, 71 verso.

“If you would have me see”:
Pastor, 295. Girolamo Riario to Lorenzo, October 26, 1474.

equivocated as he was prone to do:
See Lorenzo,
Lettere,
II, no. 171. Lorenzo to Galeazzo Maria, August 6, 1474.

“all the Commune wished to go to the aid of Castello”:
Ibid., II, 482.

“initiated new policies in Rome”:
Ibid., II, 53. Galeazzo Maria to Sacramoro August 6, 1474.

“the stratagems, which he used in favor of the Pazzi”:
Ibid., II, 53.

a defensive treaty between the two great republics of Italy:
For detailed discussion of the complex negotiations see Lorenzo,
Lettere,
II, especially 5–8, 12–30, and 475–90, as well as Clarke,
The Soderini and the Medici,
218–29.

the “faithlessness” of the Venetians:
Lorenzo,
Lettere,
II, 487.

even over the objections of the duke:
See Clarke,
The Soderini and the Medici,
226.

celebrated with bonfires and fireworks in the piazzas:
Rinuccini,
Ricordi Storici,
CXXIII.

“should Lorenzo pursue this league”:
Simonetta, “Federico da Montefeltro contro Firenze,”
Archivio Storico Italiano,
263.

“Italy…was divided into two factions”:
Machiavelli,
Florentine Histories,
VIII, 2.

“an honor hitherto reserved”:
Pastor, 261.

“prudence and manly courage”:
Reumont, I, 197. Ferrante to Lorenzo, September 1466.

“I sent it to Renato de’ Pazzi”:
Martines,
April Blood,
103.

head of Medusa picked out in pearls:
See
Le Tems Revient ’L Tempo Si Rinuova: Feste e Spettacoli Nella Firenze di Lorenzo il Magnifico,
94–100, for a complete description of costumes for Giuliano’s joust.

“that bridles and gives rein to the magnanimous Tuscans”:
Poliziano,
Stanze sur la Giostra di Giuliano,
IV.

“And you know”:
Ibid., II, xi.

“The air seems to turn dark”:
Ibid., II, xxxiv–xxxv.

CHAPTER XV: MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL

the practical benefits of hard steel:
See Lubkin, 116–17.

bodyguard of fifty mounted crossbowmen and fifty foot soldiers:
Ibid., 235.

he feared they might be plotting against him:
See Ibid., 239. Whether or not his fears had any basis in reality is debatable. Rumors about his mother are even less plausible.

“lust—and that one I have in full perfection”:
Ibid., 200.

turning his daughters into common whores:
Ibid.

“handsome youth was not yet sixteen”:
Pius II, 105.

“the most handsome creature ever seen”:
Dei, 22 verso and 42 verso.

“Duca! Duca!”:
Ilardi, 75.

“It was a worthy, laudable, manly deed”:
Rinuccini,
Ricordi Storici,
CXXV.

“a thousand times”:
Ilardi, 75.

to proclaim the republic’s unwavering support:
See ibid., 97.

“as long as he had life in his body”:
Ibid.

“As she was thus dead”:
Lorenzo,
Commento,
Argument 1.

“having decided not to get involved in this affair”:
Hook, 89.

“Idleness has so gained the upper hand”:
Reumont, 308.

“It seemed as if men”:
Ibid.

[I]t would please me much for the State:
Ibid., 318.

“saying that he feared”:
Machiavelli,
Florentine Histories,
VIII, 2.

for which he agreed to furnish men and logistical support:
Simonetta, “Federico da Montefeltro contro Firenze,” in Archivio Storico Italiano, n. 596, a. CLXI, 2003 II.

“his majesty would never consent”:
Ibid., 263.

the archbishop’s residence in Rome:
See the “Confession of Giovanni Battista da Montesecco,” reproduced in Roscoe,
Life of Lorenzo de Medici,
Appendix XV.

before word of the conspiracy leaked out:
See ibid.: “And as I have said, many times it was discussed in the chambers of the Count…how things could not long go on as they had…the undertaking being on so many tongues.”

“man of letters, virtuous and of substance”:
Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Mediceo Avanti il Principato, filza 34, no. 275. Girolamo Riario to Lorenzo de’ Medici.

implicated in the 1466 plot to overthrow Piero:
See Fubini, “La Congiura dei Pazzi: Radici Politico-Sociali e Ragioni di un Fallimento,” in
Lorenzo de’ Medici: New Perspectives.
Jacopo di Poggio Bracciolini was the one figure implicated in both the plots of 1466 and 1478.

“so well disposed”: Confession of Giovanni Battista da Montesecco,
reproduced in Roscoe,
Life of Lorenzo de Medici,
Appendix XV.

his preference for life in the country:
Hook, 96.

“cold as ice”:
Ibid., 96.

fifty on foot had accompanied the count of Montesecco:
Martines,
April Blood,
114.

“Again [the conspirators] sent a servant”:
Poliziano, “The Pazzi Conspiracy,” in
Humanism and Liberty,
175.

“They did not think there would be time”:
Francesco Guicciardini,
History of Florence,
IV.

“where God would see him”:
Ross,
Lives,
189.

a favorable impression of his intended victim:
See Valori, 51–52.

“Your illness seems to have made you fat”:
Ibid., 52.

CHAPTER XVI: THE BLOODSTAINED PAVEMENT

“Going out through the church towards home myself”:
Poliziano. “The Pazzi Conspiracy,” in
Humanism and Liberty,
177.

Francesco Salviati, along with Poggio Bracciolini:
See Rinuccini,
Ricordi Storici,
CXXVII.

he and his men made straight for the Palace of the Priors:
See ibid., CXXXVII.

“very secret business”:
Ibid., CXXXVII.

the ancient cry of Florentine revolution:
See ibid., CXXVII.

“[A]nd so for the most part ended”:
Rinuccini,
Ricordi Storici,
CXXVIII.

“Neither his wound nor his fear”:
Poliziano, “The Pazzi Conspiracy,” in
Humanism and Liberty,
179.

My Most Illustrious Lords:
Lorenzo,
Lettere,
III, no. 272.

“There, armed men were everywhere”:
Poliziano, “The Pazzi Conspiracy,” in
Humanism and Liberty,
177.

I was in Santa Liperata just then:
Narratives,
April Blood,
122.

“I commend myself to you”:
Hook, 100.

“amongst others a priest of the bishop’s was killed”:
Landucci, 16.

the abode of a cannibal king:
Poliziano, “The Pazzi Conspiracy,” in
Humanism and Liberty,
178.

like grim Christmas tree ornaments:
See Rinuccini,
Ricordi Storici,
CXXVII. He says that by the end of the day fifteen bodies were hanging from the palace windows.

The Pisan leader was soon dangling:
Poliziano, “The Pazzi Conspiracy,” in
Humanism and Liberty,
178.

“all the signs are in favor of Lorenzo”:
Lorenzo,
Lettere,
III, 4.

The bloodshed, which continued sporadically for weeks:
See Landucci, 17.

“still bewildered with terror”:
Ibid.

armed soldiers patrolled the city:
Ibid., 18.

“made angry threats”:
Poliziano, “The Pazzi Conspiracy,” in
Humanism and Liberty,
176.

turned back by angry citizens at the nearby village of Firenzuola:
Lorenzo,
Lettere,
III, 4. Sacramoro to the Duke and Duchess, April 27, 1478.

confronted by pro-Medici forces arriving from Bologna:
Ibid., III, 4.

the pope and his supporters were thrown into utter confusion:
Ibid, III, 5.

a patriotic farmer in the village of San Godenzo:
Rinuccini,
Ricordi Storici,
CXXVII.

beheaded in the courtyard of the Bargello:
Landucci, 18.

“I am Bernardo”:
Acton, 77.

some boys disinterred it a second time:
Landucci, 19.

“He was very mild, very kind”:
Poliziano, “The Pazzi Conspiracy,” in
Humanism and Liberty,
183.

“Here and on the following page”:
Hook, 103.