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| Conspiracy of the Pazzi | |
|---|---|
| Name | Conspiracy of the Pazzi |
| Caption | Attack on Giuliano de' Medici in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore |
| Date | 26 April 1478 |
| Place | Florence, Republic of Florence |
| Outcome | Failure of assassination; execution and exile of conspirators; consolidation of Medici power |
Conspiracy of the Pazzi The Conspiracy of the Pazzi was a 1478 plot by the Pazzi family and allied Colonna family nobles, with support from dissenting factions within the Republic of Florence and external backers including the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples, aimed at assassinating members of the House of Medici and overturning Medici dominance of Florentine politics. The plot culminated in an attack during High Mass at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore that killed Giuliano de' Medici and wounded Lorenzo de' Medici, triggering violent reprisals, diplomatic crises involving the Republic of Venice and the Kingdom of France, and enduring shifts in Italian Renaissance politics.
Florentine political tensions in the 15th century involved rivalries among patrician families such as the Pazzi family, the Strozzi family, and the Medici family, intersecting with papal ambitions under Pope Sixtus IV and dynastic interests of rulers like Ferdinand I of Naples and King Louis XI of France. The Medici banking network, headed by Cosimo de' Medici's descendants Piero di Cosimo de' Medici and Lorenzo de' Medici, had established influence over the Florentine Republic's councils and diplomatic relations with powers including the Duchy of Milan under Bona of Savoy's predecessors and the House of Sforza. Opposition coalesced among exiled nobles, merchants, and ecclesiastical figures who resented Medici patronage of artists like Sandro Botticelli and Leon Battista Alberti and sought leverage via alliances with the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples.
The conspiracy formed through contacts between the Pazzi leadership—notably Francesco de' Pazzi and Jacopo de' Pazzi—and ecclesiastical supporters including Girolamo Riario and Francesco Salviati, Archbishop of Pisa, who conferred with Pope Sixtus IV and secured tacit papal backing. Coordination involved exiles such as Luca Pitti sympathizers and military agents from the Colonna family and mercenary captains connected to the Condottieri milieu, while Medici opponents in the Florentine Signoria and abroad sought timing that would coincide with a public ceremonial occasion. Financial pressures, debts to banking houses like the Medici Bank and disputes over privileges with the Republic of Florence's guilds intensified motivations, producing a scheme to eliminate Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici and seize civic power.
On 26 April 1478, during High Mass at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore presided over by officials from the Florentine Republic and attended by ambassadors from the Kingdom of Naples, the conspirators, including Francesco de' Pazzi and Guglielmo de' Pazzi associates, launched an ambush against the Medici brothers near the High Altar, puncturing the city's ceremonial center. The assailants mortally wounded Giuliano de' Medici while Lorenzo escaped with injuries, aided by supporters such as Vieri de' Medici and members of the Guardia Vecchia; the assault drew in ecclesiastical actors like Francesco Salviati and inflamed onlookers from prominent families including the Mozzi family and Salviati family.
In the immediate hours after the attack, crowds loyal to Lorenzo engaged in summary justice, publicly executing captured conspirators including Francesco de' Pazzi and seizing assets of implicated houses like the Pazzi family estates and related banking interests. Papal agents such as Girolamo Riario faced arrest or flight, and the Republic of Florence imposed fines, exile, and confiscation against co-conspirators while seeking to prevent escalation with the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. The violent reprisals extended to killings at the Ponte Vecchio and street reprisals orchestrated by Medici partisans alongside magistrates from the Signoria of Florence.
The failed coup deepened divisions among Italian states, prompting diplomatic maneuvers by the Papal States, the Kingdom of Naples, the Republic of Venice, and Duchy of Milan; Lorenzo de' Medici leveraged the crisis to strengthen alliances with the House of Sforza and approaching envoys from France and Spain. Internally, the episode accelerated the Medici consolidation of patronage networks across patrons like Lorenzo de' Medici and artists such as Filippo Lippi, reinforced the authority of the Medici Bank in international finance, and altered Florentine governance by curtailing the influence of rival oligarchic families including the Strozzi family and the Albizzi family.
Key conspirators included members of the Pazzi family—notably Francesco de' Pazzi, Jacopo de' Pazzi, and relatives—ecclesiastical conspirators such as Francesco Salviati and secular supporters like Girolamo Riario and agents associated with the Colonna family. Defenders and Medici allies encompassed Lorenzo de' Medici, Giuliano de' Medici, loyalists from the Guardia Vecchia, and political figures of the Signoria of Florence; international actors involved or implicated ranged from Pope Sixtus IV and representatives of the Kingdom of Naples to envoys from the Republic of Venice and Duchy of Milan.
Historians have viewed the conspiracy through lenses provided by chroniclers such as Vasari and diplomatic dispatches between the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples, and its cultural reverberations are evident in depictions by artists patronized by the Medici like Botticelli and in political analyses comparing Renaissance factional violence to later episodes such as the Sack of Rome (1527). The event is credited with enabling Lorenzo's titulary consolidation as a statesman and patron, shaping narratives employed by families including the Pazzi family and the Medici family in subsequent historiography, influencing legal reforms in the Florentine Republic, and informing modern interpretations of Renaissance power networks, banking politics, and papal-state relations.
Category:15th century in Italy Category:History of Florence Category:House of Medici