In 1478, a plot to assassinate the de facto ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de’ Medici, and his younger brother Giuliano, was revealed in Florence. The plot was a brutal murder, a nefarious plot, and a coded letter. The Medici family, one of the most illustrious dynasties of the Renaissance, began their reign in 1478.
The year of 1478 was distressing and tumultuous for the citizens of Florence. Lorenzo de’ Medici had narrowly survived a plot to overthrow his father, the Pope, for control of Florence. Montefeltro, believed to be a close friend of Lorenzo de Medici, was conspiring with the Pope to unseat the Medici and put the more malleable Pazzi family in power.
Lauro Martines’ April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against The Medici is a fascinating exploration of this tumultous event. The Pazzi conspiracy (Italian: Congiura dei Pazzi) was a failed plot by members of the Pazzi family and others to displace the Medici family as rulers of Florence.
Martines’ April Blood succeeds in tackling the Pazzi conspiracy, which had to change plans at the last minute and manage to kill Giuliano. After five hundred years, the most notorious mystery of the Renaissance is finally solved. The Pazzi conspiracy involved a brutal murder, a nefarious plot, and a coded letter.
📹 The Medici: Assassination of Giuliano de’ Medici, 1478 | Cold Case
In 15th-century Florence, the Medici family held unrivaled power, followed closely by the Pazzi family. The shocking assassination …
What is the Pazzi conspiracy medal?
The medal serves to commemorate the attempted coup by the Pazzi family against the Medici brothers, which took place on April 14, 1478. It features the bust of one brother above a bird’s-eye view of the attack in the Florentine cathedral.
What happened after the pazzi conspiracy?
The plot against Pope Sixtus IV led to the execution of many conspirators and others, including those accused of being conspirators. The surviving Pazzi family members were banished from Florence. Pope Sixtus IV, who came from a poor family in Liguria, was wealthy and powerful, giving power and wealth to his nephews. He made Giuliano della Rovere and Pietro Riario cardinals and bishops, and four other nephews were also made cardinals. Giovanni della Rovere, who was not a priest, was made prefect of Rome and married into the da Montefeltro family, dukes of Urbino.
Girolamo Riario, a layman, arranged to buy Imola, a small town in Romagna, to establish a new papal state. Lorenzo de’ Medici had arranged to buy Imola from Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the duke of Milan, for 100, 000 fiorini d’oro. However, Sforza agreed to sell it to Sixtus for 40, 000 ducats, provided that his illegitimate daughter Caterina Sforza was married to Riario. This purchase was financed by the Medici bank, but Lorenzo refused, leading to a rift with Sixtus and the termination of the appointment of the Medici as bankers to the Camera Apostolica. The pope negotiated with other bankers and obtained a substantial part of the cost from the Pazzi bank.
What was the Medici family conspiracy?
The Pazzi conspiracy, led by the rival Pazzi family of Florence, was an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Medici rulers of Florence. The conspiracy involved Pope Sixtus IV and his nephew Girolamo Riario, who resented Lorenzo de’ Medici’s efforts to consolidate papal rule over the Romagna region. The archbishop of Pisa, Francesco Salviati, was also involved. An assassination attempt on the Medici brothers occurred during mass at the Cathedral of Florence on April 26, 1478.
Giuliano de’ Medici was killed by Francesco Pazzi, while Lorenzo defended himself and escaped slightly wounded. The people of Florence rallied to the Medici, and the conspirators were ruthlessly pursued, with many killed on the spot. The failure of the conspiracy led to a two-year war with the papacy, which was almost disastrous for Florence. However, the most important effect was to strengthen Lorenzo’s power, as he was rid of his most dangerous enemies and gained the support of the people.
Does the Pazzi family still exist?
The Pazzi family, a prominent family in the Republic of Florence, was known for their banking trade during the fifteenth century. After the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, members were banished from Florence, their property confiscated, and their name and coat-of-arms were permanently suppressed. The family’s origins are attributed to Pazzo di Ranieri, who was the first man over the walls during the Siege of Jerusalem in 1099. He returned to Florence with flints from the Holy Sepulchre, which were used to re-kindle fire in the city on Holy Saturday.
The family’s first historical figure is Jacopo de’ Pazzi il Vecchio, a Florentine cavalry captain who was treacherously severed by Bocca degli Abati, causing the standard to fall. His son, Pazzino di Jacopo de’ Pazzi, was a Black Guelph and a follower of Charles de Valois. The historical basis of this legend has been debated since the mid-nineteenth century.
What is the rarest medal in history?
The Maltese Cross Medal, a rare and rare award, features an American eagle in the center and a six-sided border with the words “UNITED STATES NAVY” and “1917 – 1918”. The medal’s back contains the words “Awarded To” and the recipient’s personal information. The “Tiffany Cross” was dropped from the Medal of Honor profile in 1942, and the Navy returned to its original design. During World War II, Medals of Honor were pinned to a soldier’s tunic, but the practice of draping them around the recipient’s neck became increasingly popular.
The modern Medal of Honor is suspended from an 8-sided “pad” with 13 white stars, attached to which the blue silk neck ribbon is attached. This makes the Medal of Honor the only United States Military Award worn around the neck.
Is there a painting of the Pazzi hanging?
Sandro Botticelli, a renowned painter, was influenced by the friendship and patronage of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, head of the junior Medici line, and his friend Tommaso Soderini. Botticelli was commissioned for numerous works, including the famous Birth of Venus, which depicts the goddess Aphrodite. Many of these commissions were linked to Florentine customs, particularly during marriages, which were the most important family ceremonies of the time.
The themes of these paintings were either romantic or exemplary, depicting virtuous heroines. Botticelli’s earliest known work was commissioned by Lorenzo de’Medici for the marriage of Antonio Pucci’s son Giannozzo in 1483.
Botticelli’s work, The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti, tells a story from Boccaccio, a character from Boccaccio. The complex culture of late Medicean Florence, infused with the romantic sentiment of courtly love and the humanist interest for Classical antiquity, employed mythological figures more fully and in an antiquarian fashion. This new mythological language became current, inspired by Classical literature, sculpture, descriptions of lost ancient paintings, and the Renaissance search for the full physical realization of the ideal human figure.
What is the highest medal in Italy?
The Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (OMRI), established in 1951, is the highest ranking honour and senior order of the Italian Republic. It is a means to reward achievements or service to the Italian Republic, formerly the Kingdom of Italy, including the Italian Social Republic. There are five orders of knighthood awarded in recognition of service to the Italian Republic, with other decorations that do not confer knighthoods.
The degrees of knighthood include Knight, Officer, Commander, Grand Officer, Knight Grand Cross, and Knight Grand Cross with cordon. Il Cavaliere, an Italian entrepreneur and politician, is known for his contributions to the Italian Republic.
What was the dark side of the Medici family?
The Medici, a powerful family in Renaissance Italy, achieved their power through bribery, corruption, and violence, often resulting in humiliation or death for those who opposed them. They exploited a network of “friends of friends” who would do anything to stay close to the family, which was the key to fame, fortune, and survival. Their power extended to Rome, where even the papacy was sold and bought.
Did Lorenzo hang the Pazzi?
Lorenzo de Medici and the Medici family escaped a conspiracy to expel the Pazzi family from Florence, leading to their exile and the removal of their name from the city. The conspiracy had the opposite effect, reinforcing Florence’s love and gratitude for the Medici family. Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola undid his legacy of creation during the ‘bonfire of the vanities’, turning Florence against the Medici family and organizing their downfall in the late 15th century. The event reinforced Florence’s love and gratitude for the Medici family.
What is the hardest Medal to get?
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government to members of the armed forces who have demonstrated “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty”. This award can be given for actions taken during combat or while engaged with an enemy, and the act of valor must be witnessed by others. It requires approval at high levels of the military hierarchy before being presented by the President in the name of Congress. Over half of the Medals of Honor awarded since World War II have been posthumous, recognizing extraordinary courage under exceptionally hostile circumstances.
Which Medici was killed in church?
The most infamous Renaissance murder was the assault on Giuliano and Lorenzo de’Medici in Florence Cathedral. Giuliano was murdered in front of 10, 000 people, while Lorenzo survived. The Pazzi were doomed, and their bodies were thrown from the Palazzo Vecchio and left to swing in the hot Tuscan sun. The dying Archbishop of Florence famously sank his teeth into the thigh of Francesco de’Pazzi, his co-conspirator. Another’s decomposing corpse was ripped from its grave and dragged through the streets of Florence.
Savonarola’s execution in 1498 was as spectacular as the Bonfires of the Vanities, with him tortured and bound in chains and burned at the stake. In 1516, a group of discontented cardinals conspired to assassinate the Pope, who suffered from an anal fistula and was poisoned by the cardinals.
📹 Duke of Urbino Testimony
Exhibit for the CSI: Florence lab from www.mrroughton.com.
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