The Pazzi conspiracy in 1478 came as a rude shock to a carefree city. The Pazzi bank, in the course of a treacherous war in which the adversaries did not scruple to use the most devious methods, had taken the business affairs of the papacy away from the Medici. Sixtus IV, his nephew Riario, and Francesco Salviati, the archbishop of Pisa, supported the Pazzi and in the end formed a conspiracy with them. They decided to assassinate Lorenzo and Giuliano in the cathedral during Easter mass on April 26, while the archbishop was to take over the signoria (the council of government). Giuliano was indeed killed in front of the altar, but Lorenzo succeeded in taking refuge in a sacristy. [X]
“Even though Lorenzo was officially engaged to Clarice [Orsini], it was rumored, not without foundation, that he had organized the tournament in honor of his “platonic love” Lucrezia Donati, wife of Niccolò Ardinghelli. Following the medieval tradition of courtly love, young of Lorenzo’s and Giuliano’s rank were entitled to express their platonic interest in a lady, even if she were married. In fact, the relationship between Lorenzo and Lucrezia Donati was of long standing. As early as 1465, Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi had commented on the romance in a letter to her son Filippo in Naples. She wrote that, while Niccolò Ardinghelli was abroad, is wife was enjoying life in Florence. Lucrezia Donati, Alessandra says, had ordered a new livrea (a dress in her particular colors) adorned with enormous pearls, to wear to a ball organized by Lorenzo in her honor in the papal hall of Santa Maria Novella. Lorenzo and his companions wore outfits embroidered with pearls that bore Lucrezia’s colors.” – Maria Grazia Pernis, Laurie Adams – Lucrezia Tornabuoni De’ Medici and the Medici Family in the Fifteenth Century
Some sense of the shock Lorenzo felt at the death of his beloved brother can be gleaned by an uncharacteristic five-day gap in his correspondence. The heading over two blank pages in his secretary’s ledger reads, “Here and on the following page must be recorded the letters written about the tumult, when Giuliano de’ Medici was killed in Santa Reparata, may God have mercy on his soul.” The fact that they remained empty speaks volumes about Lorenzo’s state of mind. – Miles J. Unger
persephone's corner 