The essential writings of Machiavelli (42 page)

Resolved to carry out the assassination, they chose as a signal the moment when the priest would take communion during High Mass. At that instant, Archbishop Salviati, along with his followers and Iacopo di Poggio, was to take possession of the Signoria, so that after the Medici brothers’ death the magistrates would stand by the conspirators, either voluntarily or through force.

6

The conspirators now proceeded to the church, where the cardinal and Lorenzo de’ Medici were already present. The church was crowded, and the divine service had commenced before Giuliano de’ Medici arrived. Francesco de’ Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini, who had been assigned to murder him, went to his house to find him, and enticed him to the church with much artistry. It is striking that Francesco and Bernardo were able to conceal so much hatred and violent intent with so much spirit and flinty courage, for as they led Giuliano de’ Medici to the church they entertained him with jests and puerile banter. Francesco was quite willing, under the pretense of friendship, to throw his arms around Giuliano and press him close to see if he was wearing a protective cuirass or the like beneath his garments. The Medici knew the bitterness of the Pazzi toward them, and knew that the Pazzi wanted to undermine their power over the government; but they did not fear for their lives, as they believed that though the Pazzi would doubtless try to counter them, they would do so by means of civil authority and not through violence. Thus the young Medici, not fearing for their safety, were happy enough to join the Pazzi in their pretense of friendship.

The assassins were ready: some at the side of Lorenzo de’ Medici, where they could stand easily and without raising suspicion on account of the large crowd in the church, the other assassins next to Giuliano. At the prearranged moment, Bernardo Bandini struck Giuliano in the chest with a dagger, Giuliano collapsing after a few steps. Francesco de’ Pazzi then threw himself upon the body, stabbing it again and again, so blinded by rage that he severely wounded himself in the leg. Messer Antonio da Volterra and Stefano the priest attacked Lorenzo, but after repeated blows only wounded him with a slight cut on the neck, either because of their lack of skill or because of Lorenzo’s spirit, for Lorenzo used his arms and the help of those around him to defend himself, rendering all the attempts of his attackers futile. They fled in terror and hid, though they were soon found and killed in a most humiliating manner, their bodies dragged through the city. Lorenzo, on the other hand, surrounded by his friends, locked himself in the sacristy of the church. Bernardo Bandini, seeing Giuliano de’ Medici dead, also killed Francesco Nori, who was very close to the Medici, either out of longtime enmity or because Nori had tried to come to Giuliano’s aid. Not content with these two murders, Bernardo Bandini ran in search of Lorenzo, intending to make up with his courage and speed for the ineffective attempts of the others. But finding that Lorenzo was hidden in the sacristy, he could do nothing. In the midst of these grave and violent events, which were so terrible that it seemed as if the church would come tumbling down, young Cardinal Riario clung to the altar, where the priests vied to protect him, until the Signoria, once the uproar died down, led him to their palace. There he remained in terror for his life until he was set free.

7

During that era there were in Florence a number of exiles from Perugia who had been driven from their homes by factional feuds, and the Pazzi secured their assistance by promising to help restore Perugia to their faction. Archbishop Salviati, who had set out with Iacopo di Poggio to seize the palace of the Signoria, had also taken with him his allies, his two Salviati kinsmen, and the exiles from Perugia. At the palace he left some of his men below, with orders that the moment they heard a noise they should immediately seize the gate. In the meantime, he and most of the Perugians went to the upper floors, where they found the magistrates of the Signoria at dinner, as the hour was late. Cesare Petrucci, the Gonfalonier of Justice,
³²
asked him in, and he entered with only a few of his men, leaving the others outside, most of whom ended up locking themselves in the chancery because the doors were such that once they fell shut they could not be opened from either side without a key.

Archbishop Salviati stepped up to the Gonfalonier under the pretense of bringing him a message from the pope, but began talking with such faltering and jumbled words, and such a suspicious expression on his face, that the Gonfalonier ran shouting out of the chamber and, coming upon Iacopo di Poggio in the hall, grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to his sergeants. The gentlemen of the Signoria raised the alarm, and with whatever arms were at hand immediately killed or pushed out the windows all the men who had followed the archbishop into the palace, some of whom had been locked up, others overcome by terror. Archbishop Salviati, the two Iacopo Salviatis, and Iacopo di Poggio were hanged. But the men who had been left below in the palace had overcome the guards, taken control of the gate, and occupied all the lower floors, so that armed citizens who came running at the uproar could not offer their help to the Signoria, nor could unarmed citizens offer their support.

8

Francesco de’ Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini were gripped by fear, seeing Lorenzo de’ Medici safe and Francesco himself, who bore the entire weight of the conspiracy, severely wounded. Bernardo was quick to apply the same frankness of spirit to his safety as he had to harming the Medici: Seeing that all was lost, he managed to escape unharmed. Francesco, on the other hand, returned wounded to his house and tried to mount his horse, as the plan had been that he would ride through the city with his armed men, rousing the populace to arms and liberty. But as his wound was too severe and he had lost too much blood, he could not get into the saddle. So he undressed and threw himself naked upon his bed, entreating Iacopo de’ Pazzi to ride out in his stead.

Messer Iacopo, though old and unaccustomed to turmoil, mounted his horse in a final attempt to right their fortunes, and with about a hundred armed men assembled beforehand for the enterprise, rode out onto the piazza before the palace of the Signoria, calling out to the populace and to Liberty to come to his aid. But neither the one nor the other responded, for the populace had been rendered deaf by the fortune and munificence of the Medici, while Liberty was unknown in Florence. Only the gentlemen of the Signoria, who were masters of the upper floor of the palace, responded, greeting him with stones and attempting to intimidate him with threats. While Messer Iacopo wavered on the piazza, he was met by his brother-in-law Giovanni Serristori, who first reproached him for the mayhem he and his conspirators had unleashed, and then urged him to go home, assuring him that Liberty and the cause of the populace were as much in the hearts of other citizens as they were in his. But Messer Iacopo was deprived of all hope: The magistrates of the Signoria were hostile to his cause, Lorenzo de’ Medici was alive, Francesco de’ Pazzi was wounded, and no one was prepared to follow or support him. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to try to save himself by flight, and so rode out of Florence and headed to the Romagna with his company of armed men.

9

Meanwhile the whole city had erupted in turmoil, and Lorenzo de’ Medici, accompanied by a crowd of armed men, had withdrawn to his house. The populace retook the palace of the Signoria, and all the conspirators who had occupied it were either taken prisoner or killed. All Florence called out the name of Medici in praise, and the limbs of the dead were speared on lances or dragged through the streets. The whole city pursued the Pazzi with words of rage and acts of cruelty. The populace seized their houses, and Francesco was dragged naked from his bed and led to the Signoria, where he was hanged next to Archbishop Salviati and the other conspirators. As Francesco was being dragged to the piazza, no amount of violent words or acts could induce him to say a single word—he only sighed quietly, fixing those around him with unwavering eyes.

Guglielmo de’ Pazzi, Lorenzo de’ Medici’s brother-in-law, fled to Lorenzo’s house, and escaped death through his innocence and the intercession of his wife, Bianca. All the citizens, armed and unarmed, came to Lorenzo during those trying days, and every one of them offered his support, so great were the fortune and grace the Medici had secured through prudence and bounty.

During these events, Rinato de’ Pazzi had withdrawn to his villa. On hearing what had happened he attempted to escape in disguise, but was recognized, arrested, and taken back to Florence. Messer Iacopo de’ Pazzi was also seized while crossing the Apennines, because the local people, having heard of the assassination and seeing him in flight, seized him and returned him to Florence. He kept begging his captors to kill him by the roadside, but to no avail. Messers Iacopo and Rinato were condemned to death within four days of the conspiracy, and despite the widespread slaughter and the streets filled with men’s limbs, the only death lamented was that of Rinato de’ Pazzi, for he was considered a wise and good man, and not known for the pride of which the rest of his family stood accused.

So that the incident would serve as a deterrent to future conspirators, Messer Iacopo, after having been buried in the tomb of his ancestors, was dragged out and buried by the city walls as if excommunicated, and then disinterred again and dragged naked through the city by the noose with which he had been hanged. Then, since no place could be found to bury him, his body was thrown into the Arno River, whose waters were very high. This is truly a great example of Fortune, to see a man of such riches and such favored position fall into utter misery, ruin, and degradation. It was said that Messer Iacopo had some vices, among them the kind of gambling and blasphemy that might befit many a lost man, but that he made up for these vices by great charity, giving generously to sanctuaries and the needy. One can also say in his favor that on the day before which Giuliano de’ Medici’s murder was planned, he paid all his debts and returned with exemplary solicitude whatever property of others he still held in customs or at his house, so that no one else would have to partake of his Fortune, should things go wrong.

Giovan Battista da Montesecco, after a long interrogation under torture, was beheaded. Napoleone Franzesi escaped punishment by flight. Guglielmo de’ Pazzi was banished, while any cousins of his who were still alive were imprisoned in the dungeons of the fortress of Volterra.

Once the tumults were over and the conspirators punished, the funeral rites for Giuliano de’ Medici were performed, accompanied by the laments of the whole of Florence, because Giuliano had exhibited all the kindness and bounty that could be wished for in a man of rank and fortune such as his. He left a natural son, born some months after his death and named Giulio, and who was graced with all the skill and fortune that in our present times is evident to the whole world, and of which, if God grants me life, I shall speak at length when I come to our own times.
³³
The men who had gathered in support of the Pazzi under Lorenzo da Castello in the Val di Tavere, and under Giovan Francesco da Tolentino in the Romagna, marched on Florence, but retreated on hearing that the conspiracy had failed.

1.
Leonardo Bruni (c. 1370–1444), also called Leonardo d’Arezzo as he was born in the city of Arezzo, was a scholar and historian who wrote
Historiarum Florentini populi libri XII (Twelve Books of the History of the Florentine People)
. Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459) was one of the foremost scholars of the early Renaissance. From 1453 until his death in 1459 he was Chancellor of Florence, during which time he wrote his history of the city.

2.
With “ruin” Machiavelli is referring to the end of the Roman Republic. Machiavelli develops the idea of the destructive and regenerative qualities of divisiveness in a state in
Discourses
, Book I, chapters 4–6.

3.
See
Florentine Histories
, Book III, chapter 1.

4.
After the Ghibelline faction, which supported the Holy Roman Emperor against the pope, was expelled from Florence (see following footnote), the Guelph faction split into the feuding factions of the Neri (Black) and Bianchi (White).

5.
In 1266 Carlo d’Anjou defeated King Manfred of Sicily, who had asserted himself in Tuscany and Lombardy as protector of the Ghibellines. The Florentine Guelphs then initiated a mass expulsion of the Ghibellines from Florence.

6.
The Battle of Campaldino (1289) between Florence, controlled by the Guelphs, and Arezzo, controlled by the Ghibellines, marked the beginning of the supremacy of the Florentine Guelphs over Tuscany.

7.
Florence’s war with Duke Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan lasted from 1423 to 1428, and that against Lucca from 1429 to 1433.

8.
Uguccione della Faggiuola (c. 1250–1319) was one of the most influential members of the Ghibelline faction of Tuscany. He had been elected chief magistrate of Pisa, then commander of the army, and in 1314, already in his late sixties, seized power and became tyrant of Pisa. The Ghibelline faction consisted for the most part of feudal aristocrats and their partisans, and supported the Holy Roman Emperor. The Guelph faction which supported the papacy was its longtime opponent.