This family was one of the noblest and most respectable in Florence; numerous in its members, and possessed of great wealth and influence. Of three brothers, two of whom had filled the office of gonfaloniere, only one was then living. If we may credit the account of Politiano *), Giacopo de' Pazzi, the surviving brother, who was regarded as the chief of the family, and far advanced in years, was an unprincipled libertine, who having by gaming and intemperance dissipated his paternal property, sought an opportunity of averting, or of concealing his own ruin in that of the republic. Giacopo had no children; but his elder brother Piero had left seven sons, and his younger Antonio three; one of whom, Guglielmo de' Pazzi, had in the lifetime of Cosmo de' Medici married Bianca, the sister of Lorenzo. Francesco, the brother of Guglielmo, had for several years resided principally at Rome. Of a bold and aspiring temper, he could not brook the superiority of the Medici, which was supposed to have induced him to chuse that place as his residence in preference to Florence.

Several of the Florentine authors have endeavoured to trace the reason of the enmity of this family to that of the Medici, but nothing seems discoverable, which could plausibly operate as a motive, much less as a justification of their resentment. On the contrary, the affinity between the two families, and the favors conferred by the Medici on the Pazzi, memorials of which yet remain in the hand-writing of Gia- · copo, might be presumed to have conciliated esteem; and that they lived on terms of apparent friendship and intimacy is evident from many circumstances of the conspiracy. Machiavelli **) relates a particular injury received by one of the Pazzi, which, as he informs us, that family attributed to the Medici. Giovanni de' Pazzi had married the daughter of Giovanni Borromeo, whose immense property upon his death

*) Politiano (Angelo), geb. 1454 zu Monte-Pulciano im Toskanischen einem Ort der im Lateinischen Mons-Politianus heifst, und von dem sich Politiano, welcher eigentlich den Namen Angelo Bassi führte, benannte) gest. 1494, hat unter andern auch eine in Lateinischer Sprache abgefafste Geschichte der Verschwörung der Pazzi geschrieben. Seine sämmtlichen Werke sind zu Bologna 1494 in 4. und zu Venedig 1498 in fol. und späterhin 1553 zu Basel in fol. gedruckt worden. **) Niecolo

Muchiavelli, ein berühmter Italiänischer Geschichtschreiber und politischer Schriftsteller, geb. 1469 zu Florenz, gest. 1527.

should have descended to his daughter. But pretensions to it being made by Carlo, his nephew, a litigation ensued, in the event of which the daughter was deprived of her inheri→ tance. There is however reason to believe that this decree, whether justifiable or not, and of which we have no documents to enable us to form a judgment, was made many years before the death of Piero de' Medici, when his sons were too young to have taken a very active part in it; and it is certain that it produced no ostensible enmity between the families. It is also deserving of notice, that this transaction happened at a time when Lorenzo was absent from Florence, on one of his youthful excursions through Italy.

This conspiracy of which Sixtus and his nephew were the real instigators, was first agitated at Rome, where the intercourse between the count Girolamo Riario and Francesco de' Pazzi, in consequence of the office held by the latter, afforded them an opportunity of communicating to each other their mutual jealousy of the power of the Medici, and their desire of depriving them of their influence in Florence; in which event it is highly probable, that the Pazzi were to have exercised the chief authority in the city, under the patronage, if not under the avowed dominion of the papal see. The principal agent engaged in the undertaking was Francesco Salviati, archbishop of Pisa, to which rank he had lately been promoted by Sixtus, in opposition, to the wishes of the Medici, who had for some time endeavoured to prevent him from exercising his episcopal functions. If it be allowed that the unfavorable character given of him by Politiano is exaggerated, it is generally agreed that his qualities were the reverse of those which ought to have been the recommendations to such high preferrpent. The other conspirators were, Giacopo Salviati, brother of the archbishop, Giacopo Poggio, one of the sons of the celebrated Poggio Bracciolini, and who, like all the other sons of that eminent scholar, had obtained no small share of literary reputation *); Bernardo Bandini, a daring libertine, rendered desperate by the consequences of his excesses; Giovan Battista Montesicco, who had distinguished himself by his military talents as one of the Condottieri **) of the armies of the pope; Antonio

*) Er übersetzte unter andern die florentinische Geschichte seines Vaters aus dem Lateinischen in das Italianische, **) Condot tiere, (ein italianisches Wort) Führer, Anführer,

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Maffei, a priest of Volterra, and Stefano da Bagnonè, one of the apostolic scribes, with several others of inferior note.

In the arrangement of their plan, which appears to have been concerted with great precaution and secrecy, the conspirators soon discovered, that the dangers which they had to encounter were not so likely to arise from the difficulty of the attempt, as from the subsequent resentment of the Florentines, a great majority of whom were strongly attached to the Medici. Hence it became necessary to provide a military force, the assistance of which might be equally requisite whether the enterprise proved abortive or successful. By the influence of the pope, the king of Naples, who was then in alliance with him, and on one of whose sons he bad recently bestowed a cardinal's hat, was also induced to countenance the attempt.

These preliminaries being adjusted, Girolamo wrote to his nephew cardinal Riario, then at Pisa, ordering him to obey whatever directions he might receive from the archbishop. A body of two thousand men were destined to approach by different routes towards Florence, so as to be in readiness at the time appointed for striking the blow.

Shortly afterwards, the archbishop requested the presence of the cardinal at Florence, whither he immediately repaired, and took up his residence at a seat of the Pazzi, about a mile from the city. It seems to have been the intention of the conspirators to have effected their purpose at Fiesole *), where Lorenzo then had his country residence, to which they supposed that he would invite the cardinal and his attendants. Nor were they deceived in this conjecture, for Lorenzo prepared a magnificent entertainment on this occasion; but the absence of Giuliano **), on account of indisposition, obliged the conspirators to postpone the attempt. Disappointed in their hopes, another plan was now to be adopted; and on further deliberation it was resolved, that the assassination should take place on the succeeding Sunday, in the church of the Reparata, since called Santa Maria del Fiore, and that the signal for execution should be the elevation of the host. At the same moment the archbishop and others of the conspirators were to seize upon the palace, or

*) Fiesole, damals ein Städtchen unweit Florenz. **) Giuliano, geb. 1453, ermordet durch die Pazzi, 1478, Bruder des Lorenzo il Magnifico.

residence of the magistrates, whilst the office of Giacopo de' Pazzi was to endeavour, by the cry of liberty, to incite the citizens to revolt.

The immediate assassination of Giuliano was committed to Francesco de' Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini, and that of Lorenzo had been intrusted to the sole hand of Montesicco. This office he had willingly undertaken whilst he understood that it was to be executed in a private dwelling, but he shrunk from the idea of polluting the house of God with so heinous a crime. Two ecclesiastics were therefore selected for the commission of a deed, from which the soldier was deterred by conscious motives. These were Stefano da Bagnone, the apostolić scribe, and Antonio Maffei.

The young cardinal having expressed a desire to 'attend divine service in the church of the Reparata, on the ensuing Sunday, being the twenty-sixth day of April 1478, Lorenzo invited him and his suite to his house in Florence. He accordingly came with a large retinue, supporting the united characters of cardinal and apostolic legate, and was received by Lorenzo with that splendor and hospitality with which he was always accustomed to entertain men of high rank and consequence. Giuliano did not appear, a circumstance that alarmed the conspirators, whose arrangements would not admit of longer delay. They soon however learnt that he intended to be present at the church. The service was already begun, and the Cardinal had taken his seat, when Francesco de' Pazzi and Bandini, observing that Giuliano was not yet arrived, left the church and went to his house, in order to ensure and hasten his attendance. Giuliano accompanied them, and as he walked between them, they threw their arms round him with the familiarity of intimate friends, but in fact to discover whether he had any armour under his dress; possibly conjecturing from his long delay, that he had suspected their purpose. At the same time, by their freedom and jocularity, they endeavoured to obviate any apprehensions which he might entertain from such a proceeding. The conspirators having taken their stations near their intended victims, waited with impatience for the appointed signal. The bell rang the priest raised the consecrated wafer the people bowed before it and at the same instant Bandini plunged a short dagger into the breast of Giuliano. — On receiving

the wound he took a few hasty steps and fell, when Francesco de' Pazzi rushed upon him with incredible fury, and stabbed him in different parts of his body, continuing to repeat his strokes even after he was apparently dead. Such was the violences of his rage that he wounded himself deeply in the thigh. The priests who had undertaken the nitorder of Lorenzo were not equally successful. An ill-directed blow from Maffei, which was aimed at the throat, but took place behind the neck, rather roused him to his defense than disabled him. He immediately threw off his cloak, and holding it up as a shield in his left hand, with his right he drew his sword, and repelled his assailants. Perceiving that their purpose was defeated, the two ecclesiastics, after having wounded one of Lorenzo's attendants who had interposed to defend him, endeavoured to save themselves by flight. At the same moment Bandini, his dagger streaming with the blood of Giuliano, rushed towards Lorenzo; but meeting in his way with Francesco Nori, a person in the service of the Medici, and in whom they placed great confidence, he stabbed him with a wound instantaneously mortal. At the approach of Bandini the friends of Lorenzo encircled him, and burried him into the sacristy, where Politiano and others closed the doors, which were of brass. Apprehensions being entertained that the weapon which had wounded him was poisoned, young man attached to Lorenzo sucked the wound. A general alarm and consternation took place in the church; and such was the tumult which ensued, that it was at first believed by the audience that the building was falling in; but no sooner was it understood that Lorenzo was in danger, than several of the youth of Florence formed themselves into a body, and receiving him into the midst of them, conducted him into his house, making a circuitous turn from the church, lest he should meet with the death body of his brother.

Whilst these transactions passed in the church, another commotion took place in the palace, where the archbishop, who had left the church, as agreed upon before the attack on the Medici, and about thirty of his associates, attempted to overpower the magistrates, and to possess themselves of the seat of government. Leaving some of his followers stationed in different apartments, the archbishop proceeded to an interior chamber, where Cesare Petrucci, then gonfaloniere and the other magistrates were assembled. No sooner was the