GIULIANO DE' MEDICI. -(1453-1478.)

THE PAZZI CONSPIRACY

Assassinated in cold blood at Santa Maria del Fiore when only five-and-twenty, Giuliano was, like Lorenzo, a son of Piero it Gottoso ; and he, too, was born to command. Like all who die young, he leaves behind him kindly recollections, and Politian gives the following sketch of him : "He was tall, with broad shoulders, a well-developed chest, strong, muscular; well built on his legs, and endowed with more physical power than a man can need. His eyes were a deep black, his complexion very dark, like his hair, which he wore brushed back from the temples. A fine horseman and a good shot, he was also an adept at gymnastics and all kinds of games, while, in gratifying his fondness for the chase, he did not know what fatigue and hunger meant. He was high-minded and firm in his judgment, with an instinctive fondness for all that was elegant, and a decided taste for poetry. He has left behind a few verses in the vulgar tongue on grave subjects, but light literature formed his favorite reading. Very ready-witted, extremely urbane, and with an unmitigated contempt for falsehood, he did not readily forget an injury. He was particular as to his dress, but not to the extent of being a fop. He had a manly carriage, and, while full of respect for his elders, was very considerate to those beneath him. All these qualities made him a general favorite, and his death was looked upon as a public calamity."

It is said that some days after the conspiracy which put an end to his life, one of his most intimate friends, Antonio de San Gallo, went to Lorenzo the Magnificent, and made a confession to him. Giuliano had formed a liaison with a young girl of the Gorini family, by whom he had had a son. Lorenzo, after having received his evidence and ascertained the truth of it, took this child under his care, and be afterwards became Pope Clement VII. There is not in the whole history of Florence a more dramatic episode than that which is known by the name of " the Conspiracy of the Pazzi." We have two contemporary narratives which are historic landmarks : one in Latin, written by Angelo Politian, the other in the vulgar Angel by Machiavelli. Dandolo, in his splendid essays on "Florence down to the Fall of the Republic," declares that Machiavelli's narrative is spoilt by the tone of spite that underruns it all, whilst Politian's, on the other hand, bears the impress of favoritism. In Machiavelli the facts are perhaps more clearly set forth, and he it is whom I have taken for my authority. I now give the true causes of the conspiracy, according to Machiavelli, which, in 1478, nearly cost Lorenzo de' Medici his life. Pope Sixtus IV., angry with the Medici for the assistance they had lent to Nicolo Vitelli and other 'barons of the Roniagna, had taken from Lorenzo the charge of the treasure of the Holy See in order to invest it in the hands of a certain Pazzi, a man of a noble Florentine family, of good position, and owner of a bank at Rome. This Pazzi was the last survivor of three brothers who had left children. One Guglielmo had espoused Bianca, the sister of Lorenzo de' Medici ; Francesco, the other nephew, had for sonic years lived at Rome ; while Giovanni, the third, had chosen as his wife the daughter of Buonromei, a man of immense wealth, of whom she was the sole heiress. All this fortune would then in the course of things come to Giovanni's wife, but a relative appearing upon the scene claimed a share of the property.

A lawsuit followed, and the daughter of Buonromei lost all that she had inherited from her father ; and the Pazzi detected in this decision the influence of the Medici, Giuliano himself expressing to his brother Lorenzo the fear that by grasping at too much they would lose all. Lorenzo, however (we must remember that it is Machiavelli who is speaking), elated with youth and power, imagined that he might do what he pleased ; while the Pazzi, on the other hand, strong in the possession of wealth and a high social position, were fully determined not to put up with so gross an injustice, and sought means for a speedy vengeance. The first to act in the matter was Francesco, by far the most energetic and sensitive member of the family. He declared that he was determined to recover that which he had already lost or else to lose all. He passed nearly all his time at Rome, out of hatred to the Florentine Government, and whilst there contracted a close alliance with. Girolamo, Count of Riaro, the Pope's nephew. They interchanged confidences on the subject of their mutual animosity against the Medici, till they began to conspire and think out by what means they could change the form of government. The conclusion they arrived at was dramatic : the death of Giuliano and Lorenzo alone would enable them to arrive at their end. They did not doubt but that the Holy Father would lend his aid, provided, however, it was made clear to him that the end was well defined and easy of accomplishment. They next confided their scheme to Francesco Salviati, Archbishop of Pisa, an ambitious prelate, who had suffered much at the hands of the Aledici family. Salviati readily joined the conspiracy ; but they had a far more difficult task in enlisting the services of Jacopo di Pazzi. This was, however, finally accomplished, and another Jacopo, son of the celebrated Poggio, two others of the Salviati the one a brother and the other a connection of the Archbishop, Bernardo Bandini, and Napoleone Franzesi, energetic, young, courageous, and devoted to the Pazzi, joined, as also did Giovanni Battista da Montesecco, Condottiere in the Papal service, together with Antonio da, Volterra and a priest named Stefano. Rinato de' Pazzi, an able and thoughtful man, who foresaw the dangers of such an enterprise, refused to listen, and did all he could to dissuade them from their project. The Pope had placed Raffaelo Riario, a nephew of Count Girolamo, at the college of Pisa, and whilst there he was promoted to the Cardinalate. The conspirators invited the Cardinal to come to Florence, with the idea that his arrival would serve as a screen to the execution of their project. The Cardinal did in fact arrive, and was received by Jacopo de' Pazzi. The first suggestion was to get rid of the Medici during the visit that they would no doubt pay to the illustrious stranger, but they failed to put in an appearance. It was next proposed to give a banquet on Sunday, April 26, 1478, and assassinate the two brothers at table, but hearing that they would not be there, another plan had to be hastily substituted. They would kill them even in the cathedral, where they could hardly fail to be present at divine service on the occasion of the attendance of Riario. Lorenzo was assigned to Montesecco, while Francesco de' Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini were to attack Giuliano. Montesecco, however rejected this arrangement at once, on the ground that he had not sufficient courage to commit so great an act of sacrilege in a church. This was one of the causes of the failure of the enterprise. There was no time to lose, and there was no other course than to leave the business of assassinating Lorenzo to Antonio da Volterra and the priest Stefano, both equally incapable and spiritless men. This decision once arrived at, the moment of the elevation of the Host was fixed on as the signal.