1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised, Hey, this 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: is Danish sports. Quick bit of housekeeping just before we 4 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: get started. We are back with Rain on Me on 5 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 1: the Patreon. You asked, we answered, We being me and Caramadankua, 6 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: my friend and television writer extraordinaire, are going through every 7 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: episode of the CW series Rain. I say about Mary, 8 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: Queen of Scots, but very loosely about Mary Queen of 9 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: Scots and having a lot of fun. So that's over 10 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,639 Speaker 1: on the Patreon, where we also have episode scripts and 11 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,200 Speaker 1: a seasonal sticker club, so once a season you get 12 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: an exclusive sticker. That's over on the Patreon. I think 13 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: that's pretty much all I have to say. Oh, I'm 14 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: teaching a horror writing workshop this fall, So if you've 15 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: ever wanted to hone your fiction writing skills, be in 16 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: a fiction writing workshop. We will be reading short stories, 17 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: taking what we've learned and applying it to our own writing. 18 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,960 Speaker 1: It is a virtual class over zoom, so it does 19 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: not matter where you're located. But if that interests you 20 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,759 Speaker 1: at all, I've put it on my Instagram. The link 21 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: is in the bio of my instagram Danish Schwartz with 22 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: three z's on Instagram, and I'll also put it in 23 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: the show notes an episode description. Okay, let's get started. 24 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: The two men in front of him were so excited, 25 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: so passionate, that it was making Giovanni Battista, Count of 26 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: monte Seco nervous. Monte Seco was a career soldier, a 27 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: practical man, a captain who actually worked for one of 28 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: the men in front of him, Gilimo Riario. There were 29 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: three of them that day, meeting in Rome. Monte Seco 30 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 1: had been invited over to the fine house of the 31 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: Archbishop Francesco Salviati, where Geralimo and Salviati had sat the 32 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: captain down and told him something extraordinary. They were planning 33 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: an overthrowing Lorenzo the Magnificent in Florence. With the help 34 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: of another conspirator, Francisco de Pazzi. They would assassinate both 35 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: Lorenzo and his brother and claim the city, freeing it 36 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 1: from the tyranny of its Medici overlords. Girolimo had rightly 37 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: recognized that for what they were planning, they would need 38 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:55,799 Speaker 1: military expertise, which is why they brought Montesecco into the fold. 39 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: But the thing about a lifetime spent as a military 40 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: man was that monte Seco knew a hair brained scheme. 41 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: When he heard it, monte Seco brought up his concerns, 42 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: you know, he said, from what I've heard, Lorenzo the 43 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: Magnificent is pretty beloved in Florence. Salviati and Girolimo both scoffed. 44 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: You've never been to Florence, they said, trust us, no 45 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: matter what you've heard on the ground, things are different. 46 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: Salviati was from an old Florentine family, and it was 47 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: true monte Seco had never been to Florence. Maybe they 48 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: were right, after all, from what they said, the conspiracy 49 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 1: was happening in coordination with another old Florentine family, the Pazzis. 50 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: The Pazzis were even older than the Medicis. Still, monte 51 00:03:55,320 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: Seco was unconvinced. This was the fourteen seventies, and so 52 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: he had, of course not seen the twenty first century 53 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: television program The Wire. He had never heard the phrase, 54 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: if you come at the King, you best not miss. 55 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: But still he surely understood the sentiment. The Medici were 56 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: powerful once a humble banking family that had extended their 57 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:29,280 Speaker 1: tendrils throughout central Italy and beyond. Lorenzo, their patriarch at 58 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: this point, was a celebrated humanist and poet who kept 59 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: the government of Florence in his back pocket while bankrolling 60 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: universities and promoting local artists. Yes, he was the single 61 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:48,919 Speaker 1: power in what was supposed to be a republic, but 62 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: there was a reason the Medici had become so powerful 63 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 1: in the first place. Lorenzo was good at making friends 64 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: and allies, for better or for worse. He had Florence 65 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: wrapped around his finger, and Montesecco was well aware that 66 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: if they tried to take him down and failed, they 67 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: would be staring down a grisly death. The stakes in 68 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:21,280 Speaker 1: this game were win or be destroyed. Monteseco wanted to 69 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 1: be sure he was on the winning side, or at 70 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: least a side with a fighting chance. If they were 71 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: going to come for a king, he wanted to make 72 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 1: sure that they had a king behind them. He turned 73 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:41,360 Speaker 1: to Geralimo, his boss. What does your uncle say about this, 74 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:47,599 Speaker 1: he asked. Geralimo smiled, Let's do our next meeting at 75 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: his place, and so that was how Monteseco found himself 76 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 1: inside the Papal Palace, surrounded by a thousand years of 77 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: finery and a cum related wealth, Sitting down with Pope 78 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: Sixtus the Fourth. The Pope began the meeting, recounting all 79 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 1: of the many wrongs that Lorenzo de Medici had done 80 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: to them, the threat that he posed to them, their family. 81 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:21,119 Speaker 1: The papal states Italy as a whole, but Monticeco didn't 82 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:25,280 Speaker 1: need to know the Pope's philosophical position on the Medici. 83 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 1: He needed to know if he the Pope was sanctioning 84 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: his nephew's bloody plan. Interrupting the Pope as he waxed 85 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,600 Speaker 1: poetic about how much better Italy would be without Lorenzo's tyranny, 86 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: Monticeco said, Holy Father, it is difficult to execute such 87 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: an intention without the death of Lorenzo and Giuliano and 88 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 1: several others. Perhaps. The Pope replied, it is not my 89 00:06:56,279 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: office to cause the death of a man. Lorenzo has 90 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: behaved unworthily and badly towards us, but I will not 91 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: hear of his death, though I wish for a revolution 92 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,679 Speaker 1: in the state. Now it was Jeralimo's turn to speak 93 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: to his uncle. Will do our best that no one 94 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: fall victim, he said, and this next part I'll paraphrase, 95 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: but if it did, you know, end up being an assassination, 96 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: your Holiness would pardon whoever did it. Right. The Pope's 97 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: reply here is fascinating, a masterclass in saying everything that 98 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: needed to be said without actually saying it. Quote. I 99 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: will have no one die, but only the government overthrown. 100 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: I wish this revolution to proceed in Florence and the 101 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: government to be taken out of the hand of Lorenzo, 102 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 1: for he is a violent and bad man who pays 103 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: no regard to us. If you were expelled, we could 104 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: do with the republic as it seemed best, and that 105 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: would be very pleasing to us. End quote. The men 106 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: were satisfied, They thanked the Pope, maybe asked about the 107 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: progress on the new Sistine Chapel he was building, and 108 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: left Monte Seco. The grizzled soldier, who had been on 109 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: the fence about the whole endeavor, was finally convinced he 110 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: would join Geralimo Salviati and Francesco Pazzi in their assassination plot, 111 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: satisfied that they were in fact acting on behalf of 112 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: the Pope, or with the Pope's approval. Murder is wrong, 113 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: of course, but nothing is really a sin if it's 114 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: endorsed by the Pope. If you heard the Pope's statement 115 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: and thought, well, wait a minute, he wasn't actually saying 116 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: that they should murder Lorenzo de Medici, this is a 117 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: classic case of written words not really communicating everything that 118 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: the words meant at the time. Sixtus was not a 119 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 1: naive man. He was cunning and intelligent, surely not stupid 120 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,679 Speaker 1: enough to believe that there could be revolution in Florence 121 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,239 Speaker 1: that didn't involve the death of the Medici brothers Lorenzo 122 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: and Giuliano and Monteeseco was a practical man who had 123 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: needed the Pope's go ahead before joining the conspiracy. The 124 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: fact that he left that meeting fully on board is 125 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: the historical context clue. We need to understand that when 126 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: the Pope said, of course, I can't condone the bloodshed, 127 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,960 Speaker 1: but those Medici really need to go, what he was 128 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: really saying was do what you have to do. It 129 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: was a statement delivered with a wink. The Pope was 130 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: not only aware but in full support of their mission. 131 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: Even if he said he hoped it wouldn't be too 132 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: bloody in the end, regardless of the Pope's warning, it 133 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: would be. This attempt to assassinate two men would lead 134 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: to more than eighty deaths. Bodies would swing from the 135 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: Palazzo Vecchio in the main square of Florence. Corpses would 136 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: be dismembered and thrown throughout the city. What history now 137 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: knows as the Pazzi Conspiracy would become a gruesome spectacle, 138 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:45,079 Speaker 1: weeks of bloodshed that would eventually give rise to the 139 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:50,320 Speaker 1: entire city government being excommunicated and Florence itself placed under 140 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 1: papal interdict. But that would all come later. For now, 141 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:59,559 Speaker 1: there was just a trio of passionate men, so indignant 142 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:02,800 Speaker 1: at the abuses of Lorenzo de Medici that they had 143 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 1: worked themselves into a fervor until they convinced themselves that 144 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: killing him was the only possible course of action. The 145 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:17,480 Speaker 1: reasons why their petty grievances boiled into bloodlust are fascinating. 146 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:23,000 Speaker 1: The actual assassination attempt, which would be in the Cathedral 147 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: of Florence under Bruno Leeschi's famous dome during Sunday mass, 148 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: would make this conspiracy the stuff of legend. They would 149 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: come for the king, their souls be damned, and when 150 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:41,720 Speaker 1: spoiler alert they did in fact miss, it would lead 151 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:47,959 Speaker 1: to more destruction than they could have possibly imagined. I'm 152 00:11:48,040 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: Danish Schwartz, and this is noble blood. I could spend 153 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: a few minutes here describing the government system of Florence 154 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: in the fifteenth century. I could tell you about how 155 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:13,800 Speaker 1: it was a republic run by a council of nine 156 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:18,079 Speaker 1: men called the Signoria, with representatives from the major guilds 157 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 1: of the city, and then more councils would be called 158 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: into service should the need arise. I could talk about 159 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:27,360 Speaker 1: term length, about how each member of the government was chosen. 160 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: I could, but that would be a waste of both 161 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: of our time. For most of the second half of 162 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:40,000 Speaker 1: the fifteenth century, the government was one man Florence was 163 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 1: Lorenzo de Medici. The Medici family was not particularly old 164 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 1: or noble, but over generations of building banking power, they 165 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 1: became the undisputed heart of Florentine politics and culture. It 166 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:01,959 Speaker 1: had been Lorenzo's grandfather, Cosimo, who first elevated their family 167 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 1: over the nominal power of just being rich. Lorenzo's father, 168 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:11,959 Speaker 1: known unfortunately as Piero the Goudi was you guessed it, 169 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:16,439 Speaker 1: suffering from gout, but he was also clever and academic, 170 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: a lover of arts and literature with a passion he 171 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,120 Speaker 1: tried to pass on to his own two sons, Lorenzo 172 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 1: and Giuliano. From a young age, Lorenzo knew he would 173 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: be taking over the family business. He was fifteen when 174 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: his venerated grandfather Cosimo died, and he spent his adolescence 175 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:42,280 Speaker 1: going on diplomatic missions across Italy. He made friends with 176 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 1: the son of the King of Naples, he attended the 177 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: weddings of Milanesi princesses, and he made appearances in Bologna, Ferrara, Rome, 178 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:56,480 Speaker 1: all promoting the interests of Florence and the Medici. When 179 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: he was twenty, Lorenzo married for duty a woman named 180 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:05,680 Speaker 1: Clarice Orsini from a powerful Roman family. His mother had 181 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: gone down to examine the girl to see if she 182 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 1: passed muster. And while this isn't quite relevant to the 183 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,960 Speaker 1: subject matter of the episode, I find her letter back 184 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: funny enough that I think it's worth including. She wrote 185 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 1: quote her hair is not blonde, which side note was 186 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: considered the ideal for nobility at the time. Her face 187 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:31,360 Speaker 1: is somewhat round, yet it does not displease me. Her 188 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: bosom was invisible, for it is the fashion here to 189 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: cover it, but it appears to be ample. Altogether, we 190 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: consider her above the average good enough. Lorenzo no doubt 191 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:49,040 Speaker 1: understood that his marriage was a diplomatic prospect, not a 192 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: romantic one, But in his writing he could barely conceal 193 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: his distaste for the fact that he would have preferred 194 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: a more cultured Florentine bride. I have taken a wife, 195 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 1: he wrote, or rather she was given to me. Now. 196 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 1: Usually when we describe weddings on this podcast, they are 197 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 1: elaborate affairs, dresses with trains the lengths of city blocks, 198 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: and feasts with sugar sculptures and stuffed peacocks. And so 199 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,880 Speaker 1: when you hear the phrase Medici wedding, you might be 200 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: expecting another list of finery beyond the wildest imagination of 201 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: anyone who has ever sublet a studio apartment. But note 202 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: rich as they were, the Medici wedding was a simple occasion. 203 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 1: One guest noted quote as an example of moderation to others. 204 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: On such occasions, there was never more than one roast. 205 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 1: The Medici were rich, yes, but above all they were prudent, 206 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 1: and they understood the power of having positive standing in 207 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: their commune. There were a series of banquets to commemorate 208 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:08,200 Speaker 1: Lorenzo's weddings, But unlike kings who used their wealth to 209 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: show off the fact that they were gods anointed on earth, 210 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: the Medici didn't want anyone to see them as superior. 211 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: It was advice from Lorenzo's grandfather that he also heeded. Well, 212 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:27,200 Speaker 1: never have the people be jealous of you. They were 213 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:31,520 Speaker 1: doing the fifteenth century equivalent of what people today call 214 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: quiet wealth no visible labels. In case you were wondering, 215 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 1: Lorenzo and Claire's marriage was, to borrow a phrase from 216 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: Lorenzo's mother, probably just about above the average, to quote 217 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: a historian, affection grew with habit, but he never fell 218 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 1: in love with his wife. It was Lorenzo's younger brother, Juliano, 219 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 1: who was the romantic. He unburdened by the responsibility of 220 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,960 Speaker 1: being the eldest boy. Julianu relished in the rituals of 221 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:13,360 Speaker 1: courtly love and romance. The two of them, Lorenzo and Giuliano, 222 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: the two Medici brothers, were the powerful beating heart at 223 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:22,399 Speaker 1: the center of Florence, the city in the center of 224 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: Renaissance Italy. When it comes to the series of events 225 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 1: that would eventually lead a group of men to want 226 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:34,479 Speaker 1: to kill the Medici brothers in cold blood, the place 227 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,639 Speaker 1: we start is with the death of an old pope. 228 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: Pope Paul the Second, who was Venetian, died in fourteen 229 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:47,160 Speaker 1: seventy one. There wasn't too much love lost. Pope Paul 230 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:50,520 Speaker 1: the Second was obsessed with the finer things in life. 231 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 1: He collected antique bronzes and jewels. At night, he would 232 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 1: bring rubies and sapphires into bed with him. Apparently it 233 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:04,200 Speaker 1: was because of a superstition, and people didn't like it 234 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 1: because it read as pagan personally. To me, it calls 235 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:13,680 Speaker 1: to mind a cartoon dragon. When he died, the idea 236 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: was that the next Pope should be a more modest man, 237 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: or at least someone from a not too powerful family 238 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: with an unimpeachable reputation. The choice was Francesco of Savona, 239 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 1: who adopted the last name Riveri, meaning Oak, and he 240 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:37,679 Speaker 1: became Pope Sixtus the Fourth. Of course, Lorenzo de Medici, 241 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:42,280 Speaker 1: born diplomat, was sure to pay his respects, and it 242 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:45,879 Speaker 1: seemed as though the two men would get on. In fact, 243 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 1: Lorenzo was given such a warm reception by the new 244 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,880 Speaker 1: pope that it actually made the Duke of Milan jealous. 245 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 1: It was important that the Medici and the papal relationship 246 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,920 Speaker 1: was strong, because the Medici were the Vaticans major banker. 247 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: Lorenzo tried to advocate to make his younger brother Giuliano 248 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:10,200 Speaker 1: a cardinal, but the Pope demurred. Giuliano was just twenty. 249 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,240 Speaker 1: There's plenty of time for that, and he's a little young. 250 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:17,200 Speaker 1: Of course, age wouldn't stop the pope later on from 251 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,920 Speaker 1: making one of his nephews a cardinal at seventeen years old. 252 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: The new Pope, Sixtus the Fourth, wasn't going to bring 253 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,239 Speaker 1: gems into his bed, but he wasn't going to let 254 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 1: the position of being pope pass him by without trying 255 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:36,920 Speaker 1: to establish a family dynasty. And so he got started 256 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:41,520 Speaker 1: on a practice so common it actually gave rise to 257 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:46,159 Speaker 1: the word nepotism, the practice of a pope giving his 258 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:52,000 Speaker 1: nephews or nipotes, positions of power. Two of his nephews 259 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:56,159 Speaker 1: immediately became cardinals off the bat, and for another of 260 00:19:56,200 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: his nephews, a layman named Gialimo Riario, the Pope purchased 261 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: the tiny town of Imola, making Duralimo a lord. Immola 262 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: is small, but it was an important stronghold, about fifty 263 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: miles outside of Florence. An important thing for you to 264 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 1: remember is that in the fourteen hundreds the Vatican wasn't 265 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:22,120 Speaker 1: just a tiny little pocket in Rome that you could 266 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:26,360 Speaker 1: line up to visit to see Michelangelo's Pieta. The Papal 267 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: states were a kingdom and fighting for supremacy and power 268 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: on the Italian peninsula, just like their neighbors, only with 269 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 1: the added bonus that their quote unquote king happened to be, 270 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:44,119 Speaker 1: you know, the pontiff with holy authority. If you have 271 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: an incredibly good memory for names, you might remember Duralimo, 272 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,359 Speaker 1: the new Lord of Immola from our introduction. He's about 273 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:57,119 Speaker 1: to become a major player here. The challenging thing about 274 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:01,399 Speaker 1: discussing this conspiracy is there isn't a simple a to 275 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 1: be to see narrative of how the conspirators came together 276 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:10,760 Speaker 1: and how they all collectively and individually built up enough 277 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: vitriol toward the Medici family to be motivated enough for 278 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: an incredibly risky coup. But if you bear with me, 279 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: we'll walk through a few of those factors and inciting 280 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:28,679 Speaker 1: incidents and introduce the major conspirators at play. One of 281 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:32,720 Speaker 1: the big conflict points was the sale of Imola itself. 282 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: Remember how the Pope bought the town for his nephew, Well, 283 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:41,000 Speaker 1: the Duke of Milan who sold it, had originally agreed 284 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: to sell it to Lorenzo de Medici. Of course, Lorenzo 285 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:49,760 Speaker 1: wanted it, it was a really strategic and important town 286 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,520 Speaker 1: right on the edges of his territory. But the Duke 287 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 1: of Milan was enticed by papal power, so much so 288 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,240 Speaker 1: that if the Pope agreed to have Geralimo marry one 289 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:05,919 Speaker 1: of his illegitimate daughters, he would sell the town for 290 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,879 Speaker 1: far less than the number Lorenzo had agreed to pay. 291 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:14,919 Speaker 1: Lorenzo naturally was furious, and he refused to have his 292 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:19,119 Speaker 1: bank fund the sale, and so the Pope went through 293 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:24,679 Speaker 1: another Florentine banking family, the Pozzis, who did agree to 294 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 1: front most of the cash. This is a good opportunity 295 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:34,960 Speaker 1: to introduce our next conspirator, representing the family that gives 296 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: the Pozzi conspiracy its name. Francesco de Pozzi. Geralimo, lord 297 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,640 Speaker 1: of Emmila, was new money who wore his uncle's new 298 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 1: found power and wealth on his person with silk and gems. 299 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:55,720 Speaker 1: Pozzi was old money, the scion of an old Florentine 300 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: family who had seen their wealth and power dwindle while 301 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:04,680 Speaker 1: the media outmaneuvered them at every turn. Francesco de Pazzi 302 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,760 Speaker 1: was tired of having to grovel for scraps of dignity 303 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,639 Speaker 1: while the Medici sat comfortably in their seat of power. 304 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:18,400 Speaker 1: When Francesco de Pazzi and Geralimo got together, they lathered 305 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 1: each other up, bolstering each other's confidence and bravery, until 306 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:30,960 Speaker 1: assassination seemed not only noble but inevitable. Pozzi had seen 307 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: his family dwindle begging for Medici scraps. Jeralimo was the 308 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:40,240 Speaker 1: lord of a tiny state that could easily be squeezed 309 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:44,159 Speaker 1: out of existence between the real powers of Milan and 310 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:50,800 Speaker 1: Medici Florence. And as Jeralimo also understood with a creeping awareness, 311 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:57,479 Speaker 1: his newfound power was entirely dependent on his uncle, the Pope, 312 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:02,440 Speaker 1: who was getting up there in years. Jeralimo had seen 313 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,399 Speaker 1: the promise of power. It was just there glistening in 314 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 1: the distance, and if he didn't act, it would flicker 315 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,680 Speaker 1: and disappear, like a candle flame on a damp night. 316 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: He wanted power, he wanted to secure that power, and 317 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:27,440 Speaker 1: so Lorenzo de Medici had to go. One writer, Nicolo Valori, 318 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: writing only a few decades after the assassination attempt, claimed 319 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:36,199 Speaker 1: the entire thing was Jeralimo's idea first, and that he 320 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,560 Speaker 1: came to Pozzi with the idea to kill Lorenzo. Another 321 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:45,600 Speaker 1: writer says it was Pozzi's idea. Macchiavelli sort of splits 322 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:49,280 Speaker 1: the difference when he recounts the event writing quote. And 323 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:53,639 Speaker 1: since Francesco to Pozzi was very friendly with Count Geralimo, 324 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,639 Speaker 1: they often complained to one another of the Medici. So 325 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,159 Speaker 1: after many complaints, they came to the reasoning that it 326 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,239 Speaker 1: was necessary if one of them was to live in 327 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:07,800 Speaker 1: his states and the other in his city securely to 328 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:11,320 Speaker 1: change the state of Florence, which they thought could not 329 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:17,439 Speaker 1: be done without the deaths of Giuliano and Lorenzo. But 330 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 1: here's the thing. Geralimo and Pozzi knew that they were 331 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: both outsiders and not particularly popular in Florence. Even though 332 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:30,879 Speaker 1: Pozzi was a born Florentine, he had spent most of 333 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:33,960 Speaker 1: his life living abroad. If the two of them were 334 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,280 Speaker 1: going to overthrow the Medici, they needed to be seen 335 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:43,000 Speaker 1: as liberators, not foreign assassins. They wanted to spearhead a 336 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: Florentine revolution, and so they needed to bring someone else 337 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:52,520 Speaker 1: into their conspiracy. The third man in was an archbishop 338 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 1: named Francesco de Salviati. Salviati was about twenty years older 339 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:03,400 Speaker 1: than both Jai and Pazzi. He was middle aged when 340 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:08,040 Speaker 1: he should have outgrown flights of romantic heroism, but he 341 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:12,480 Speaker 1: had his own reasons to hate the Medici. Like the Pazzi, 342 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:17,120 Speaker 1: the Salviati were an old Florentine family that had fallen 343 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:21,040 Speaker 1: on hard times, and he blamed their descent on the 344 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:25,240 Speaker 1: rising Medici. In some ways that might have been justified. 345 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,959 Speaker 1: It was under certain financial policies by Lorenzo's dad that 346 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:33,240 Speaker 1: the Salviati were forced to give up a wool business 347 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:37,600 Speaker 1: they owned in Pisa. But it wasn't just pride or 348 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,400 Speaker 1: a nebulous sense of family dignity that would drive Salviati 349 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:48,919 Speaker 1: into joining the conspirators. No, for him, it was very personal. 350 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 1: Salviati was cousins with the Pazzi, but he was also 351 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:58,320 Speaker 1: the right hand man of Jeralimo's brother, Pietro I E, 352 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:03,680 Speaker 1: another pope who was made a cardinal and then Archbishop 353 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:10,000 Speaker 1: of Florence. But then in fourteen seventy four Archbishop Pietro died. 354 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,040 Speaker 1: He was only twenty nine years old, and so of 355 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:17,920 Speaker 1: course there were whispers of poison, but the more likely 356 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:22,719 Speaker 1: culprit is a few years of very very hard living 357 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: what historians in the books I've read like to call 358 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:32,400 Speaker 1: over indulgence. Anyway, Salviati was a Florentine and the right 359 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,439 Speaker 1: hand man of the late Archbishop of Florence. He was 360 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:41,040 Speaker 1: ready to get the job. Lorenzo de Medici put his 361 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:44,920 Speaker 1: brother in law in the position. The Pope felt bad 362 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 1: and more or less informally promised that Salviati would get 363 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:52,919 Speaker 1: the next open slot, and so a few months later, 364 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 1: when Filippo Dimidici, Archbishop of Pisa, died, the Pope gave 365 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:03,280 Speaker 1: Salviati the job. But there was a problem. It's worth 366 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,400 Speaker 1: noting here that at this point in the fifteenth century, 367 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:11,240 Speaker 1: Pisa was controlled by Florence. The Signoria in Florence was 368 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:16,080 Speaker 1: supposed to have been consulted about who filled the archbishop position. 369 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:20,639 Speaker 1: The Pope hadn't done that. They had provided the Pope 370 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:25,480 Speaker 1: a list of acceptable candidates, and Salviati wasn't on it. 371 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 1: The Pope didn't pull back, he doubled down and said 372 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: that as pope, he's entitled to put whoever he wants 373 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: into the position of archbishop. Well, Florence responded, you're allowed 374 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 1: to put whoever you want in the position, but we 375 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:45,400 Speaker 1: are allowed to say who can and cannot set foot 376 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 1: in our territory. And so, even though Salviati was Archbishop 377 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 1: of Pisa, Florence refused to let him actually physically take 378 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:02,040 Speaker 1: the position. Salviati was forced to spend a humiliating year 379 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:06,440 Speaker 1: in Limbo in Rome until he was finally allowed into Pisa, 380 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:11,880 Speaker 1: and the entire time he was stewing about Lorenzo de Medici, 381 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: the man wielding power that wasn't even his right, like 382 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: a tyrant. So those are the three major conspirators worth knowing. Geralimo, 383 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: the Pope's nephew and Lord of Imola, Francesco de Pazzi, 384 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:33,720 Speaker 1: the family allying themselves with the Pope, and Francesco Salviati 385 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 1: Archbishop of Pisa, another papal loyalist who resented Lorenzo and 386 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,680 Speaker 1: the power he wielded in Florence, brought in as some 387 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 1: additional hometown muscle. Unfortunately for Jeralimo and Pozzi, in the 388 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,920 Speaker 1: words of historian Miles Hunger quote, it's a measure of 389 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 1: how out of touch they were with public opinion in 390 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,880 Speaker 1: Florence that the second native son drawn into the web 391 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:04,400 Speaker 1: was almost as unpopular in his native land as Francesco 392 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 1: de Pazzi himself. But out of touch or not, these 393 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,959 Speaker 1: were the core conspirators who would then go on to 394 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:16,320 Speaker 1: enlist Geralimo's captain Monteseco, the man we followed in the 395 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:21,480 Speaker 1: introduction the man with military experience. Over the next couple 396 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 1: of years, there were a number of other slights between 397 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 1: the Papal states and the Medici that would continue to 398 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 1: exacerbate their relationship. Like the Pope would try to help 399 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 1: another of his nephews secure a small town in Perusia 400 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,440 Speaker 1: the Chita de Castello, and the nephew would ask Lorenzo 401 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 1: de Medici for help, but Lorenzo had made an alliance 402 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:46,000 Speaker 1: with the family that was in charge of that town, 403 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,680 Speaker 1: and he refused the Pope would move his accounts from 404 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:54,000 Speaker 1: the Medici and do more banking with the Pazzi. Geralimo, 405 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:57,560 Speaker 1: on behalf of the papal treasury, would do an audit 406 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:02,240 Speaker 1: of the Medici bank. That's sort of thing, tensions building 407 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 1: until they would in the end erupt. There's one more 408 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: slight that's so petty, I do feel like it's worth 409 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:15,560 Speaker 1: mentioning in some depth. In fourteen seventy seven, an incredibly 410 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:21,640 Speaker 1: rich Florentine man named Giovanni Borromeo died without any male heirs, 411 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:26,000 Speaker 1: only a daughter. Under Florentine law, his inheritance would go 412 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,400 Speaker 1: to the daughter, but the male cousins who wanted that 413 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:33,320 Speaker 1: money petitioned Lorenzo to change the law so that the 414 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:38,640 Speaker 1: inheritance would go to surviving male relatives instead. And Lorenzo 415 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 1: had the laws changed, which would have been fine, except 416 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:46,600 Speaker 1: the daughter, the one set to inherit the windfall, was 417 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:51,880 Speaker 1: married to Francesco de Pazzi's brother. It's a slight, so petty, 418 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:56,240 Speaker 1: and a law changed so specifically just to screw over 419 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:02,440 Speaker 1: the Pazzi that you almost understand their murder fantasies. Anyway, 420 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:07,240 Speaker 1: that's the scene set a number of interweaving players with 421 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:12,120 Speaker 1: various reasons for hating Lorenzo de Medici. They knew that 422 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:15,160 Speaker 1: as long as he lived, and as long as his 423 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:20,200 Speaker 1: brother Juliano lived, florent would be under the Medici thumb. 424 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,520 Speaker 1: Wasn't it supposed to be a republic. Weren't they supposed 425 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:28,440 Speaker 1: to be done with tyrants, especially tyrants that they had 426 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:32,680 Speaker 1: petty gripes with. Something had to be done, and they 427 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:36,560 Speaker 1: would be the ones to do it. The Medici knew 428 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:38,840 Speaker 1: they had a target on their back, and they were 429 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 1: careful to some degree when Gialimo invited Lorenzo to visit 430 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:47,719 Speaker 1: him in Rome. Lorenzo was smart enough to refuse that invitation, 431 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:52,520 Speaker 1: but the Medici were completely unaware as to the extent 432 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:57,680 Speaker 1: of the plot forming against them. The Medici brothers continue 433 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 1: to live their life, celebrate art and poetry and Florentine culture. 434 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:08,760 Speaker 1: In fourteen seventy five, Giuliano de Medici had a magnificent 435 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,280 Speaker 1: jout that served as a coming out party for him. 436 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:17,560 Speaker 1: The streets were transformed into a fantasy scape, with artisans 437 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:23,120 Speaker 1: tasked with transforming buildings into fairy castles with banners, tapestries, 438 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:27,040 Speaker 1: and pennants. When young Giuliano, twenty one years old at 439 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:31,400 Speaker 1: this point, rode out in full armor, carrying a banner 440 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 1: painted by Bodicelli. He must have looked resplendent. He must 441 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:40,200 Speaker 1: have looked beautiful, full of the promise of youth and 442 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 1: wealth and power. Of course, now that the relationship between 443 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:48,800 Speaker 1: the Medici and Sixtus the Fourth had soured, there were 444 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 1: no more conversations about turning Giuliano into a cardinal. But 445 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:56,120 Speaker 1: still at that moment, I'm sure no one gave it 446 00:33:56,240 --> 00:34:00,920 Speaker 1: a second thought. Our gallant knight Juliana had the favor 447 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:05,840 Speaker 1: of the lovely Semonetta of Vespucci, celebrated as the most 448 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:09,279 Speaker 1: beautiful woman in Italy at the time. It was her 449 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:13,320 Speaker 1: image on his banner, along with a French inscription meaning 450 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:19,120 Speaker 1: the unparalleled one. Giuliano's men trailed behind him, also gleaming 451 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:23,120 Speaker 1: in custom armor. Looking out at that scene, it would 452 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:26,879 Speaker 1: have been impossible for Lorenzo to predict that in a year, 453 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:31,520 Speaker 1: the lovely Semonetta would be dead of illness, and two 454 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:36,480 Speaker 1: short years after that Giuliano would be dead himself. His 455 00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:41,360 Speaker 1: limbs contorted as the blood seeped from his body onto 456 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:58,080 Speaker 1: the cold floor of the cathedral, in Florence. That's the 457 00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:01,839 Speaker 1: end of part one of this story of the Pazzi conspiracy, 458 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:05,680 Speaker 1: but keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear 459 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:09,759 Speaker 1: a little bit more about how Giuliana's lover cemented her 460 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:25,759 Speaker 1: place in art history. Simonetta Vespucci, considered the most beautiful 461 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:29,680 Speaker 1: woman in Italy, quickly became a fixture at court with 462 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:35,640 Speaker 1: Lorenzo and Giuliano de Medici. With Giuliano especially, he held a 463 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:40,200 Speaker 1: banner carrying her likeness during the joust of his coming out, 464 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:45,080 Speaker 1: and when he won, he declared Simonetta the Queen of Beauty. 465 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:50,279 Speaker 1: Though some historians dismiss their romance as mere courtly love, 466 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:54,480 Speaker 1: she was, after all, a married woman. Her husband happened 467 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:57,920 Speaker 1: to be a cousin of the famed cartographer Amerigo Vespucci. 468 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:02,560 Speaker 1: But in my opinion, looking at the evidence, it seems 469 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:08,080 Speaker 1: apparent that Simonetta's relationship with Juliano was more intimate than 470 00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:12,960 Speaker 1: just social niceties. After Simonetta died of illness at just 471 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:17,239 Speaker 1: twenty two years old, her father in law sent Giuliano 472 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:21,359 Speaker 1: some of her dresses. But Juliano wasn't the only man 473 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:25,040 Speaker 1: who fell in love with Semonetta at least not esthetically. 474 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:30,200 Speaker 1: The artist Bodicelli painted her face on Giuliano's banner that 475 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,600 Speaker 1: day of the joust, and he also snuck her into 476 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:38,120 Speaker 1: some of his most famous paintings. A woman with a 477 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:43,400 Speaker 1: long nose and light strawberry blonde hair recurs in his work. 478 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:48,840 Speaker 1: One of the graces in Bodicelli's Primavera, possibly the central 479 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:55,440 Speaker 1: figure herself, and some say Simonetta Vespucci was immortalized arriving 480 00:36:55,560 --> 00:37:00,640 Speaker 1: to shore balanced on a seashell, naked with her hair 481 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:06,320 Speaker 1: winding around her, a goddess in Bodicelli's painting, The Birth 482 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:25,560 Speaker 1: of Venus. Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and 483 00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:29,760 Speaker 1: Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Noble Blood is created 484 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:34,000 Speaker 1: and hosted by me Dana Schwort, with additional writing and 485 00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:39,600 Speaker 1: researching by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, 486 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:43,879 Speaker 1: and Lori Goodman. The show is edited and produced by 487 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:49,280 Speaker 1: Noemi Griffin and rima Il Kahali, with supervising producer Josh 488 00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:54,840 Speaker 1: Thain and executive producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. 489 00:37:55,360 --> 00:38:01,240 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, 490 00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:07,480 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.