Heroes of Modern Europe

								

Italian neighbours and so form another Triple Alliance.  He then
proceeded to win over the Duke of Urbino, who had been the leader of
the Florentine army.  He also thwarted the ambition of Florentine trade
by purchasing the tower of Imola from Milan.  The Medici, coveting the
bargain for their traffic with the East, were too indignant to advance
the money which, as bankers to the Papacy, they should have supplied.
They preferred to see their rivals, the great Roman banking-house of
the Pazzi, accommodating the Pope, even though this might mean a fatal
blow to their supremacy.
Lorenzo's hopes of a strong coalition against his foe were destroyed by
the assassination of Sforza of Milan in 1474.  The Duke was murdered in
the church of St Stephen by three young nobles who had personal
injuries to avenge and were also inspired by an ardent desire for
republican liberty.  The Pope exclaimed, when he heard the news, that
the peace of Italy was banished by this act of lawlessness.  Lorenzo,
disapproving of all outbreaks against tyranny, promised to support the
widowed Duchess of Milan.  The control he exercised during her brief
régime came to an end in 1479 with the usurpation of Ludovico, her
Moorish brother-in-law.
Then Riario, the Pope's nephew, saw that the time was ripe for a
conspiracy against the Medici which might deprive them of their power
in Italy.  He allied himself closely with Francesco dei Pazzi, who was
anxious for the aggrandisement of his own family.  His name had long
been famous in Florence, every good citizen watching the ancient Carro
dei Pazzi which was borne in procession at Easter-tide.  The car was
stored with fireworks set alight by means {38} of the Colombina (Dove)
bringing a spark struck from a stone fragment of Christ's tomb.  The
citizens could not forget the origin of the sacred flame, for they had
all heard in youth the story of the return of a crusading member of the
Pazzi house with that precious relic.
The two conspirators hoped to bring a foreign army against Florence
and, therefore, gained the aid of Salviati, Archbishop of Pisa.  The
Pope bade them do as they wished, "provided that there be no killing."
In reality, he was aware that a plot to assassinate both Lorenzo dei
Medici and his brother, Giuliano, was on foot, but considered that it
would degrade his holy office if he spoke of it.
It was necessary for their first plan that Lorenzo should be lured to
Rome where the conspirators had assembled, but he refused an invitation
to confer with the Pope about their differences and a new plan had to
be substituted.  Accordingly the nephew of Riario, Cardinal Raffaelle
Sansoni, expressed a keen desire to view the treasures of the Medici
household, and was welcomed as a guest by Florence.  He attended mass
in the Cathedral which was to be the scene of the assassination, since
Lorenzo and his brother were certain to attend it.  Two priests offered