These alliances mattered, because the Medicis were increasingly dependent on their political power and the income they accrued from the Florentine state, both directly as officeholders and indirectly via patronage of contracts.
The family bank was faltering. After the default of Edward IV of England in , first its London and then its Bruges and Milan branches had foundered, their problems exacerbated by mismanagement.
The Medici had tried to circumvent the usual structures of government, ruling by means of emergency committees packed with allies, and pre-selecting election candidates. But there was ample opposition to these tactics in the city, from both rival oligarchs and the lower classes. This would lead to the events of 26 April The backdrop to the conspiracy was a row over the town of Imola, which enjoyed a strategic location on the road between Florence and the Adriatic ports.
The Duke of Milan had agreed to sell it to Lorenzo, but he reneged on the agreement and decided to sell it to the Pope instead, part of a deal in which their daughter and nephew would marry. Email address:. Who was Lorenzo the Magnificent? Meet Lorenzo the Magnificent — 10 curious facts 1. Why was he called Il Magnifico? Florence Cathedral 4.
He was a gifted poet Lorenzo was more than just an astute diplomat and politician out to secure power for himself. Your friendly online guide to Florence and Tuscany.
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French writer Simone de Beauvoir laid the foundation for the modern feminist movement. In , on the advice of his father, Piero, he married Clarice Orsini, thereby establishing a bond with one of the oldest, most powerful noble families of Rome.
Piero died on Dec. This he did, ruling as his father and grandfather had done, from behind the scenes and without holding any public office. Lorenzo enhanced the prestige and stability of his house when he came to an agreement with Pope Sixtus IV in by which the Medici would continue to handle the papal finances.
And in he won the hearts of all Florentines by saving the city from an imminent famine. When the bad harvest of that year threatened the population with disaster, it was Lorenzo who imported large amounts of grain. Although it was a maxim of Medici policy to retain close ties with the Holy See, relations between Lorenzo and Pope Sixtus were not always cordial.
The Pontiff was very displeased when Lorenzo's diplomacy achieved an alliance between Florence, Venice, and Milan, for such a combination was more than a match for the armies of the Church. Sixtus felt thwarted in his ambitions to expand the papal territory and uneasy about the safety of what the Church already held.
His hostility grew when he learned that Lorenzo was trying to buy the town of Imola, which was strategically important. Consequently the Pope agreed to a plot designed to rid Florence of both Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano. The chief conspirators were the Pazzi family, a rival banking house and bitter enemies of the Medici. The plan was to assassinate the two brothers at a moment when their guard would be down, during the celebration of Mass on Easter Sunday, April 26, Giuliano was slain, but Lorenzo escaped with wounds.
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