BOOK VIII
1

The beginning of this eighth book falls between two conspiracies: one in Milan, which I have just described, and the other, which I will now describe, in Florence. Hence it would seem fitting, should I follow my usual practice, to discuss the nature of conspiracies and their significance. I would do this quite readily if I had not already discussed the matter elsewhere,²² or if it were the kind of subject one could touch on briefly. But as the nature of conspiracies and their significance deserve extensive consideration and have already been discussed in another place, I leave them aside and move on.

The Medici had now crushed all the enemies who had challenged them openly, but in order for this family to wield exclusive power in Florence and distinguish themselves from other families in civic life, the Medici also needed to overcome enemies who were plotting against them secretly. When the Medici had been vying with other families of equal influence and standing, citizens who envied their power were able to oppose them openly without having to fear that they would be crushed at the first sign of opposition, since at that point the magistrates were independent and no faction had reason to be afraid until they actually lost. But after the victory of 1466²³ the government was almost entirely in the hands of the Medici, who had acquired so much power that those who were dissatisfied either had to suffer in patience or, if they wanted to destroy the Medici’s power, had to try doing so through secret means and conspiracy. But conspiracies barely ever succeed, more often than not bringing ruin to the conspirators and greatness to those they conspire against. As a result, when in such a conspiracy a prince is attacked and is not killed (the assassination of the Duke of Milan was a rare exception), the prince emerges with greater power, and frequently, even if he was a good man before the conspiracy, will turn evil. This happens because conspiracies give the prince reason to fear, and fear gives him reason to secure himself, and securing himself gives him reason to harm others, from which arises hatred and, often enough, the prince’s ruin. Hence these conspiracies quickly crush those who conspire, while those who are conspired against will with time inevitably cause harm.

2

Italy was, as I have already shown, divided into two factions: Pope Sixtus IV and King Ferdinand on one side, and the Venetians, the duke, and the Florentines on the other. Though all-out war between the factions had not yet broken out, every day there were new grounds for such an event, the pope, particularly, endeavoring in all his enterprises to harm the government of Florence. Hence at the death of Filippo de’ Medici, the Archbishop of Pisa, the pope bestowed the Archbishopric on Francesco Salviati, who he knew was an enemy of the Medici. The Signoria of Florence²⁴ was opposed to this and refused to grant Salviati accession to this office, which resulted in considerable turmoil between the pope and the Signoria. The pope also bestowed the greatest favors on the Pazzi in Rome, disfavoring the Medici at every opportunity.

In that era the Pazzi, through their wealth and nobility, were the foremost family of Florence. The head of the house of Pazzi was Messer Iacopo, who had been made a cavaliere by the people on account of his wealth and nobility. He had no children except a natural daughter, but had many nephews born to his brothers Messers Piero and Antonio. The foremost of these were Guglielmo, Francesco, Rinato, and Giovanni, and after them in rank came Andrea, Niccolò, and Galeotto. Cosimo de’ Medici, seeing their wealth and nobility, had given his niece Bianca in marriage to Guglielmo de’ Pazzi in the hope that this alliance would bring the two houses closer, removing the enmity and hatred that is so often sparked by distrust.

However, our designs frequently tend to be uncertain and false, and this alliance brought unexpected consequences, for Lorenzo de’ Medici’s advisers drew his attention to how very dangerous and detrimental to his authority it was to unite wealth and status in a citizen. The result was that neither Messer Iacopo nor his nephews were given the ranks and honors they merited in relation to the other citizens. This sparked the first indignation in the Pazzi and the first fear in the Medici, and as one of these grew it gave fodder to the other to grow as well. Now whenever the Pazzi had a dispute with any citizen, the magistracy invariably ruled against the Pazzi. Once, when Francesco de’ Pazzi was in Rome, the Council of Eight²⁵ forced him to return to Florence on some trivial matter without granting him the respect usually accorded to a dignitary, so that the Pazzi continuously complained with injurious and indignant words that increased people’s suspicion of the Medici, and in turn increased the damage the Medici did to the Pazzi. Giovanni de’ Pazzi had married the daughter of Giovanni Buonromei, a very wealthy man whose estate after his death came to his daughter, as he had no other children. Yet Giovanni Buonromei’s nephew Carlo seized part of the estate, and when the matter was brought before the magistrates, Giovanni de’ Pazzi’s wife was stripped of her father’s inheritance, which was granted to Carlo. The Pazzi saw this as the work of the Medici. In fact, Giuliano de’ Medici often complained to his brother Lorenzo that he feared that should the Medici set their eyes on too much, they might well lose everything.

3

But Lorenzo, flushed with power and youth, wanted to control everything and be the one to bestow or withhold all favors and honors. The Pazzi, with all their nobility and wealth, were unwilling to endure the many wrongs against them, and began to consider how they could avenge themselves against the Medici. Francesco de’ Pazzi was the first to broach the subject. He was more spirited and fiery than the rest, so much so that he was intent on either gaining what he did not have, or losing all he did have. He so hated the rulers of Florence that he lived almost exclusively in Rome, where, as was customary with Florentine merchants, he worked with a great amount of capital. And as he was a close friend of Count Girolamo,²⁶ they frequently complained to each other about the Medici, and after much complaining came to the conclusion that it would be necessary, should the count wish to live securely on his estates and Francesco in Florence, to change the Florentine government. This, they believed, could not be done without the deaths of Giuliano and Lorenzo de’ Medici. They were certain that the pope and King Ferdinand would readily consent to their plan once they saw how easily it could be accomplished.

Francesco de’ Pazzi and Count Girolamo spoke of their plan to Francesco Salviati, the archbishop of Pisa, who was exceedingly ambitious and had recently been offended by the Medici.²⁷ He readily joined in the conspiracy, and they discussed among themselves what to do next. They decided to involve Iacopo de’ Pazzi, without whom they believed they could not carry out their plan. The best tactic seemed for Francesco de’ Pazzi to go to Florence while Archbishop Salviati and Count Girolamo remained in Rome so they would be close to the pope when the time came to approach him. Francesco de’ Pazzi found Messer Iacopo de’ Pazzi more cautious and inflexible than he would have liked, and on informing the others of this in Rome, it was decided that some greater authority would be necessary to draw him into the scheme. Consequently, the archbishop and the count approached Giovan van Battista da Montesecco, an illustrious condottiere in the service of the pope, who was under obligation to both the pope and the count. Da Montesecco pointed out the difficulties and dangers of the scheme, but the archbishop strove to make light of them by calling attention to the backing of the pope and the king, the hatred of the citizens of Florence for the Medici, and the powerful houses of Salviati and Pazzi. The archbishop also noted the ease with which the Medici could be killed, as they went about town incautiously and without a guard, and how easily the government could be changed once the Medici were dead. Da Montesecco was not entirely convinced, as he had heard a quite different tale from many Florentines.

4

While they were engaged in these deliberations, Duke Carlo Manfredi of Faenza fell so ill that it was believed he was about to die. This offered the archbishop and the count the opportunity to send Giovan Battista da Montesecco to Florence and from there to the Romagna, under the pretext of retaking the territories that Duke Carlo had seized from Count Girolamo. The count commissioned da Montesecco to speak to Lorenzo de’ Medici and to ask him on his behalf for advice on how to handle the matter of the Romagna, and then, together with Francesco de’ Pazzi, to attempt to induce Messer Iacopo de’ Pazzi to participate in the conspiracy. In order to impress Messer Iacopo with the authority of the pope, they asked da Montesecco before his departure to speak to the pontiff, who made the greatest offers he could in favor of the enterprise.²⁸

On arriving in Florence, Giovan Battista approached Lorenzo de’ Medici, who received him very warmly and offered him wise and gracious advice. Da Montesecco found himself filled with admiration for Lorenzo, who seemed a quite different man from what he had been led to expect. In fact da Montesecco thought him courteous, wise, and well disposed toward Count Girolamo. Nevertheless, da Montesecco was resolved to meet with Francesco de’ Pazzi, but as Francesco had left for Lucca, he decided to speak to Messer Iacopo on his own, finding him initially quite averse to the conspiracy. All the same, before they parted company, da Montesecco saw that his invocation of the pope’s authority seemed to have moved Messer Iacopo to some extent. Messer Iacopo told da Montesecco to go to the Romagna, and that by the time he returned Francesco would also have returned from Lucca, at which point they could discuss the matter in greater detail.

When da Montesecco returned to Florence from the Romagna he feigned further consultation with Lorenzo de’ Medici about Count Girolamo’s affairs, after which he and Messer Francesco met with Messer Iacopo and did not relent until he agreed to join the conspiracy. They then discussed how it was to be carried out. Messer Iacopo did not believe they would succeed if both Medici brothers were in Florence, and suggested they wait until Lorenzo went to Rome, a journey it was rumored that he was planning. Messer Francesco liked the idea, but suggested that in the event that Lorenzo did not go to Rome, both Medici brothers could be assassinated at a wedding, at a tournament, or in a church. As for assistance from outside, he felt that the pope could gather an army under the pretext of a campaign against the town of Montone, which the pope had every reason to seize from Count Carlo, who had caused the troubles in Siena and Perugia that I have already mentioned. Nevertheless, nothing was decided except that Francesco de’ Pazzi and da Montesecco would go to Rome and arrange everything with Count Girolamo and the pope.

The matter was once more discussed in Rome, and it was finally decided that when the pope’s expedition against Montone was over, Giovan Francesco da Tolentino, one of the pope’s soldiers, would go to the Romagna, and that Messer Lorenzo da Castello²⁹ would go to Castello. The two men would gather troops provided by their territories and wait for an order from Archbishop Salviati and Francesco de’ Pazzi, who had come to Florence with Giovan Battista da Montesecco, to see to any details necessary for the execution of the plan. King Ferdinand, too, promised through an emissary all the help he could.

Archbishop Salviati and Francesco de’ Pazzi arrived in Florence and drew into the conspiracy Iacopo di Poggio,³⁰ a young man of letters who was, however, very ambitious and eager for change, and two Iacopo Salviatis, one a brother of Archbishop Salviati and the other a kinsman. They also involved Bernardo Bandini and Napoleone Franzesi, spirited young men indebted to the Pazzi family. As for men from outside Florence, beside those already mentioned, they also drew in Antonio da Volterra and a priest by the name of Stefano, who taught Latin to Iacopo de’ Pazzi’s daughter. Rinato de’ Pazzi, a grave and prudent man who was quite aware of the dangers that can arise from such undertakings, was against the conspiracy; in fact he detested it, and tried to thwart it as best he could, short of endangering his family and friends.

5

The pope had sent Raffaello Riario, a nephew of Count Girolamo, to the University of Pisa to study canon law, and while he was still studying had advanced him to the rank of cardinal. The conspirators decided that they would invite the young cardinal to Florence, where his arrival would act as cover for the conspiracy. This way, any number of conspirators from outside Florence could be brought into the city concealed among his retinue.

The cardinal arrived in Florence and was received by Iacopo de’ Pazzi at his villa Montughi outside the city. The conspirators also wanted to use the cardinal’s arrival as pretext for a banquet where Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici could be assassinated. They therefore arranged for the Medici to invite the cardinal to their villa at Fiesole, but Giuliano de’ Medici, either deliberately or by chance, did not attend. When this plan proved futile, the conspirators decided that if they invited the Medici to a banquet in Florence, both brothers would be compelled to attend, and they set Sunday, the twenty-sixth of April of the year 1478, for the feast.

The conspirators, intending to kill the Medici brothers during the dinner, met in the evening on Saturday to arrange what each would do on the following day. The next morning, however, Francesco was informed that Giuliano de’ Medici would not be attending the feast, and the chief conspirators met again and decided that they could not defer carrying out the conspiracy, as it would be impossible with so many individuals now involved for the plot not to be exposed. They therefore decided to kill the Medici brothers in the Cathedral of Santa Reparata, where it was their custom to go, and where the young cardinal would also be present. They wanted da Montesecco to carry out the murder of Lorenzo, while Francesco de’ Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini would carry out that of Giuliano. But da Montesecco refused to undertake the murder, either because his meetings with Lorenzo had caused him to warm toward him or for some other reason, but he told the conspirators that he did not have the spirit to commit such a violent act in a church, adding sacrilege to betrayal.³¹ This led to the ruin of the conspiracy, because as time was pressing, the conspirators were compelled to give the task to Antonio da Volterra and Stefano the priest, both utterly unsuited by nature and inclination to such a deed. For if there was ever a deed that demanded great courage and an unwavering spirit strengthened by much experience of life and death, it was an assassination such as this, where one might see even the courage of battle-scarred men falter.

Resolved to carry out the assassination, they chose as a signal the moment when the priest would take communion during High Mass. At that instant, Archbishop Salviati, along with his followers and Iacopo di Poggio, was to take possession of the Signoria, so that after the Medici brothers’ death the magistrates would stand by the conspirators, either voluntarily or through force.

6

The conspirators now proceeded to the church, where the cardinal and Lorenzo de’ Medici were already present. The church was crowded, and the divine service had commenced before Giuliano de’ Medici arrived. Francesco de’ Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini, who had been assigned to murder him, went to his house to find him, and enticed him to the church with much artistry. It is striking that Francesco and Bernardo were able to conceal so much hatred and violent intent with so much spirit and flinty courage, for as they led Giuliano de’ Medici to the church they entertained him with jests and puerile banter. Francesco was quite willing, under the pretense of friendship, to throw his arms around Giuliano and press him close to see if he was wearing a protective cuirass or the like beneath his garments. The Medici knew the bitterness of the Pazzi toward them, and knew that the Pazzi wanted to undermine their power over the government; but they did not fear for their lives, as they believed that though the Pazzi would doubtless try to counter them, they would do so by means of civil authority and not through violence. Thus the young Medici, not fearing for their safety, were happy enough to join the Pazzi in their pretense of friendship.

The assassins were ready: some at the side of Lorenzo de’ Medici, where they could stand easily and without raising suspicion on account of the large crowd in the church, the other assassins next to Giuliano. At the prearranged moment, Bernardo Bandini struck Giuliano in the chest with a dagger, Giuliano collapsing after a few steps. Francesco de’ Pazzi then threw himself upon the body, stabbing it again and again, so blinded by rage that he severely wounded himself in the leg. Messer Antonio da Volterra and Stefano the priest attacked Lorenzo, but after repeated blows only wounded him with a slight cut on the neck, either because of their lack of skill or because of Lorenzo’s spirit, for Lorenzo used his arms and the help of those around him to defend himself, rendering all the attempts of his attackers futile. They fled in terror and hid, though they were soon found and killed in a most humiliating manner, their bodies dragged through the city. Lorenzo, on the other hand, surrounded by his friends, locked himself in the sacristy of the church. Bernardo Bandini, seeing Giuliano de’ Medici dead, also killed Francesco Nori, who was very close to the Medici, either out of longtime enmity or because Nori had tried to come to Giuliano’s aid. Not content with these two murders, Bernardo Bandini ran in search of Lorenzo, intending to make up with his courage and speed for the ineffective attempts of the others. But finding that Lorenzo was hidden in the sacristy, he could do nothing. In the midst of these grave and violent events, which were so terrible that it seemed as if the church would come tumbling down, young Cardinal Riario clung to the altar, where the priests vied to protect him, until the Signoria, once the uproar died down, led him to their palace. There he remained in terror for his life until he was set free.

7

During that era there were in Florence a number of exiles from Perugia who had been driven from their homes by factional feuds, and the Pazzi secured their assistance by promising to help restore Perugia to their faction. Archbishop Salviati, who had set out with Iacopo di Poggio to seize the palace of the Signoria, had also taken with him his allies, his two Salviati kinsmen, and the exiles from Perugia. At the palace he left some of his men below, with orders that the moment they heard a noise they should immediately seize the gate. In the meantime, he and most of the Perugians went to the upper floors, where they found the magistrates of the Signoria at dinner, as the hour was late. Cesare Petrucci, the Gonfalonier of Justice,³² asked him in, and he entered with only a few of his men, leaving the others outside, most of whom ended up locking themselves in the chancery because the doors were such that once they fell shut they could not be opened from either side without a key.

Archbishop Salviati stepped up to the Gonfalonier under the pretense of bringing him a message from the pope, but began talking with such faltering and jumbled words, and such a suspicious expression on his face, that the Gonfalonier ran shouting out of the chamber and, coming upon Iacopo di Poggio in the hall, grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to his sergeants. The gentlemen of the Signoria raised the alarm, and with whatever arms were at hand immediately killed or pushed out the windows all the men who had followed the archbishop into the palace, some of whom had been locked up, others overcome by terror. Archbishop Salviati, the two Iacopo Salviatis, and Iacopo di Poggio were hanged. But the men who had been left below in the palace had overcome the guards, taken control of the gate, and occupied all the lower floors, so that armed citizens who came running at the uproar could not offer their help to the Signoria, nor could unarmed citizens offer their support.

8

Francesco de’ Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini were gripped by fear, seeing Lorenzo de’ Medici safe and Francesco himself, who bore the entire weight of the conspiracy, severely wounded. Bernardo was quick to apply the same frankness of spirit to his safety as he had to harming the Medici: Seeing that all was lost, he managed to escape unharmed. Francesco, on the other hand, returned wounded to his house and tried to mount his horse, as the plan had been that he would ride through the city with his armed men, rousing the populace to arms and liberty. But as his wound was too severe and he had lost too much blood, he could not get into the saddle. So he undressed and threw himself naked upon his bed, entreating Iacopo de’ Pazzi to ride out in his stead.

Messer Iacopo, though old and unaccustomed to turmoil, mounted his horse in a final attempt to right their fortunes, and with about a hundred armed men assembled beforehand for the enterprise, rode out onto the piazza before the palace of the Signoria, calling out to the populace and to Liberty to come to his aid. But neither the one nor the other responded, for the populace had been rendered deaf by the fortune and munificence of the Medici, while Liberty was unknown in Florence. Only the gentlemen of the Signoria, who were masters of the upper floor of the palace, responded, greeting him with stones and attempting to intimidate him with threats. While Messer Iacopo wavered on the piazza, he was met by his brother-in-law Giovanni Serristori, who first reproached him for the mayhem he and his conspirators had unleashed, and then urged him to go home, assuring him that Liberty and the cause of the populace were as much in the hearts of other citizens as they were in his. But Messer Iacopo was deprived of all hope: The magistrates of the Signoria were hostile to his cause, Lorenzo de’ Medici was alive, Francesco de’ Pazzi was wounded, and no one was prepared to follow or support him. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to try to save himself by flight, and so rode out of Florence and headed to the Romagna with his company of armed men.

9

Meanwhile the whole city had erupted in turmoil, and Lorenzo de’ Medici, accompanied by a crowd of armed men, had withdrawn to his house. The populace retook the palace of the Signoria, and all the conspirators who had occupied it were either taken prisoner or killed. All Florence called out the name of Medici in praise, and the limbs of the dead were speared on lances or dragged through the streets. The whole city pursued the Pazzi with words of rage and acts of cruelty. The populace seized their houses, and Francesco was dragged naked from his bed and led to the Signoria, where he was hanged next to Archbishop Salviati and the other conspirators. As Francesco was being dragged to the piazza, no amount of violent words or acts could induce him to say a single word—he only sighed quietly, fixing those around him with unwavering eyes.

Guglielmo de’ Pazzi, Lorenzo de’ Medici’s brother-in-law, fled to Lorenzo’s house, and escaped death through his innocence and the intercession of his wife, Bianca. All the citizens, armed and unarmed, came to Lorenzo during those trying days, and every one of them offered his support, so great were the fortune and grace the Medici had secured through prudence and bounty.

During these events, Rinato de’ Pazzi had withdrawn to his villa. On hearing what had happened he attempted to escape in disguise, but was recognized, arrested, and taken back to Florence. Messer Iacopo de’ Pazzi was also seized while crossing the Apennines, because the local people, having heard of the assassination and seeing him in flight, seized him and returned him to Florence. He kept begging his captors to kill him by the roadside, but to no avail. Messers Iacopo and Rinato were condemned to death within four days of the conspiracy, and despite the widespread slaughter and the streets filled with men’s limbs, the only death lamented was that of Rinato de’ Pazzi, for he was considered a wise and good man, and not known for the pride of which the rest of his family stood accused.

So that the incident would serve as a deterrent to future conspirators, Messer Iacopo, after having been buried in the tomb of his ancestors, was dragged out and buried by the city walls as if excommunicated, and then disinterred again and dragged naked through the city by the noose with which he had been hanged. Then, since no place could be found to bury him, his body was thrown into the Arno River, whose waters were very high. This is truly a great example of Fortune, to see a man of such riches and such favored position fall into utter misery, ruin, and degradation. It was said that Messer Iacopo had some vices, among them the kind of gambling and blasphemy that might befit many a lost man, but that he made up for these vices by great charity, giving generously to sanctuaries and the needy. One can also say in his favor that on the day before which Giuliano de’ Medici’s murder was planned, he paid all his debts and returned with exemplary solicitude whatever property of others he still held in customs or at his house, so that no one else would have to partake of his Fortune, should things go wrong.

Giovan Battista da Montesecco, after a long interrogation under torture, was beheaded. Napoleone Franzesi escaped punishment by flight. Guglielmo de’ Pazzi was banished, while any cousins of his who were still alive were imprisoned in the dungeons of the fortress of Volterra.

Once the tumults were over and the conspirators punished, the funeral rites for Giuliano de’ Medici were performed, accompanied by the laments of the whole of Florence, because Giuliano had exhibited all the kindness and bounty that could be wished for in a man of rank and fortune such as his. He left a natural son, born some months after his death and named Giulio, and who was graced with all the skill and fortune that in our present times is evident to the whole world, and of which, if God grants me life, I shall speak at length when I come to our own times.³³ The men who had gathered in support of the Pazzi under Lorenzo da Castello in the Val di Tavere, and under Giovan Francesco da Tolentino in the Romagna, marched on Florence, but retreated on hearing that the conspiracy had failed.

1. Leonardo Bruni (c. 1370–1444), also called Leonardo d’Arezzo as he was born in the city of Arezzo, was a scholar and historian who wrote Historiarum Florentini populi libri XII (Twelve Books of the History of the Florentine People). Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459) was one of the foremost scholars of the early Renaissance. From 1453 until his death in 1459 he was Chancellor of Florence, during which time he wrote his history of the city.

2. With “ruin” Machiavelli is referring to the end of the Roman Republic. Machiavelli develops the idea of the destructive and regenerative qualities of divisiveness in a state in Discourses, Book I, chapters 4–6.

3. See Florentine Histories, Book III, chapter 1.

4. After the Ghibelline faction, which supported the Holy Roman Emperor against the pope, was expelled from Florence (see following footnote), the Guelph faction split into the feuding factions of the Neri (Black) and Bianchi (White).

5. In 1266 Carlo d’Anjou defeated King Manfred of Sicily, who had asserted himself in Tuscany and Lombardy as protector of the Ghibellines. The Florentine Guelphs then initiated a mass expulsion of the Ghibellines from Florence.

6. The Battle of Campaldino (1289) between Florence, controlled by the Guelphs, and Arezzo, controlled by the Ghibellines, marked the beginning of the supremacy of the Florentine Guelphs over Tuscany.

7. Florence’s war with Duke Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan lasted from 1423 to 1428, and that against Lucca from 1429 to 1433.

8. Uguccione della Faggiuola (c. 1250–1319) was one of the most influential members of the Ghibelline faction of Tuscany. He had been elected chief magistrate of Pisa, then commander of the army, and in 1314, already in his late sixties, seized power and became tyrant of Pisa. The Ghibelline faction consisted for the most part of feudal aristocrats and their partisans, and supported the Holy Roman Emperor. The Guelph faction which supported the papacy was its longtime opponent.

9. Piero d’Anjou, the brother of King Roberto of Naples. See also The Life of Castruccio Castracani, p. 403.

10. Bertrand de Baux, of the illustrious lords of Baux-en-Provence. He had married Beatrice d’Anjou, the sister of King Roberto, and had recently been given the title of Count d’Andria, hence his nickname “Novello”—“new” or “fresh.”

11. A town in the province of Perugia in central Italy.

12. The body of magistrates of Florence’s supreme executive council.

13. The commanders of the people’s militia, which originated in Florence in the 1250s.

14. Caterina, daughter of Albert of Habsburg, had married Duke Carlo of Calabria, oldest son of King Roberto of Naples, in 1316.

15. See The Life of Castruccio Castracani.

16. Ramondo di Cardona was captured and imprisoned in Lucca until Castracani’s death in 1528.

17. Walter VI de la Brienne (c. 1304–56) was appointed governor of Florence for Carlo of Calabria, an office he held briefly in 1326. He returned to Florence in 1342 when the Florentine ruling classes called upon him to rule the city. Here he showed his “true nature,” his despotic rule ending after only ten months.

18. In The Prince, chapter 9, Machiavelli writes: “In every city there are two opposing humors. This arises from the fact that the nobles want to command and oppress the people, but the people do not want to be commanded or oppressed by the nobles.” See also Discourses, Book I, chapter 5: “For without doubt, if one considers the respective aims of the nobles and the populace, one sees in the former a strong desire to dominate, and in the latter merely a desire not to be dominated.”

19. Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza’s wife, Bona of Savoy.

20. “Death is bitter, fame perpetual, the memory of this fact will endure.”

21. Machiavelli analyzes “the dangers incurred after carrying out a conspiracy” in Discourses, Book III, chapter 6, and also in The Prince, chapter 19, where Machiavelli further develops why “it is difficult to attack or conspire against one who is greatly esteemed.”

22. Discourses, Book III, chapter 6, titled “On Conspiracies.”

23. In 1466, Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici (the father of Lorenzo and Giuliano, whom Machiavelli discusses in this chapter) had crushed his opponent Luca Pitti.

24. The chief executive council of Florence.

25. The purpose of the Council of Eight (Otto di Guardia) was to uncover conspiracies against the Florentine government.

26. Count Girolamo Riario of Imola and Forlì (1443–88) was the nephew of Pope Sixtus IV. Machiavelli also mentions him in Discourses, Book III, chapter 6, titled “On Conspiracies.”

27. Archbishop Salviati had aspired to the archbishopric of Florence and was successfully opposed by the Medici. When he was granted the archbishopric of Pisa in 1474, the Medici and their allies barred him from taking office for three years.

28. The pope was in favor of the Medici being ousted from power, but was categorically against their assassination.

29. Lorenzo Giustini, the pope’s governor of Castello.

30. The son of Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini, who was a foremost scholar and calligrapher of the Renaissance (see note 1 above).

31. See also Discourses, Book III, chapter 6: “As a result, the conspirators quickly decided that they would do in the cathedral what they had intended to do in the Medici palace. This threw their entire plan into disarray, because Giovan Battista da Montesecco did not want any part in a murder committed in a church. Every action had to be reassigned to a different conspirator, who did not have time to steady his mind. In the end, the conspirators made so many mistakes that their plot was crushed.”

32. The Gonfalonier of Justice was an office instituted in the thirteenth century in Florence to protect the interests of the people against the powerful nobles and magnates. The Gonfalonier of Justice was also the most prominent member of the Signoria, Florence’s supreme executive council.

33. The Florentine Histories are dedicated to Giulio de’ Medici, Pope Clement VII, but Machiavelli does not mention him again, the eighth book ending in 1492 at Lorenzo de’ Medici’s death.