About a year ago I glossed over the barest bits of the Pazzi Conspiracy in Florence, as it might have been remembered by pope Leo X, the son of one of the de'Medici victims. But Elizabeth Lev tells the story of the Pazzi conspiracy of 1478 from the perspective of Caterina Sforza as it was her husband, Girolamo Riario who was pope Sixtus IV's captain. Not only this but, as Lev tells it, Caterina's very inheritance of Imola was the bone of contention that first set pope Sixtus IV against the de'Medici family to begin with.
The culture of Italy in the period saw marriage alliances as both active and passive partnerships. Active in the sense that families could merge and become allies to accomplish things politically in the world and, passively in that these alliances could also act as non-aggression pacts between families and city-states. Traditionally the papacy and the stewawardship of the papal lands was seen as both very important and, also troublesome, fraught with danger. All depending on which side of which alliance, at any given time a city-state, or family might be in.
Imola had been part of papal lands for centuries, and controlled by the Alidosi family. They lost control, however to the Visconti family of Milan earlier c. 1424, soon before the patrimony of Imola then passed to the Sforza clan. One of the major projects of pope Sixtus IV, Francesco della Rovere was in regaining and securing the historical papal lands with the intention of further securing - literally, make more physically secure - the power and prestige of Rome. The more papal lands that the See could acquire, the greater the tax base they could raise, but also the farther afield it could influence policy.
Imola had fallen to a local Manfredi family who ruled it badly, so when a new pope, Francesco della Rovere came into the papacy, the duke of Milan saw an opportunity. Quickly, Galeazzo Sforza took Imola in 1471, upsetting Venice, the de'Medici of Florence and all the neighbors around. But, as a secure and stable protectorate of Milan in the 1400's, Imola happened to find itself rich. [p. 14]
In 1472, the nephew of pope Sixtus IV, Girolamo Riario (the son of Francesco's sister) went to Milan to take part in the Christmas celebrations there. One of the outcomes amidst all the holiday cheer was that the ruler of Milan and Imola, Galeazza Maria Sforza promised his daughter, Caterina to Girolamo as a way to create an alliance between his family and that of the pope. But as it turned out, as part of the deal, in order to make this transaction work, the pope needed a loan. Up to that time the papacy had been making it's banking business with the de'Medici of Florence. But when Florence heard that Imola was part of this marriage deal, they would not agree to the loan. The pope's ministers, on permission, simply went down the street to the local rivals in Florence, to the Pazzi family and secured the loan with them. This was against the wishes of the de'Medici patriarch and that families' banks. [pp. 15-16]
The marriage was set up, the alliance sealed and when Galeazzo died in 1476, Imola was one of the main places that Caterina visited on her itinerary to be united with her husband Girolamo, now called, as one among his many titles, Count of Imola. After securing the Pazzi as creditors, pope Sixtus IV began accepting them in his court as advisors. The Pazzi were a much older family in Florence who saw the de'Medici as upstarts wresting control from more traditional powers. Outraged at the non-noble exploits of the wealthy de'Medici, the Pazzi are remembered as constantly feeding Sixtus IV with stories. The interests of the people were agitating, they said, demanding reprisal against the interests of the de'Medici in every arena, not just in money. But they were using their money to do it. Francesco d'Pazzi, the head of the Pazzi interests ther, in Rome would often be seen in Girolamo's chambers in the monthss after Caterina Sforza arrived.
By the end of 1477, Caterina had been in Rome for just a few months, but the ambition of her husband and the Pazzi was at a fever pitch. What had begun as an expansion of papal lands became the attempted overthrow of the de'Medici rule of Florence. Many others would be implicated as well. The archbishop of Pisa, Francesco Salviati Riario was a ringleader. Pisa after all, he could say, had been a protectorate of Florence (since 1406) and chafed under the current influences of the de'Medici clan. Even Girolamo's young nephew Raffaello would play a central role as well as a pair of young male members of the Pazzi clan. Girolamo Riario's master at arms, a man named Montesecco became an unwilling pawn and later confessor to the plot. Several schemes were planned, but the one that was settled on involved Caterina's husband, Girolamo Riario marching into Florence with an army he raised at Imola. Montesecco and his forces would guard the gate while others were organized to raise the cry to set the public against the tyranny of the De'Medici clan.
On a spring Sunday when the priest raised the host during mass, two young Pazzi, a couple priests and the younger Rafaello Riario brought their daggers down on Lorenzo and Giuliano de'Medici. Lorenzo got away but Giuliano was killed in the middle of the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore of Florence. Salviati Riario, the archbishop of Pisa, had intended to capture or kill the city's Gonfaloniere, but himself was captured and by the end of the day, was hung. The Pazzi youth were killed, young Rafaello was captured and held for ransom. Girolamo Riario, even with his army, in the aftermath, could never make the crowd in Florence turn. Montesecco, his own guard, was captured, tortured and later confessed to the whole plot.
The people of Florence, instead of turning to the Pazzi family as benefactors freeing them from the heavy tyranny of the de'Medici, saw the action as a coup, and condemned the Pazzi family for it. As the story of what had happened spread, the Pazzi and their allies began fleeing their ancestral home.
Pope Sixtus IV was enraged, Girolamo returned to Rome in shame and the de'Medici triumphant in Florence, were left to become more powerful than ever. For awhile they could say, the Pazzi would never be able to return to power in their hometown. [pp. 45-8]
Caterina in her new place had to welcome home a dejected husband. The captain who had never been very popular in Rome before, was now the talk of the town, and in the worst way. Before there had been parties and gifts from the pope and courtiers all day asking favors. Her mornings which had been full of signing paperwork for concessions to be granted, or on favors to be conferred because of her position, became full of dispensing talk about how odious her husband and their friends were. She was sixteen. [p. 49]
_____________________________________________
Elizabeth Lev, The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy's most courageous and notorious countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de'Medici : 2011, USA, Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt Publishing Company
No comments:
Post a Comment