‘My lords,’ said Montesecco dubiously, according to his own account, ‘beware of what you do. Florence is a big affair.’
‘We know the position of affairs in Florence a great deal better than you do,’ the Archbishop objected, evidently growing impatient with the stubborn soldier. ‘There is no more doubt that our plan will succeed than that we are all sitting here now. The first essential is to enlist the support of Messer Jacopo de’ Pazzi… When we have him the thing is done.’
Slowly Montesecco began to give ground, and finally agreed to join the conspirators provided the Pope gave them his blessing. So it was agreed that the Archbishop and Riario should take him to see Pope Sixtus.
At the subsequent audience the Pope confirmed to Montesecco that it was, indeed, his wish that ‘this matter of Florence’ should be taken immediately in hand.
‘But this matter, Holy Father, may turn out ill without the death of Lorenzo and Giuliano, and perhaps of others.’
‘I do not wish the death of anyone on any account since it does not accord with our office to consent to such a thing. Though Lorenzo is a villain, and behaves ill towards us, yet we do not on any account desire his death, but only a change in the government.’
‘All that we can do shall be done to see that Lorenzo does not the,’ Girolamo said. ‘But should he the, will Your Holiness pardon him who did it?’
‘You are an oaf. I tell you I do not want anyone killed, just a change in the government. And I repeat to you, Gian Battista, that I strongly desire this change and that Lorenzo, who is a villain and a furfante [a despicable rascal], does not esteem us. Once he is out of Florence we could do whatever we like with the Republic and that would be very pleasing to us.’
‘Your Holiness speaks true. Be content, therefore, that we shall do everything possible to bring this about.’
‘Go, and do what you wish, provided there be no killing.’
‘Holy Father, are you content that we steer this ship? And that we will steer it well?’ Salviati asked.
‘I am content.’
The Pope rose, assured them of ‘every assistance by way of men-at-arms or otherwise as might be necessary’, then dismissed them.
The three men left the room, as convinced as they were when they entered it that they would have to kill both Lorenzo and Giuliano if their plan were to succeed; and that the Pope, despite all that he had said to the contrary, would condone murder if murder were necessary.
Encouraged by the interview, Montesecco set about enlisting the military forces that would be required and left for the Romagna to discuss the tactics of the coup with various fellow condottieri in Tolentino, Imola and Città di Castello. He then rode across the Appenines to Florence to give Lorenzo assurances of Girolamo Riario’s friendship and good will.
Lorenzo was in mourning for one of Clarice’s relations when Montesecco arrived at Cafaggiolo; but he was amiable, talkative and attractive as ever. He spoke of Riario in the most friendly way; and Montesecco, captivated by his charm, began to regret the unpleasant task he had agreed to perform. Lorenzo accompanied him back to Florence where, in his room at the Albergo della Campagna, Montesecco had a visit from Jacopo de’ Pazzi for whom he had letters from both Riario and the Archbishop.
Jacopo was as gloomy, cross and pessimistic as ever. ‘They are going to break their necks,’ he told Montesecco. ‘I understand what is going on here better than they do. I do not want to listen to you. I do not want to hear any more about it.’
When he learned what Montesecco had to relate about the audience with the Pope, however, his mood gradually changed; and before long he was a whole-hearted, not to say enthusiastic, supporter of the plot, ready to take an active part in its development. He suggested that the best way of carrying out the assassinations would be to find some pretext for separating the two brothers, then to kill them both as far as possible simultaneously. For this purpose it was decided to invite Lorenzo to Rome and to assassinate him there while Giuliano was disposed of in Florence. But Lorenzo declined the invitation to Rome; so the conspirators had to conceive a plan for killing both brothers on their home ground, preferably when they were off their guard enjoying some entertainment.
An inducement for the Medici to give a suitable entertainment at which the murders could be done was to be provided by the arrival in the district of Raffaele Riario, the Pope’s seventeen-year-old great-nephew, who was studying at the University of Pisa and who had just been made a cardinal. He was to be invited to come to stay at Jacopo de’ Pazzi’s villa at Montughi near Florence from where he was to make his presence known by letter to Lorenzo, who was then staying with his brother at the Medici villa at Fiesole. An opportunity to kill both the Medici either by dagger or by poison would surely present itself, if not at Montughi then at Fiesole.
On receipt of the young cardinal’s letter, Lorenzo immediately invited him to Fiesole; and on the appointed day he rode over to Montughi with his son, Piero, and Poliziano, intending to accompany the cardinal and his suite back to Fiesole for a dinner party. Lorenzo apologized for his brother’s being unable to come with them: he had hurt his leg in an accident and had had to stay at home in bed, and would unfortunately not be able to come down to dinner. So the conspirators decided that they must change their plans, and wait until Giuliano was better again.
It was now arranged that the murders should take place in Florence. Cardinal Raffaele Riario had asked if he might see the treasures at the Medici Palace about which he had heard so much, and had suggested that the following Sunday would be a suitable day as he could combine his visit to the Palace with High Mass in the Cathedral. Lorenzo immediately agreed to this suggestion and made preparations for a banquet to be given in honour of his guest, issuing invitations to numerous distinguished Florentines as well as to the ambassadors of Milan, Venice, Naples and Ferrara. Meantime, his enemies laid their plans to kill him and his brother while they were at the banquet. But at the last moment the conspirators’ plans had to be changed once again: it was learned that Giuliano did not expect to be sufficiently recovered to attend the banquet after all. As well as from his injured leg he was now suffering from ‘an inflammation of the eyes’.
So many people had by now been apprised of the intended assassinations that it seemed to the Pazzi too dangerous to delay them any longer lest the secret leak out. Moreover, the troops whom Montesecco had arranged to have concentrated at various strategic points around the city would by dusk have arrived beneath the walls. If the Medici could not be killed together at the banquet, they would have to be dispatched in the Cathedral during Mass, an occasion which other assassins had found ideal. Giuliano could be stabbed by Francesco de’ Pazzi, assisted by Bernardo Bandini Baroncelli, an adventurer anxious to make some money quickly, having dissipated a fortune and being deeply in debt to the Pazzi with whom he had formerly been associated in business. At the same time Lorenzo could be cut down by Montesecco. But this idea was abhorrent to Montesecco. Before he had met Lorenzo he had succeeded in persuading himself that to kill him was all in the way of a soldier’s duty; but since he had first spoken to him, he had been growing increasingly disgusted with his appointed task. Now he saw an opportunity to escape it altogether by protesting that his conscience would not allow him to ‘add sacrilege to murder’; he could not bring himself to kill a man in cold blood in a place where ‘God would see him’. Fortunately for the conspirators less scrupulous assassins immediately presented themselves in the persons of two lean, embittered priests, Antonio Maffei, a Volterran who hated Lorenzo for the part he had played in suppressing the recent uprising in his native town, and Stefano da Bagnone, tutor to Jacopo de’ Pazzi’s illegitimate daughter. Being priests they could not be expected to be as reliable with a dagger as Montesecco, but there were two of them and if they caught Lorenzo unawares they should between them be able to deliver a mortal blow before he could defend himself.