Pazzi Family Attacks Medici Brothers in Florence Cathedral
In the late 15th century, Florence thrived under the de facto rule of the Medici banking family, whose wealth and political influence shaped Renaissance culture and diplomacy across Italy. Rival families and external powers, including Pope Sixtus IV, resented Lorenzo de' Medici's dominance and plotted to eliminate him and his brother Giuliano. On Easter Sunday, April 26, 1478, during High Mass in Florence Cathedral, conspirators including Francesco de' Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini dei Baroncelli struck simultaneously. Giuliano was fatally stabbed, while Lorenzo suffered a neck wound but escaped to the sacristy and then safety. The failed coup triggered swift Medici reprisals, with several plotters executed and the Pazzi family's influence crushed.
Why it matters: The attack exposed deep factional rivalries in Italian city-states and reinforced Medici control, allowing Lorenzo to navigate subsequent wars through diplomacy. It also inspired later artistic and literary reflections on power and betrayal in Renaissance Florence.