True Crime History: The Pazzi Conspiracy Against the Medici | Full Documentary

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:15]It's Easter.

[00:00:17]The high society in the Renaissance metropolis is visiting the heart of the city.

[00:00:23]A mass is to be celebrated in Santa Maria del Fiore.

[00:00:29]The cathedral is a symbol of the city and the pride of its residents. A public space.

[00:00:37]None of the devout churchgoers suspects what will happen in a few minutes.

[00:00:42]Because people feel safe in front of the high altar.

[00:01:05]Giuliano was 24 years old when he was brutally murdered.

[00:01:09]It was a scandal.

[00:01:41]Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance.

[00:01:44]In the second half of the 15th century, art and architecture of the new era thrive in splendor.

[00:01:52]Ordinary citizens emulate the nobility.

[00:01:55]However, this upheaval revealed strong contradictions.

[00:02:00]Age-old customs still shape everyday life.

[00:02:04]The courts are characterized by arbitrariness, and vigilante justice is common practice.

[00:02:10]Political alliances, intrigues, and betrayal shape the lives of the rich and powerful.

[00:02:17]It was in this heated atmosphere that Giuliano and his brother Lorenzo the Magnificent were attacked.

[00:02:24]Marcello Simonetta knows the reports very well.

[00:02:28]At the scene of the crime, he reconstructs the course of the murder.

[00:02:33]On the morning of April the 26th, 1478, Giuliano was supposed to attend mass, but he was not feeling well.

[00:02:45]Francesco de Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini, these supposed friends, picked him up in front of his house and slowly accompanied him to church.

[00:03:01]These two companions hug him to make sure that he is not wearing a protective vest.

[00:03:07]That is truly treacherous.

[00:03:16]Detailed witness statements are available. Hence, we can visualize the crimes on the virtual crime scene.

[00:04:27]>> Professor Gundlach.

[00:04:28]>> Professor Gundlach. A homicide in a crowded church on Easter Sunday. You can't have more witnesses for such a crime.

[00:04:34]A clear case for us?

[00:04:36]Yeah. Yes, at first glance a clear case.

[00:04:39]Apparently, all of Florence had to watch as one of their own was being killed.

[00:04:42]But, the deed itself doesn't explain the possible motivation.

[00:04:46]So, we need a motive.

[00:04:49]And determining motives, from my experience, is sometimes not that easy, especially when there are numerous motives.

[00:04:55]Where do we start?

[00:04:57]Where every investigator would start, with the victim and the victim's environment.

[00:05:02]In 1947, Giuliano's remains were exhumed.

[00:05:06]Today, the medical historian Donatella Lippi leads research on the life and death of the Medici.

[00:05:13]She has carefully examined Giuliano's injuries. Her medical report can reconstruct the last minutes of his life.

[00:05:29]This is the cast of Giuliano de' Medici's jaw.

[00:05:34]Which was made during the examination in 1947.

[00:05:40]It not only shows us the injury to the jaw that was caused during the assassination.

[00:05:47]It also gives us interesting insights into his health as his teeth were in good condition.

[00:06:01]The silhouette of the jaw is a distinctive feature of the family.

[00:06:07]Here you can see in detail the bone splintering that was caused by one of the attacks by the assassins.

[00:06:20]Giuliano's skeleton is marked with many signs of violence.

[00:06:24]What does that tell us about the course of the crime?

[00:06:36]Which wounds can be identified on Giuliano's skull?

[00:06:41]The first one up here.

[00:06:43]A blade has left a scratch and removed a large rounded splinter.

[00:06:51]Then we have three more wounds that led to the loss of bone fragments on both the temporal bone and the top of the skull.

[00:07:02]They fractured his skull and he lost brain matter.

[00:07:05]And there is only one injury on the left.

[00:07:12]I imagine the scene like this.

[00:07:15]Poor Giuliano was trying to defend himself and then he gets a glancing blow to the jaw. Which can also be seen on the cast.

[00:07:26]On his body he suffered wounds in the area of his upper arms and thighs as well as the ankle that caused him to lose stability as a result.

[00:07:39]Giuliano had no chance of survival.

[00:07:45]The attack on the Medici shocks the people of Florence, although murder is commonplace.

[00:07:52]At night, the unlit streets are extremely dangerous.

[00:07:56]A police force in the modern sense did not yet exist. You were on your own.

[00:08:01]That's why the windows of the opulent palazzi are barred, and carrying weapons is as common as it is necessary.

[00:08:14]Giuliano was stabbed 19 times. What kind of weapon causes these kinds of injuries?

[00:08:19]A lot of people carried knives or swords at the time as a mark of their status.

[00:08:25]>> Mhm.

[00:08:26]So, many people would be carrying a dagger, perhaps of this sort.

[00:08:30]>> Mhm.

[00:08:31]As you can see, it's quite a nasty piece, over 20 cm in length Mhm. with quillons on either side.

[00:08:39]Would you like to hold it? Yes, please.

[00:08:41]It's quite heavy. Mhm.

[00:08:44]This is a beautiful piece of art. Could you please demonstrate how you would use it?

[00:08:49]Right, there are a number of different ways you could stab with this weapon.

[00:08:53]Let's give it a try on this gentleman.

[00:08:58]Oh.

[00:09:02]Well, that went in maybe 3 or 5 cm. I would have assumed it would go in a little deeper.

[00:09:10]Yes, I I would have thought so. But, in this instance, the gentleman has taken the precaution of wearing a gambeson, a padded jacket, underneath his outer shirt here.

[00:09:21]So, I didn't get enough force to go all the way through.

[00:09:25]And wearing these things is also quite normal at the time, particularly if you belong to a prominent family and you are fearing assassination. Which means that Giuliano didn't wear one.

[00:09:38]Before going to church, his fake friends tested whether Giuliano was wearing a protective vest as he usually did. The assassins maliciously exploited his naivety.

[00:09:48]Why did the brothers feel safe in the cathedral and didn't wear a vest?

[00:09:53]Maybe they considered an assassination in front of the altar a sacrilege.

[00:09:59]Lorenzo Lorenzo has more luck than judgement as Machiavelli would say.

[00:10:06]Lorenzo is wounded. Lorenzo is wounded.

[00:10:08]His friends protect him as he has to take a few steps.

[00:10:12]And he moves slowly forward.

[00:10:14]And then he manages to get into the sacristy.

[00:10:18]He goes inside and locks himself in.

[00:10:23]His friends are very concerned about his injury and one of them even starts sucking at the wound fearing that the dagger has been poisoned.

[00:10:40]Was it common to use poison and how would you use it?

[00:10:44]It was not particularly common to poison blades, but it was certainly done. And one of the plants that was used was monkshood or wolfsbane and I can show you how that was done.

[00:10:55]So they would grind the root and make a powder.

[00:11:00]And a little of the powder goes into this vessel here.

[00:11:03]Then we can pour in a little water and then dip the blade into the poisoned water.

[00:11:11]And as it dries some of the residue will be left on the blade.

[00:11:16]What were the symptoms? This is a an aconite, so it's a neurotoxin. You would feel a tingling around the wound and then maybe move on to things like vomiting and eventually it will stop your heart or your lungs.

[00:11:29]And this way it kills you.

[00:11:32]The Medici brothers and their friends, they had a lot of enemies.

[00:11:36]What made them a target?

[00:11:41]The social rise of the Medici in Florence was impressive. The fact that a merchant family advances to the highest echelons of power doesn't go unnoticed in Florence.

[00:11:52]Even today, the Medici Palazzo bears witness to the family's grand aspirations.

[00:12:02]This is the Medici private chapel where all the family masses were held.

[00:12:15]The chapel is the heart of the palace and symbolizes the power and refined taste of its owners.

[00:12:31]All members of the dynasty are depicted here, starting with Lorenzo's father, Piero, the gout patient. His grandfather, Cosimo the elder, and then, in the second row, Lorenzo and Giuliano.

[00:12:53]There is also a portrait of Pope Pius II, who, however, came from Siena and wasn't a friend of the Medici, who was therefore placed in the fourth row.

[00:13:04]The fact that the Medici put the Pope in the fourth row shows us their power and arrogance.

[00:13:16]The Pope is a secret supporter behind the mighty Medici.

[00:13:23]With symbolism like this, the family attracts suspicions.

[00:13:29]Lorenzo Lorenzo is highly regarded, but not necessarily popular.

[00:13:42]None of the Medici held a state office in the Republic of Florence.

[00:13:49]They all hid behind this fog of power and instead act like lobbyists today.

[00:13:58]They influence elections and exercise control over politicians without showing their faces.

[00:14:16]This building, the Palazzo Medici, is the place where the real decisions are made.

[00:14:22]And the Palazzo della Signoria, the government seat, is where the decisions from Lorenzo and Giuliano are carried out by people appointed by the Medici.

[00:14:39]The Medici have a good reputation among the common people.

[00:14:43]With their success, their reputation in Florence grows.

[00:14:47]The old elites are alarmed by the rise of the family, but they still see no reason to use force against the Medici.

[00:14:56]Which circumstances do we have to take into account in order to reconstruct what happened? The The course of the crime is undisputed. The existing evidence coincides with the testimony of witnesses. What's still unclear to me is did the perpetrators act on their own but with different interests or with a common interest? Had they been commissioned? Who is behind the act? Who will benefit from the crime? Cui bono?

[00:15:20]Who does it benefit? We need to look at this next.

[00:15:28]If there are political motives behind the attack, then the choice of the crime scene appears in a new light.

[00:15:38]The cathedral was the center of the social order in Florence. Everyone who was anyone met here for the church service.

[00:15:46]In front and next to the altar, exclusive seats are reserved for the most powerful and influential people of the city.

[00:15:54]It's here that Giuliano and Lorenzo were attacked by members of the high society.

[00:16:00]Francesco de Pazzi is a banker and nephew of Jacopo de Pazzi, the head of the influential Pazzi clan. Bernardo Bandini, an important employee of the Pazzi.

[00:16:15]Antonio Maffei da Volterra is the papal notary and Stefano da Bagnone is the local chaplain of the Pazzi.

[00:16:23]Two bankers and two clergy attack the elite in the city.

[00:16:28]What kind of common motive could these people have had?

[00:16:45]The Medici method has worked for generations. Wield power in the background, appear humble in public.

[00:16:56]Let's look at the differences in the characters of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his grandfather Cosimo.

[00:17:03]Because they can explain a lot to us.

[00:17:06]Cosimo had brought wealth and power to the family, but always insisted that family members appear humble on the outside. They could be rich and influential, too, but they should always be down-to-earth.

[00:17:25]But, when Lorenzo becomes head of the family, the image of the family changes.

[00:17:29]Lorenzo now sees himself as part of the Italian and European power elite.

[00:17:36]Like all those in power, Lorenzo liked to be portrayed with contemporaries who were popular. The portrait was of particular importance in the Renaissance period. It's a status symbol.

[00:17:48]The young generation wants to demonstrate power and wealth. In earlier centuries, the portraits in devotional pictures was supposed to display piety.

[00:18:00]Lorenzo breaks with the inconspicuous image that the Medici have until now cultivated and his brash demeanor annoys the old nobility of Florence.

[00:18:12]Money and art go hand in hand. Like the aristocracy and the church, businessmen become patrons of art and bankroll artists like Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Da Vinci. It is also part of the Medici policy to beautify Florence and thus maintain their position of power.

[00:18:35]Florence, the most beautiful city of the Renaissance, the center of Europe in the 15th century thanks to the financial strength and patronage of the Medici.

[00:18:46]It was this family that directed the artistic development of the crème de la crème among the artists of the era and made Florence the European capital of art and culture.

[00:19:01]Medici, Medici, and again Medici.

[00:19:05]Today, you could almost think that the family built the city all by themselves.

[00:19:11]Lorenzo appeared in public like a superstar and that creates envious people.

[00:19:17]The number two in Florence was called Pazzi and the nephew of the head of the Pazzi clan was the murderer from the cathedral, Francesco de' Pazzi. He stabbed Giuliano multiple times.

[00:19:31]Who were these Pazzi?

[00:19:34]Did the family commit the murder to take power?

[00:19:47]The Pazzi were a long-established aristocratic family from Florence.

[00:19:52]Perhaps the most famous in the Renaissance.

[00:19:57]But among the Pazzi family, uncertainty about the unprecedented rise of the Medici grows.

[00:20:04]The head of the family, Jacopo, first tries to avoid confrontation. His nephews and designated successors are required to come to terms with the situation.

[00:20:18]Before Lorenzo became the ruler of the Medici family, there was unity between the Medici and the Pazzi such that a marriage was brokered as a link between the two families. Lorenzo's sister, Bianca, married Guglielmo, the nephew of Jacopo de' Pazzi. It was an alliance.

[00:20:36]Considering their adversaries, the families are pretty closely connected with each other. Guglielmo and Bianca, a marriage between two warring families.

[00:20:46]This seemed to be common amongst the powerful of the time.

[00:20:51]The family is essential for the advancement of every individual in the Renaissance. Their social capital gives members access to important offices, lucrative deals, and business credit. In times of need, the family is the insurance policy against social decline.

[00:21:07]Therefore, marriages are concluded less out of love and passion, but rather out of strategic interests.

[00:21:16]But the reality is that the Pazzi were seriously damaged, not by the Medici, but by Lorenzo. He was the mastermind.

[00:21:29]Jacopo de Pazzi had another nephew, Giovanni. He was to inherit an enormous sum of money by marrying the daughter of the wealthy Borromeo, but Lorenzo wants to prevent that.

[00:21:47]And he uses means that are outright criminal.

[00:21:54]Behind the scenes, he succeeds in introducing an absurd law that excludes daughters from the father's inheritance and grants the inheritance only to the sons.

[00:22:08]That left the Pazzi empty-handed. Was the murder perhaps an act of revenge for the lost fortune?

[00:22:17]Lorenzo ruthlessly abuses his power, thus creating his own enemies.

[00:22:23]Was it just Lorenzo's policies that fatally doomed Giuliano?

[00:22:30]Giuliano is the victim of assassins filled with rage.

[00:22:36]And it is precisely this rage that can be seen in the remains of Giuliano.

[00:22:49]He had no chance of escaping.

[00:23:03]But one thing is strange and the old reports the wounds on the body are mentioned several times but never the wounds on his head which were actually fatal.

[00:23:22]I can imagine back then they thought only about this politically significant image of Giuliano who was literally stabbed from behind by his conspirators and then collapsed.

[00:23:33]Giuliano on the ground motionless defenseless.

[00:23:49]Mrs. Beneke, do you think that the nature of the crime also suggests that the motives?

[00:23:55]In fact it is remarkable how violently they attacked his head and then stabbed the victim again and again with great brutality.

[00:24:04]This is something we call overkill. Much more force is used than would be necessary to kill and that can indicate a strong emotional motive on the part of the perpetrator.

[00:24:16]So here the question arises was there a personal motivation any conflict between the perpetrator and the victim?

[00:24:28]And besides the money what stood between Giuliano and Francesco?

[00:24:39]There are obviously still factors here that you don't see at first glance but which can explain where this brutal hatred by Francesco de Pazzi for Giuliano comes from.

[00:24:52]A motive for murdering Giuliano could be related to his fiance, Semiramide Appiani.

[00:24:59]She was the daughter of the Lord of Piombino, an influential family.

[00:25:22]Semiramide Appiani was Simonetta Vespucci's cousin, Botticelli's beautiful muse for his world-famous image of the goddess Venus.

[00:25:39]Simonetta died 2 years before the attack, and Giuliano loved her. We do not know whether he had a sexual relationship with her, but Giuliano certainly had a strong emotional bond with her. Simonetta's death left a great void in Giuliano's heart, and he fell into a depression.

[00:26:04]Giuliano's depression from the loss of Simonetta resulted in his systematic refusal to marry the various ladies that Lorenzo had suggested to him.

[00:26:15]And then suddenly, he accepts Semiramide.

[00:26:27]Giuliano recognized Simonetta in her cousin Semiramide.

[00:26:39]How is this of interest to us?

[00:26:44]Because Francesco de Pazzi's hatred of Giuliano was perhaps not just for political reasons.

[00:26:51]A single stab in the heart would have been enough, not this been enough, not this brutal attack, which probably stems more from motives of passion.

[00:27:11]Francesco was already angry with the Medici for the lost Borromeo inheritance, but Giuliano was not to blame. It was Lorenzo's So there must have been a passionate motive.

[00:27:25]The jealousy of Giuliano over Semiramis would explain Francesco's brutality.

[00:27:31]It's striking how completely the assassination attempt on Lorenzo failed.

[00:27:36]After all, it is he who is at the center of many political intrigues.

[00:27:42]Professor Professor Albrecht, how do you assess Lorenzo's injuries?

[00:27:47]Well, Lorenzo is said to have had stab wounds and cuts in the neck area.

[00:27:51]That's roughly the region shown here.

[00:27:55]Important structures such as carotid arteries are found in these areas.

[00:28:02]If these are injured and not just the skin, which could possibly only lead to minor bleeding, we would have considerable blood loss from these carotid arteries with severe consequences.

[00:28:12]But Lorenzo survived the attack. What could be the reason?

[00:28:17]There could be several explanations. The first one is that a fight is often perceived as very dynamic.

[00:28:23]This means that he could have simply evaded a blow or hit, or that the weapon did not strike him really deep.

[00:28:31]The second could be that the perpetrators may not have been experienced enough and may have been nervous themselves and therefore may not have hit this narrowly defined neck area correctly.

[00:28:45]So the assassins were amateurs, and yet they took part in such a daring assassination attempt with the aim of wiping out the Medici?

[00:29:03]Lorenzo is attacked by two assassins chosen because the designated killer, the hitman Monte Secco, dropped out at the last minute.

[00:29:19]Giovanni Battista de Monte Secco was a papal soldier.

[00:29:34]But shortly before the attack, Monte Secco backs down.

[00:29:39]It is believed that he felt remorse.

[00:29:43]He did not want to become a traitor and murderer in a church.

[00:29:48]Although murder in front of the altar is a terrible sin before God, nonetheless, churches often become scenes of political assassinations. The religious meeting place increases the symbolic meaning of the attack.

[00:30:03]But for a professional and a soldier like him, this explanation seems pretty astonishing.

[00:30:14]Plus, it is Monte Secco who is caught immediately after the attack.

[00:30:19]What deterred Monte Secco from the assassination at the last minute remains a mystery to this day.

[00:30:25]After his capture, he is to be hanged in the Bargello. The very thought of this notorious prison made Florentines shudder.

[00:30:34]The interrogation methods were infamous.

[00:30:37]The cries of the tortured sliced through the fortress walls and made it clear to the people in no uncertain terms how cold and ruthless the judiciary could be.

[00:30:47]Montesecco wants to be beheaded honorably, not hanged in disgrace. He makes a confession.

[00:30:58]We were in the palace of Girolamo Riario and I asked, "Have you thought about how you want to proceed?"

[00:31:04]Then Riario replies, "The Pazzi and Salviati are convinced that it will only work if you smash Lorenzo and Giuliano to pieces."

[00:31:13]And I asked, "What will the Holy Father think of this deed?"

[00:31:17]Salviati said, "The Holy Father desires all this more than anything else."

[00:31:30]Montesecco's confession gives us the most accurate picture of the preparations for this assassination attempt. The talks take place a few months before the attack between Rome and Florence.

[00:31:42]And these details incriminate the Pope himself.

[00:32:06]Montesecco's confession has everything.

[00:32:09]He implicates Riario, Salviati, and Pope Sixtus IV in the murder plot.

[00:32:14]Apparently, the attack was planned in more detail than we suspected.

[00:32:19]Who are these people?

[00:32:21]How are they connected to the Vatican?

[00:32:23]Girolamo Riario is a nephew of Sixtus IV and the Florentine nobleman Francesco Salviati is the Archbishop of Pisa.

[00:32:32]Could Pope Sixtus really be the instigator of a murder plot?

[00:32:37]Andreas Englisch is a Vatican expert. He is very familiar with the intrigues and manipulations that go on behind the walls of the Vatican.

[00:32:46]Sixtus the Fourth is a power seeker. He is like any other prince and he also behaves like one. He is by no means a gentle clergyman who seeks the good. No, he keeps filling all key positions in the Vatican with relatives.

[00:33:03]Papacy at this time in history is not simply the highest religious office of Christianity with corresponding moral obligations. It's about money and power.

[00:33:14]Especially for his own family and followers, Sixtus knows clearly that his position is an opportunity. The four men surrounding Sixtus here are his nephews.

[00:33:24]He provides them with well-paid offices in and outside the church.

[00:33:29]Qualifications are not necessary. The work is done by professionals, but the nephews reap the benefits. That's also the amazing thing about the Popes of this time, that they don't care at all about how totally untrustworthy they seem to the people. And then after the election, the Pope begins to undertake a very clear policy of expansion. He protects his nephew Riario.

[00:33:58]And Riario is then also one of the decisive participants who ultimately ended up in the conspiracy of the Pazzi.

[00:34:12]Girolamo Riario is a dazzling shady figure from the circle of the Holy See or Curia.

[00:34:20]The worst of his nephews was Girolamo Riario.

[00:34:25]But Sixtus the Fourth loved him very much. He even bought a town so that his nephew could bear the title of Lord of Imola.

[00:34:44]The purchase of the city of Imola was the reason for the disputes between Lorenzo de Medici and Pope Sixtus the IV.

[00:34:52]Because buying a city is expensive.

[00:34:56]Lorenzo refuses the Pope a loan for the purchase of Imola.

[00:35:03]The Medici consider it unwise to have such a dangerous neighbor on the border with Tuscany and therefore refuse the credit.

[00:35:12]This is a financial casus belli or cause of war, which then becomes more or less a military casus belli.

[00:35:23]And who is now lending the Pope money?

[00:35:26]The Pazzi family.

[00:35:35]When Lorenzo confronts Pope Sixtus the IV, he entrusts the Vatican's business dealings to the Pazzi bank.

[00:35:44]Losing a client like the Pope was a catastrophe for the Medici bank.

[00:35:54]And this is where an important financial adviser to the Pope comes into play.

[00:35:59]The Florentine Francesco Salviati from the old elite, the Archbishop of Pisa, knows the Medici personally and was obviously more than just a servant of the Pope.

[00:36:11]Who is Salviati?

[00:36:14]What was his motive?

[00:36:19]In a sense, Salviati was at the heart of the conspiracy. He hated Lorenzo. He hated the Medici family.

[00:36:32]It was he who suggested that Pope Sixtus the fourth should replace the Medici with a Pazzi.

[00:36:42]Lorenzo blocked the appointment of Salviati as Archbishop of Pisa, but after a year, the appointment was eventually given the papal seal of approval.

[00:36:54]Francesco Salviati is the only one of the conspirators who holds high rank in the church.

[00:37:04]When the mass begins, Archbishop Salviati leaves the cathedral with the pathetic excuse that his mother is ill.

[00:37:20]So, Francesco Salviati was in the cathedral. He said to have been near the exit. When he sees the attack is beginning, he leaves the building and rushes towards the government palace with a group of armed men. A coup is supposed to be happening there at the same time. Timing played a crucial role.

[00:37:36]Do you think it's credible that the initiator did not know about such complex operation?

[00:37:45]I don't think they didn't know. The question is, was the deed planned like this or was the style and action of the assassination left to the perpetrators?

[00:37:55]For example, the selection of the crime scene and the time of the murder.

[00:37:58]Ignorance can also shield you. Only the people involved know exactly what happened.

[00:38:07]And only Monte Secco testified.

[00:38:15]When we met Pope Sixtus the fourth, I said, "Holy Father, all this can hardly be done without killing Lorenzo and Giuliano.

[00:38:24]And Sixtus IV said, "I forbid myself any murder because we are not entitled to approve anyone's death.

[00:38:32]Yes, I want the coup. And so I tell you, Monte Secco, that I wish with all my heart that power in Florence will pass to someone else, that it will be torn from Lorenzo's hands because he is a villain and a bad person."

[00:38:48]Er behauptet He firmly claims that Pope Sixtus wants to avoid bloodshed. How did the Pope envision the change of power?

[00:38:56]I think we have to take a closer look at the situation in the Vatican.

[00:39:04]There is an ancient practice in the Apostolic Chancery called "orac tenus", which means "made orally" in Latin.

[00:39:14]The Pope speaks and his word has legal value.

[00:39:25]Sixtus IV is finally convinced that Lorenzo's death is the lesser evil.

[00:39:34]He probably gave his consent to the conspiracy.

[00:39:47]And it seems that Sixtus IV uttered these words, "Let's no blood be shed."

[00:39:54]But this sentence can be understood in different ways.

[00:39:58]The Pazzi and their co-conspirators interpreted these words in a way that suited their plans.

[00:40:05]The first attack on the Medici is said to be a banquet planned in Fiesole, outside Florence.

[00:40:17]Monte Secco explained that the brothers were supposed to be killed earlier at some banquet. How do you kill someone at a banquet? The only real way to kill people at a banquet would be a poison.

[00:40:28]What kind of poison? Like like monkshood? Monkshood or wolfsbane is perhaps less likely because of its bitter taste. I think arsenic is far more likely to be the poison in this case.

[00:40:47]The poisoning does not involve bloodshed and is thus still covered, so to speak, by the Pope's instructions.

[00:41:01]How do you serve arsenic without people noticing?

[00:41:04]It's difficult, but they had a little device in the Renaissance, a poison ring. So, you have a little bit of the poison in the ring.

[00:41:14]And as maybe I'm serving you wine, I can tip the poison into the wine and it dissolves quite quickly, so it's not too obvious. Could you show me how you would do it?

[00:41:26]Let's try.

[00:41:27]That's my one.

[00:41:29]But for yours, the ring has a special purpose.

[00:41:38]Okay, so I see when you pour, because of gravity, it opens, the poison goes into my drink and I wasn't able to see it because the bottle was in front of it.

[00:41:48]That's correct. There's an expression for this in Italian, versare alla traditora. I know that. That means pouring like a traitor.

[00:41:59]Giovanni Battista da Montesecco wants to poison Lorenzo and Giuliano de Medici at a banquet in Fiesole, but the attempted murder failed. Against all expectations, Giuliano doesn't come to the dinner. The conspirators must postpone their plan.

[00:42:16]We know from Monte Secco's confession that Francesco and Jacopo de' Pazzi were directly involved in the conspiracy.

[00:42:24]We also know that Girolamo Riario and Francesco Salviati prepared the plot with Pope Sixtus the IV.

[00:42:31]But the whole thing was risky for the conspirators, too. Not only did the attack need to be successful, the military operation planned at the same time had to work. So, the conspirators needed support from an experienced general.

[00:42:47]But who in the military would have conspired with the others? This unknown aspect in the investigation of the murder plot remains. If the military were involved, they covered their tracks well, or maybe not that well after all.

[00:43:01]The whole story started with my research into one of my ancestors, Chico Simonetta.

[00:43:09]Chico Simonetta was Chancellor of the Sforza, a family that ruled Milan in the mid-15th century.

[00:43:17]Milan had become the center of politics and diplomacy by the end of the 15th century, and at the heart of this espionage and information apparatus was Chico.

[00:43:37]When I started investigating the documents about the Pazzi conspiracy, I found strange letters that Federico da Montefeltro had sent to Chico Simonetta.

[00:43:53]What did Federico da Montefeltro have to do with this story? What was his role?

[00:43:59]Federico da Montefeltro was a condottiere, a mercenary in the service of those who paid him well. Federico da Montefeltro is appointed Gonfaloniere of the church. Federico was an extremely intelligent and dangerous man.

[00:44:25]There were some letters in the Ubaldini archives that were never examined.

[00:44:30]In particular, there was one long letter that was completely encrypted.

[00:44:37]When I first saw the letter, I knew I would need help of my ancestor Chico.

[00:44:42]Chico Simonetta was an expert in cryptography.

[00:44:45]A character was repeated a few times in a specific sequence.

[00:44:52]This character, based on Chico's techniques, had to be a vowel.

[00:45:03]Through a series of tests, I found out that this series of symbols, La Sua Santita, His Holiness, that is, Pope Sixtus the Fourth, can be read.

[00:45:13]This is a letter from Federico da Montefeltro written on February the 14th, 1478, 2 months before the conspiracy.

[00:45:33]La Sua Santita.

[00:45:37]After hundreds of years, we finally find a letter that could be the missing piece of the puzzle. How important were such messages between perpetrators for the investigation?

[00:45:47]Communication between criminals is an extremely important source of evidence.

[00:45:52]From the news, we can infer motives or identify those involved in the crime that we otherwise would not have come across at all. And the whole thing is still a cat-and-mouse game between investigators and criminals regarding encryption techniques and decryption methods.

[00:46:07]How much has Marcello as a Moneta been able to convict the last conspirator after hundreds of years?

[00:46:31]The letter shows that Federico da Montefeltro has agreed to send half of his army to the area around Florence and occupy the city if the attack succeeds.

[00:46:46]This is an extraordinary finding because until now it was not known that he was involved nor that he had prepared the entire operation from a strategic military point of view.

[00:47:04]This letter is a verdict on Federico da Montefeltro who went down in history as one of Lorenzo de Medici's best friends but who actually tried to kill him.

[00:47:22]Montefeltro was an icon in the age of enlightenment for a long time. Today it's clear he conspired in the murder.

[00:47:30]He had already secretly placed 600 mercenaries at the gates of the city but the gates never opened. Shortly after the crime the Pazzi tried to incite the Florentines against the Medici.

[00:47:42]The people of Florence remained loyal.

[00:47:45]Francesco and Jacopo de Pazzi were hanged from a window of the Palazzo Vecchio without trial. Other members of the family were exiled or murdered.

[00:47:55]Lorenzo even had the name Pazzi banned in Florence and completely erased it from the cityscape.

[00:48:05]Cardinal Salviati was also hanged from the Palazzo.

[00:48:09]The two priests, Maffei and Bagnone, were killed as well.

[00:48:14]Bandini, who killed Giuliano together with Francesco de Pazzi, was able to flee.

[00:48:20]But before the end of the year, he was caught in Istanbul and extradited.

[00:48:25]Leonardo da Vinci recorded his execution at the Palazzo Vecchio in a small drawing.

[00:48:34]The three main culprits were never punished. Girolamo Riario was exempt from punishment, but he was murdered by his own servant in 1488. Montefeltro was remembered as a celebrated hero of the Renaissance until the letter was discovered.

[00:48:52]The Pope himself could not be convicted either.

[00:48:55]But it seems that his complicity was an open secret.

[00:49:12]The true revenge of the Medici took place many years later.

[00:49:19]The Sistine Chapel had a painting.

[00:49:25]The picture painted by Di Perugino depicted the Assumption of the Virgin.

[00:49:35]The Pope who commissioned the Chapel kneels in front of her.

[00:49:41]But if we go to the Sistine Chapel today, we see that there is a fresco on the altar wall.

[00:50:04]>> Who commissioned this fresco?

[00:50:06]Pope Clement VII, the posthumously born son of Giuliano de' Medici, who was killed during the conspiracy.

[00:50:15]What did Clement VII do before he died?

[00:50:19]He commissioned Michelangelo to make a fresco of The Last Judgment, thus taking revenge by removing the portrait of the man who murdered his father.

[00:50:32]So, in the middle of the Sistine Chapel, a personal revenge from one Pope against another has been perpetrated.

[00:50:42]One had the other's father killed.

[00:50:45]The second killed the portrayal of his murderer.

[00:50:55]Pope Clement VII wanted to take revenge in a subtle, but for his contemporaries unmistakable way, at the place where Popes are still elected today.

[00:51:06]The altarpiece is the most prominent fresco in this chapel.

[00:51:11]At The Last Judgment, the Popes will only be judged according to their deeds, like every human being.

[00:51:18]Does Sixtus belong to those who fall to the despair of hell?

[00:51:23]The Last Judgment also demonstrated to the people of that time that the power of the Medici outlived the individual.

[00:51:36]A divine act of justice.

[00:51:38]Sixtus IV's portrait was removed from the altar in the Sistine Chapel.

[00:51:43]Perugino's sketch is all that remains.

[00:51:47]Pope Clement had the painting destroyed. Pope Clement himself was born just a month after the assassination of Giuliano.

[00:51:55]Why did he take revenge on Sixtus?

[00:51:58]Giuliano de Medici was his father.