Podcast
The Pazzi Conspiracy
Hosted by Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore · EN
1478. On April 26, in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, the most dramatic episode of the Renaissance was staged: Bernardo Bandini, Francesco Pazzi and Antonio Maffei attacked Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici. The first dies, the second is injured. However, the crowd takes the side of the Magnificent and the conspiracy will end in a bloodbath and will result in a bitter conflict between the Italian states.
The story is told by Giovanni da Montesecco, the man of the "great refusal": charged with murdering the brothers, he shirks the task a few hours before the massacre.
His confession takes us directly into the heart of that era and sheds light on the thorniest issues of the Pazzi Conspiracy.
The story is told by Giovanni da Montesecco, the man of the "great refusal": charged with murdering the brothers, he shirks the task a few hours before the massacre.
His confession takes us directly into the heart of that era and sheds light on the thorniest issues of the Pazzi Conspiracy.
8episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
08. The Balance of Power
Jun 29, 202300:31:06Tap to summarizeFollowing his trip to Naples, Lorenzo de' Medici is welcomed by the Florentines as a hero. The dark years of the Florentine Republic have allowed the Medici to show off his resolve.Lorenzo de' Medici, also known as "the needle of the scales," knew how to juggle the maze of Italian politics and did not hesitate to compromise in order to promise his Firenza a better future. In this final episode we retrace Lorenzo de' Medici's last years before his untimely death.
Transcribe →
07. Lorenzo "the Heretic"
Jun 21, 202300:28:20Tap to summarizeIn the years following the Pazzi Conspiracy, Florence will be the center of a war that threatens the balance of the entire Italy. Lorenzo de' Medici's Republic is under attack by order of the bloodthirsty Sixtus IV: "Lorenzo the heretic," is how the head of the Church addresses the Medici in one of his papal bulls. This uncertain climate puts even the friendships the Magnifico had carefully built at risk: what is Lorenzo willing to do to save his own Florence?
Transcribe →
06. Nine Days of Blood
Jun 14, 202300:41:51Tap to summarizeThe voice of Giovanni Battista di Montesecco has us relive the darkest hours of Medici Florence. When most of the conspirators have been found and punished, Montesecco, despite having refused the assignment to kill the Magnifico, still fears for his life. Devoured by guilt, the soldier takes refuge in a monastery. In this episode, we will retrace the last 9 days of Montesecco's life: the 9 days that preceded the precious confession that allowed us to discover the rawest background of the Congiura dei Pazzi.
Transcribe →
5. The Other Side of the Coin
Jun 7, 202300:28:53Tap to summarizeThe New Athens: so is the Florence of the Medici, a hub for intellectuals, artists, poets and architects. Giovanni Battista da Montesecco, the man who decided to spare Lorenzo de' Medici's life, recounts his encounters with the Magnifico and 15th-century Florence. A journey among the majestic churches and the small streets that innervate the Florentine city: in this installment, we will discover how the Medici family, and Lorenzo in particular, worked to make their Florence the jewel in the crown of all Italy.
Transcribe →
04. Family Matters
May 31, 202300:27:53Tap to summarizeThanks to the confession of the soldier Giovanni Battista di Montesecco, it is possible to trace the dynamics and diplomatic conflicts that acted as a precursor to the tragedy of April 26, 1478. The Medici family was often the center of political disputes and violent battles over contested territories between the Florentine Republic and the Holy See. The bloody Pope Sixtus IV had unfinished business with Lorenzo the Magnificent and for this very reason decided to eliminate him once and for all.
Transcribe →
03. The Pope's Warrior
May 24, 202300:28:21Tap to summarizeWho is the man who caused the failure of the conspiracy hatched by the Church and the Pazzi family against Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici? Giovanni Battista da Montesecco, this is his name: a soldier of the papal army, hired as the Magnifico's killer.Assigned the task of telling us about Florence's darkest years, Montesecco now recounts the struggles and promises that led him to be a key player within the political games of the Italian Renaissance.
Transcribe →
02. They Call him "The Magnificent"
May 17, 202300:29:07Tap to summarizeAfter witnessing his brother Giuliano’s killing, Lorenzo de’ Medici sees Florence turn into a bloodbath. The conspirators’ corpses hang loose from the bastions of Palazzo Vecchio while the people cry out for revenge: they shout the Medici name in a show of devotion.Who was Lorenzo the Magnificent for the people of Florence? As the law said, he was just a regular citizen, but he was capable of using his words as a weapon too.Lorenzo de’ Medici was destined to a magnificent future, and this is his story. Giovanni Battista da Montesecco, the man who refused to take part in the carnage that took place in Santa Maria del Fiore, tells us about Lorenzo de’ Medici.
Transcribe →
01. Murder in the Cathedral
May 9, 202300:32:15Tap to summarizeApril 26, 1478, Easter Sunday: in Florence, in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, during Mass, Giuliano de' Medici was brutally killed and his brother Lorenzo the Magnificent wounded. The Pazzi conspiracy has failed. But who are the instigators? How did we get to this terrifying page of history? Giovanni Battista da Montesecco (Derek Allen), the conspirator who refused at the last minute to carry out the heinous gesture, tells, in this first episode, how he was involved in this conspiracy that changed the course of the Renaissance forever.
Transcribe →