Pazzi Conspiracy
Chaos in the Cathedral
but what a great picture!
By this time, his friends were springing to his defense. One of them, Stufa, was killed. A handful of others got open the great bronze doors, hustled Lorenzo inside, and slammed the doors to, locking them from inside. Outside came shouts and screams and the sound of fighting. Lorenzo was losing blood and was becoming a bit hysterical, asking everyone around him if his brother was all right. No one knew what was happening; anything was possible, including that the priest's dagger might be poisoned. One of Lorenzo's friends bravely sucked at the wound, just in case, then they bandaged it.
Back in the cathedral, chaos reigned. Terrible fighting had erupted in two places, but as soon as the conspirators saw the Lorenzo had escaped they knew that the plot had failed. After only a couple of minutes, therefore, everyone was running. As soon as the blows were struck, GGG Pazzi went racing wildly about screaming that he was innocent and knew nothing of what was happening. Francesco Pazzi, bleeding profusely from the wound in his leg, was led away by his friends back to the Pazzi Palace. Montesecco, seeing the plan had failed, immediately left the city. The unsuspecting Florentines in the cathedral had all run for the nearest exit, racing back to their homes to tell their families the terrible news. But, of course, they didn't really know what had happened, only that violence had been done, so most of them simply locked their doors and waited.