Pazzi Conspiracy

Calling All Allies

The Papal States bordered most of the southern boundaries of Tuscany, and a Neapolitan army was conveniently close to hand, under the command of Ferrante's son, Alfonso, the Duke of Calabria. He immediately entered Tuscany and captured Montepulciano (famous for its wine). From there he sent an even more ferocious letter from the Pope to Florence: capitulate to the pope or face utter destruction. Not surprisingly, the city replied in defiant terms. In an ominous passage, the city declared it placed its trust in justice, in Christ, and in its allies, among whom it named Louis of France.

They were rather empty words. Louis XI was not going to send an army. Milan would have, but Galeazzo Maria Sforza was dead and his widow was preoccupied with keeping power on behalf of her son. Milan sent a token force, fulfilling the letter but not the spirit of the agreement. The Orsini family in Rome should have sent a force, but chose not to. Bologna should have come to Florence's aid, but did not. Everyone found reasons to delay, to consider, to make the empty gesture. Pope Sixtus and King Ferrante were a formidable enemy. What troops Florence could muster were placed under the command Ercole d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara, a good commander but with too few troops to stand up to the Neapolitan army now marching through the Chianti hills.

It got worse. The Pope had persuaded both Siena and Lucca to rebel. In particular this meant that the troops marching up from the south would not have to worry about Siena. Alfonso's troops were soon joined by a second army, paid for by the pope himself, under the command of the famous Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino. Yet, despite all this, the Florentines kept their spirit. The clergy of Florence met and declared the pope's actions invalid, the city's actions just, and advised that no interdict nor excommunication had any effect. In fact, they declared the pope heretical and in turn excommunicated him! The Florentine letter of excommunication was duplicated on a new-fangled device, a printing press, which had first appeared in Florence the previous year, and copies were sent all over Europe.