What do you think?
Rate this book
The Pazzi Conspiracy: The Plot Against the Medici
A work specializing in in the Pazzi conspiracy at the height of the Italian Renaissance
128 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1979
1 person is currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Harold Acton
55 books14 followersSir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton was a British writer, scholar and dilettante who is probably most famous for being believed, incorrectly, to have inspired the character of "Anthony Blanche" in Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited (1945).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 15, 2025
Harold Acton Eloquently Chronicles The Dramatic, Fateful Events Of The Famous Pazzi Conspiracy Against The Medici In 1478.
The failed plot which was staged on 29 April 1478 against Lorenzo and Giuliano de'Medici can be regarded as the culmination of the Pazzi Conspiracy, a bold attempt to usurp the authority of the most powerful family in the Florentine hierarchy. Among its colluders were ambitious members of the noble clan from whom the conspiracy would later receive its name - the Medici's bitter rivals, the Pazzi. The scheme was ostensibly hatched for financial reasons, but its actual causes ran much deeper and encompassed considerably more sinister motivations - political status, temporal power, revenge - the men who were behind the Pazzi Conspiracy had fiercely desired all of these things, and had not scrupled in resorting to drastic measures in their efforts to acquire them.
The villains' motives were as diverse as their personalities and dispositions - Francesco Salviati had initially hoped to become archbishop of Florence, but was passed over due to his unpopularity with Lorenzo the Magnificent, and Pope Sixtus IV had awarded him with Pisa instead, but Salviati had never set aside his disappointment. One of the two priests involved in the conspiracy, Antonio Maffei had had his own reasons for seeing the Medici removed from power. He hailed from Volterra, where a revolt over alum mining contracts had been savagely suppressed by the condottiere Duke of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, who had been acting in Lorenzo's interests when he sacked the town in 1472.
Featuring a diverse, colorful cast of characters that feel as if they were taken directly out of the pages of a stylized historical drama, the events of the Pazzi Conspiracy remain among the most studied of the Italian Renaissance. The extensive selection of scholarly and popular accounts devoted to the topic certainly attest to the fact that it is a fascinating subject about which much can be written.
The English historian and aesthete Harold Acton composed The Pazzi Conspiracy: The Plot Against the Medici from 1978-9, during the 500th anniversary of the most famous intrigue of the Quattrocento, and according to his comments in the foreword, "This is a story which interprets itself, and I leave the reader to draw his own conclusions." Acton was also the author of The Bourbons of Naples duology and the masterfully composed The Last Medici, and those works are considered as a whole to be his magnum opus. His autobiographical memoirs have been released in two separate volumes - Memoirs of an Aesthete and More Memoirs of an Aesthete, published by Methuen in 1948 and 1970, respectively.
This cloth-bound, hardcover edition of Harold Acton's The Pazzi Conspiracy: The Plot Against the Medici was released in 1979 by the English publisher Thames and Hudson, and features a 123-page main text that is split into 4 parts, which are entitled, Princes of the Florentine Republic, Lorenzo's disputes with Pope Sixtus IV, Murder of Giuliano de'Medici in the Cathedral, and War with the Papacy and Naples. There are also 39 illustrations of various art, architecture, heraldry and sketches relating to the conspiracy, and an index at the back of the volume. There is an embossed emblem on the front cover depicting the twin dolphins of the Thames and Hudson logo, which complements well the Pazzi family's coat-of-arms that also displays two dolphins and is printed on the book's dust jacket. According to Lauro Martines' April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici, in the folklore of the Renaissance age, the dolphins in the Pazzi's sigil signified both generosity and freedom.
While writing this book, Acton favored a reserved, almost somber prose style, and he employed a short, uncomplicated sentence structure that conveys his meaning through a minimum of expression. That meaning is uniquely direct, stylishly elegant, and also very polished, with a thoughtful solemnity and quiet attention to detail that hearken back to a different era, when courtesy and chivalry were less distant from one another than they are in modern times. Acton composed The Pazzi Conspiracy during the twilight of his literary career, and his decades of experience as a writer and an historian are very apparent in every passage of the book. He was a Commander of the Royal Order of the British Empire, an order of chivalry established by King George V in 1917 to recognize meritorious service to the British Empire, and reading his books ranks among life's small number of truly wonderful experiences.
Throughout the monograph Acton made astute decisions to include excerpts from contemporary correspondence that are resonant with its atmosphere and theme, and these assisted the reviewer in better understanding the diverse cast of characters' motivations and personalities. The emotions evoked by these selections can be as straightforward as the intense jealousy between two bitter rivals, or as nuanced and complex as a mother's love for her son. Harold Acton and his style of writing have been sadly departed for some time now, but his literary work speaks volumes as to his capacity to have understood the human spirit.
The grim coterie of Pazzi conspirators are the book's primary antagonists, and their bitter jealousy and ruthless ambition toward the Medici are aptly reflected in their motives and attitudes. The 34-year-old Francesco de'Pazzi, called Franceschino, possessed political aspirations and fervently hoped for his family to supplant the Medici as the dominant clan in Florence. Girolamo Riario was a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, and was married to Caterina Sforza, the natural daughter of the Duke of Milan. Caterina would in time become known as the Tigress of Forlì, and her ambition and ruthlessness were fully equal to her husband's. Riario stood at the center of the conspiracy, as he stood to gain a great deal by a papal coup in Florence. Pope Sixtus himself had recently replaced the Medici with the Pazzi as his papal bankers after Lorenzo refused to fund the pope's purchase of Imola from Galeazzo Maria Sforza.
Not all of the conspirators were convinced of their endeavor's success, however, and Acton articulates these sequences very well in the limited space he devotes to their discussion. Readers curious to learn more about the background behind the conspiracy would likely enjoy Marcello Simonetta's The Montefeltro Conspiracy: A Renaissance Mystery Decoded or Lauro Martines' April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici.
Certain passages in The Pazzi Conspiracy reveal the villains' uncertainty, the doubts they still harbored regarding the nature of their odious scheme. Giovan Battista Montesecco and Jacopo de'Pazzi both had misgivings about the Pazzi Conspiracy from the beginning, each for very different reasons, but both had allowed themselves to be persuaded into acquiescence, which led to their tragic downfall after the plot failed. The author referenced extant accounts of the conspirators' confessions to weave his harrowing tale of heroism and treachery, most notably the testimony of Giovan Battista, a condottiere hired for his experience in commanding large numbers of troops, which were to be utilized in the city after the deed was done.
Overall, Harold Acton's The Pazzi Conspiracy: The Plot Against the Medici is an uncommonly well written title that contains a distinctive, stylish account of the Pazzi Conspiracy and succeeds in conveying an admirable amount of information despite the unique design choices and subdued writing style adopted by the author - there are no paragraph-long-sentences in this book, no elaborate metaphors or pithy aphorisms to be found. There is, however, a concentration of well-articulated, florid prose which demonstrates Harold Acton's versatility as a writer and an historian.
It would be far from difficult to find a more thorough accounting of the Pazzi Conspiracy, which came to represent an entire era of history by tragically transpiring in the manner that it occurred. The reader can obtain more informative histories and analyses of these fateful events, but not quite in the way Acton created with his own unique style of aesthetic scholarship - he was truly one of a kind.
The Pazzi Conspiracy: The Plot Against the Medici is a special book - its reserved and straightforward presentation succeeds in establishing an atmosphere of dramatic intrigue and quiet melancholy which persists throughout the brief narrative. It was an interesting, enlightening and also very enjoyable experience to read and review this forgotten classic from the late middle twentieth century, and it is absolutely possible to enjoy this book without prior experience in history. Thank you so very much for reading, I hope that you enjoyed the review!
The failed plot which was staged on 29 April 1478 against Lorenzo and Giuliano de'Medici can be regarded as the culmination of the Pazzi Conspiracy, a bold attempt to usurp the authority of the most powerful family in the Florentine hierarchy. Among its colluders were ambitious members of the noble clan from whom the conspiracy would later receive its name - the Medici's bitter rivals, the Pazzi. The scheme was ostensibly hatched for financial reasons, but its actual causes ran much deeper and encompassed considerably more sinister motivations - political status, temporal power, revenge - the men who were behind the Pazzi Conspiracy had fiercely desired all of these things, and had not scrupled in resorting to drastic measures in their efforts to acquire them.
The villains' motives were as diverse as their personalities and dispositions - Francesco Salviati had initially hoped to become archbishop of Florence, but was passed over due to his unpopularity with Lorenzo the Magnificent, and Pope Sixtus IV had awarded him with Pisa instead, but Salviati had never set aside his disappointment. One of the two priests involved in the conspiracy, Antonio Maffei had had his own reasons for seeing the Medici removed from power. He hailed from Volterra, where a revolt over alum mining contracts had been savagely suppressed by the condottiere Duke of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, who had been acting in Lorenzo's interests when he sacked the town in 1472.
Featuring a diverse, colorful cast of characters that feel as if they were taken directly out of the pages of a stylized historical drama, the events of the Pazzi Conspiracy remain among the most studied of the Italian Renaissance. The extensive selection of scholarly and popular accounts devoted to the topic certainly attest to the fact that it is a fascinating subject about which much can be written.
The English historian and aesthete Harold Acton composed The Pazzi Conspiracy: The Plot Against the Medici from 1978-9, during the 500th anniversary of the most famous intrigue of the Quattrocento, and according to his comments in the foreword, "This is a story which interprets itself, and I leave the reader to draw his own conclusions." Acton was also the author of The Bourbons of Naples duology and the masterfully composed The Last Medici, and those works are considered as a whole to be his magnum opus. His autobiographical memoirs have been released in two separate volumes - Memoirs of an Aesthete and More Memoirs of an Aesthete, published by Methuen in 1948 and 1970, respectively.
This cloth-bound, hardcover edition of Harold Acton's The Pazzi Conspiracy: The Plot Against the Medici was released in 1979 by the English publisher Thames and Hudson, and features a 123-page main text that is split into 4 parts, which are entitled, Princes of the Florentine Republic, Lorenzo's disputes with Pope Sixtus IV, Murder of Giuliano de'Medici in the Cathedral, and War with the Papacy and Naples. There are also 39 illustrations of various art, architecture, heraldry and sketches relating to the conspiracy, and an index at the back of the volume. There is an embossed emblem on the front cover depicting the twin dolphins of the Thames and Hudson logo, which complements well the Pazzi family's coat-of-arms that also displays two dolphins and is printed on the book's dust jacket. According to Lauro Martines' April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici, in the folklore of the Renaissance age, the dolphins in the Pazzi's sigil signified both generosity and freedom.
While writing this book, Acton favored a reserved, almost somber prose style, and he employed a short, uncomplicated sentence structure that conveys his meaning through a minimum of expression. That meaning is uniquely direct, stylishly elegant, and also very polished, with a thoughtful solemnity and quiet attention to detail that hearken back to a different era, when courtesy and chivalry were less distant from one another than they are in modern times. Acton composed The Pazzi Conspiracy during the twilight of his literary career, and his decades of experience as a writer and an historian are very apparent in every passage of the book. He was a Commander of the Royal Order of the British Empire, an order of chivalry established by King George V in 1917 to recognize meritorious service to the British Empire, and reading his books ranks among life's small number of truly wonderful experiences.
Throughout the monograph Acton made astute decisions to include excerpts from contemporary correspondence that are resonant with its atmosphere and theme, and these assisted the reviewer in better understanding the diverse cast of characters' motivations and personalities. The emotions evoked by these selections can be as straightforward as the intense jealousy between two bitter rivals, or as nuanced and complex as a mother's love for her son. Harold Acton and his style of writing have been sadly departed for some time now, but his literary work speaks volumes as to his capacity to have understood the human spirit.
"Her letters to Lorenzo were full of maternal forethought. When he was in Pisa she sent him 'sixteen flasks of good old Greek wine: eight of Poggibonsi marked with ink, and eight of Colle. To us they seem good but you must choose the best, and four torte besse [Sienese cakes] besides. I do this because I think you may need them for the visit of Madama [the Duchess of Ferrara] although I suppose you have made every provision....I hope they please you. Do not let the carrier return empty...' A fresh supply of oranges and biscuits, she added, would be appreciated."
The grim coterie of Pazzi conspirators are the book's primary antagonists, and their bitter jealousy and ruthless ambition toward the Medici are aptly reflected in their motives and attitudes. The 34-year-old Francesco de'Pazzi, called Franceschino, possessed political aspirations and fervently hoped for his family to supplant the Medici as the dominant clan in Florence. Girolamo Riario was a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, and was married to Caterina Sforza, the natural daughter of the Duke of Milan. Caterina would in time become known as the Tigress of Forlì, and her ambition and ruthlessness were fully equal to her husband's. Riario stood at the center of the conspiracy, as he stood to gain a great deal by a papal coup in Florence. Pope Sixtus himself had recently replaced the Medici with the Pazzi as his papal bankers after Lorenzo refused to fund the pope's purchase of Imola from Galeazzo Maria Sforza.
Not all of the conspirators were convinced of their endeavor's success, however, and Acton articulates these sequences very well in the limited space he devotes to their discussion. Readers curious to learn more about the background behind the conspiracy would likely enjoy Marcello Simonetta's The Montefeltro Conspiracy: A Renaissance Mystery Decoded or Lauro Martines' April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici.
"Jacopo de' Pazzi had held the office of Gonfalonier in 1469: a cantankerous old gambler, haughty and avaricious, superficially he remained on good terms with Lorenzo though he despised his régime. He was a shrewd realist, however, and when Franceschino confided his plan to him his gambling instinct deserted him. He retorted bluntly that the plot was doomed to failure."
Certain passages in The Pazzi Conspiracy reveal the villains' uncertainty, the doubts they still harbored regarding the nature of their odious scheme. Giovan Battista Montesecco and Jacopo de'Pazzi both had misgivings about the Pazzi Conspiracy from the beginning, each for very different reasons, but both had allowed themselves to be persuaded into acquiescence, which led to their tragic downfall after the plot failed. The author referenced extant accounts of the conspirators' confessions to weave his harrowing tale of heroism and treachery, most notably the testimony of Giovan Battista, a condottiere hired for his experience in commanding large numbers of troops, which were to be utilized in the city after the deed was done.
"After his long ride to the remote villa of Cafaggiolo, Montesecco was disarmed by Lorenzo's affability. This debonair gentleman was totally unlike the reptile he had been led to expect. Lorenzo betrayed no antagonism to Count Riario, of whom he spoke with bland urbanity. Ever hospitable, Lorenzo invited Montesecco to an excellent repast, showed him his stables, discussed the points of his horses and the produce of his farms. He had none of the haughtiness of Montesecco's patrons in Rome."
Overall, Harold Acton's The Pazzi Conspiracy: The Plot Against the Medici is an uncommonly well written title that contains a distinctive, stylish account of the Pazzi Conspiracy and succeeds in conveying an admirable amount of information despite the unique design choices and subdued writing style adopted by the author - there are no paragraph-long-sentences in this book, no elaborate metaphors or pithy aphorisms to be found. There is, however, a concentration of well-articulated, florid prose which demonstrates Harold Acton's versatility as a writer and an historian.
It would be far from difficult to find a more thorough accounting of the Pazzi Conspiracy, which came to represent an entire era of history by tragically transpiring in the manner that it occurred. The reader can obtain more informative histories and analyses of these fateful events, but not quite in the way Acton created with his own unique style of aesthetic scholarship - he was truly one of a kind.
The Pazzi Conspiracy: The Plot Against the Medici is a special book - its reserved and straightforward presentation succeeds in establishing an atmosphere of dramatic intrigue and quiet melancholy which persists throughout the brief narrative. It was an interesting, enlightening and also very enjoyable experience to read and review this forgotten classic from the late middle twentieth century, and it is absolutely possible to enjoy this book without prior experience in history. Thank you so very much for reading, I hope that you enjoyed the review!
January 16, 2021
Succinct and well written this is a small volume about an interesting yet unsettling time in history. In many ways it is Renaissance politics (which included the Pope and the Holy Roman Church) at their worst. But it also shows the strength of Lorenzo and gives an understanding as to why he was then and still called "the Magnificent". It does not paint him as "the Perfect", but gives a great example of his strengths and his weaknesses. Since it mainly dealt with the Pazzi Conspiracy, there is much about the time and people that were just briefly touched on, but it is an interesting read and a small window into a turbulent yet extremely productive time in Italian arts. It inspired me to want to delve deeper into the life and times of Lorenzo and his contemporaries. To me that indicates a good book.
April 7, 2023
A concise yet disappointing account.
I appreciate the author is working with the available information, and with that in mind, the book reads well, gives plenty of information in an easily digestible manner, very clear and comprehensive.
However having said that, I was hoping that a book about the Pazzi conspiracy, which heralds the Pazzi coat of arms on its cover, would in fact contain more on the Pazzi family, yet it mainly regards Lorenzo Medici. Which is all well and good and I appreciate the information, but nevertheless was left without much in the way of information regarding the Pazzi family.
It is difficult to find much in the way of biography on the Pazzi family (possibly due to the family being effectively erased following the botched assassinstion of Lorenzo) and I bought this book in the hope there would be a more in depth and extensive look at the Pazzi, which I didn't get.
Overall it was a good light read and helped me to understand the political intricacies of the events leading up to, including, and following the conspiracy. If that's what you want, then I recommend it.
I appreciate the author is working with the available information, and with that in mind, the book reads well, gives plenty of information in an easily digestible manner, very clear and comprehensive.
However having said that, I was hoping that a book about the Pazzi conspiracy, which heralds the Pazzi coat of arms on its cover, would in fact contain more on the Pazzi family, yet it mainly regards Lorenzo Medici. Which is all well and good and I appreciate the information, but nevertheless was left without much in the way of information regarding the Pazzi family.
It is difficult to find much in the way of biography on the Pazzi family (possibly due to the family being effectively erased following the botched assassinstion of Lorenzo) and I bought this book in the hope there would be a more in depth and extensive look at the Pazzi, which I didn't get.
Overall it was a good light read and helped me to understand the political intricacies of the events leading up to, including, and following the conspiracy. If that's what you want, then I recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews