April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici

by Lauro Martines

One of the world's leading historians of Renaissance Italy brings to life here the vibrant--and violent--society of fifteenth-century Florence. His disturbing narrative opens up an entire culture, revealing the dark side of Renaissance man and politician Lorenzo de' Medici.

On a Sunday in April 1478, assassins attacked Lorenzo and his brother as they attended Mass in the cathedral of Florence. Lorenzo scrambled to safety as Giuliano bled to death on the cathedral floor. April Blood moves outward in time and space from that murderous event, unfolding a story of tangled passions, ambition, treachery, and revenge. The conspiracy was led by one of the city's most noble clans, the Pazzi, financiers who feared and resented the Medici's swaggering new role as political bosses--but the web of intrigue spread through all of Italy. Bankers, mercenaries, the Duke of Urbino, the King of Naples, and Pope Sixtus IV entered secretly into the plot. Florence was plunged into a peninsular war, and Lorenzo was soon fighting for his own and his family's survival.

The failed assassination doomed the Pazzi. Medici revenge was swift and brutal--plotters were hanged or beheaded, innocents were hacked to pieces, and bodies were put out to dangle from the windows of the government palace. All remaining members of the larger Pazzi clan were forced to change their surname, and every public sign or symbol of the family was expunged or destroyed.

April Blood offers us a fresh portrait of Renaissance Florence, where dazzling artistic achievements went side by side with violence, craft, and bare-knuckle politics. At the center of the canvas is the figure of Lorenzo the Magnificent--poet, statesman, connoisseur, patron of the arts, and ruthless "boss of bosses." This extraordinarily vivid account of a turning point in the Italian Renaissance is bound to become a lasting work of history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Italy, Renaissance, European History, Historical, Biography

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2003

About the author

Lauro Martines , former Professor of European History at the University of California, Los Angeles, is renowned for his books on the Italian Renaissance. The author of Power and Imagination: City-States in Renaissance Italy, and most recently of Strong Words: Writing and Social Strain in the Italian Renaissance, he reviews for The Times Literary Supplement and lives in London with his wife, novelist Julia O'Faolain.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this is book number 2 in my epic quest to learn as much as possible about life in the fifteenth century. (I'm broadening my goals: Italy won't be the only place I research.) If you have any recommendations, please shoot them my way.

"April Blood" is the story about the political climate, and the political fallout, surrounding the attempted double murder of Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici that happened on Easter Sunday, 1478. The subject is fascinating because Lorenzo was essentially pulling the strings of Florence's government, despite the fact that Florence was a republic with a constantly shifting group of people in power.

This book falls slightly into the Anti-Medici camp--that is, he paints the Medici in a mostly negative light. (It isn't that hard to do.) "Medici Money" by Tim Parks has a much more even-handed approach to the Medici, and it's nice to see the family from both these points of view. However. . . well, they were douche bags, weren't they? I mean, political intrigue was pretty rampant in the city anyway, but the Medici made it practically a dictatorship.

It's fascinating to see a republic where, to the outsider, everything seems to be fairly equal and unbiased, yet a small group of the wealthiest men are really controlling every decision... whereas here in the US, it's a group of the wealthiest men AND WOMEN. Ah. Progress.

Some sections of this book were fascinating. Martines includes a few letters discussing potential brides. One was written from a mother to her son, and describes the physical appearance of the bride in cruel, excrutiating detail. She then goes on to discuss the significance of the woman's familial ties, and the potential assets she might bring. She then mentions the dowery she expects the bride to come with. All this goes on for several pages. Finally, in the last sentence of the letter, she offhandedly mentions the girl's name.

Much of the political intrigue went a bit over my head since Martines takes it for granted that you have a fair amount of knowledge going into the book. Savonarola, a fire and brimstone priest who was quite an exciting character, is brought into the story without any background or context. He doesn't even mention the guy was a priest and just begins discussing his political dealings. If I hadn't just read Tim Powers's book, I would've had no idea what he was talking about. Unfortunately, much of the time I HADN'T heard of the people, and this made parts of the book carry much less impact than the author intended them to. My eyes glazed over on occasion and I thought about switching to Joe Abercrombie (the other book I was reading at the time).

So, I don't regret choosing this book, although it wasn't as clear or entertaining as "Medici Money." I did like the fact that Martines didn't hide his impression of the Medicis, and I definitely agree with his perspective. I mean, Lorenzo was a money-obsessed banker who also wanted total control of his city and was willing to exile entire family lines to get it.

If you have a little background in Florence during this time period, this is a four-star book. If you don't have any background, though, it's a three, or maybe a two. The subject is fascinating, but the book could've been a lot easier to follow with about 100 pages more detail clarifying the people and the culture.

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished April Blood a couple hours ago. I was all prepared to write the review but realized the bigger-than-my-head daiquiri I had with dinner hadn't worn off yet and I wasn't prepared to write one of those intoxicated reviews. So I watched Lifetime movies instead. And a Queen concert on one of those VH1 channels. (Queen is cool.)

Actually I was waiting on the proper review because I was wavering between 3 and 4 stars and I thought the only fair thing I could do is wait until morning to see if the sunlight brings new perspective to my feelings about the book, the Medicis, and the Pazzis. But then I said screw it.

Right now, a little buzzed still, I would say that this was a good book to wet one's Renaissance/Medici palate; but certainly there are better, more complete histories out there and I'd probably enjoy them more. Focusing only on the plot against the Medici family really means the text needs to be drawn out to make it more than just a chap book. Which requires a lot of speculation, like a bit about how Machiavelli was just a kid and was studying his Latin as the whole plot thing was going down. Was he really? Was he really studying his Latin at that moment? Maybe he was peeping in the window of the hot chick next door. I mean, maybe. Just sayin'.

It did include a nice bit of history on the status of women in the fifteenth century though, so for that I was grateful. I also now want to go back to Florence which is sort of unfortunate as we've decided on our next European trip we won't be visiting Florence since we've done it twice and feel like we might be missing out on other places. I mean it is Europe and all.

So, nice starter book, but I'd be interested in reading a more complete history on the situation. And by that I mean the plot against the Medicis, not Mike the Situation.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really appreciate Lauro Martines, because he is one of the few academic historians out there who genuinely seems to care about making history interesting, exciting, and accessible. This should be done more often because history is not boring, despite desperate attempts from many to make it so. And so while I would normally make fun of a book a little bit for calling itself something like APRIL BLOOD, I won't this time because hey! if it gets someone to pick up the book who normally wouldn't, awesome.

But all of this does make it a bit hard to give Martines's book a rating , because it depends almost entirely on what you're looking for. If you are a general beginner to the political history of the Italian Renaissance - or even if you're a beginner to history writing in general - I think that this would be a great book, and would bump it up to four stars. It tells an exciting story loaded with real conspiracy theories and it jumps around to touch on other aspects of life in 15th century Italy. If you're looking for something that will give you a good idea of whether or not you're interested in the political history of the period, this is a great choice. But if you're looking for a more in-depth treatment, this is probably not your best bet.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the finest books I have ever read about the Medici and Renaissance Italy. It tells of the machinations of pope Sixtus IV to have the two young Medici boys, Lorenzo and Giuliano, murdered during mass in Florence Cathedral, by assassins hired by Medici rivals the Pazzi. Just how extraordinary this horrifically bloody tale is can only be grasped by reading this work from a master historian who has dug through the archives to bring forth new light and understanding of this complex time.

If you want to know more read the following review:

'The history of the Pazzi conspiracy reads like a Who's Who of early Italian Renaissance. When the conspirators drew their swords in the middle of High Mass under Brunelleschi's great dome in 1478, their intended victims were the de facto ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, and his younger brother Guiliano. In the aftermath of the botched assassination, Leonardo da Vinci sketched the conspirators' bodies hanging from a window of one of the city's palazzos, Botticelli immortalised their shame in a city mural, and the young Machiavelli (only 10 at the time but, presumably, political acumen starts early) remembered enough to write his own account of it later. In contrast, the conspirators ended up as a historical footnote, while the Medici - give or take the odd hiatus - went on to run and star in the show for the next few hundred years.

'History, of course, is written by the winners. Which makes Lauro Martines's April Blood all the more interesting, because his lively and scholarly reconstruction of the conspiracy sets out to show how, for those living through it at the time, the outcome would have felt far from inevitable.

'Medici power was based on a finely spun web of family, wealth, marriage and influence. Nominally still a republic run by leading citizens whose names were drawn out of a purse, Florence was in reality a tight-knit oligarchy with Lorenzo as its uncrowned head. But the drawback of oligarchy is that in a thriving commercial culture there is always a growing number of citizens on the outside wanting in and looking for an opposition to focus their discontent. That was where the Pazzi came in. A family almost as rich as the Medici, with connections inside and outside Florence, by 1478 they also held the trump card of the support of an ambitious and nepotistic pope, who hated the Medici so much he quickly moved his banking interests from them to the Pazzi.

'The scholar in Martines is in his element tracing and exposing the lines of power and influence within both families and their multiple businesses. But one thing emerges clearly. While there were Florentines who harboured genuine republican sentiment, the conspiracy that rocked Florence that Sunday morning in April was about power rather than political purity. This story leans more to The Godfather than Julius Caesar .

'The signal for action comes during High Mass. But the plan is already in disarray. Having failed to get the brothers together the night before, they are now forced to confront them in a crowded public place. One conspirator, a mercenary soldier, develops a sudden conscience at the idea of shedding blood in a sacred place, and two young priests (with apparently no such scruples) are pulled in at the last minute. The result is a mess: a frenzied attack on Guiliano (Francesco Pazzi is so eager he stabs himself in the leg), leaving him dying in a river of blood, while Lorenzo escapes.

'Retribution is swift and barbaric. Martines has already toughened our stomachs with an opening chapter on the gruesome cruelty meted out to later assassins. In a religious culture where "torn flesh" is first and foremost a symbol of Christ's love for man, punishment and suffering in the name of state security easily take on baroque proportions. After a doomed attempt to seize the Palazzo Vecchio, the lucky ones are summarily dispatched on ropes from its windows, the rest hunted down, tortured and torn to shreds. Death is just the beginning of their ignominy. Their carved-up bodies are then thrown to the mob, which parades them around the city. The head of the family, old Jacopo, has his broken body disinterred by a gang of youths who use it as a plaything.


'But revenge for the Medici was always a dish best eaten financially, and Martines lovingly analyses the systematic annihilation of the Pazzi name and fortune. Indeed, if there is a criticism of April Blood it's that it tends to tell you more than you need ever know about the workings of 15th-century trade, banking and taxation.

'But Lorenzo doesn't emerge unscathed. The enraged pope (one of the conspirators dangling from the window was his archbishop of Pisa) excommunicates him, and the propaganda war that rages between them is tabloid in its vitriol, with the papacy compared with "those women who, being whores themselves, call others fornicators". Allegiances shift and strain at the seams, Lorenzo walks a tightrope of diplomacy, dispatching thousands of letters around Italy and risking life and reputation in a trip to Naples to win over the king there. Martines is with him every step of the way. While he claims to have sympathy for the Pazzi (history, he says, had been too harsh on them), it is Lorenzo he keeps returning to. Moving between admiration and clear-eyed criticism he dissects this extraordinarily complex figure: scholar, humanist, love poet, tyrant, patron and politician who did so much to glorify Florence, shifting her culture towards humanism through a more Platonic reading of Christianity while at the same time wreaking terminal damage on the independence of her republican base.

'The problem with dynastic power, of course, is the quality of offspring. Four years after Lorenzo's death, his son is hounded from the city, and another government, a theocracy under the madly pious monk Savonarola, is set up. Though the Medici return later, their cultural glory days, if not their naked power, are over.

'Meanwhile, the Pazzi name lives on in strange, haunting ways: in Florence, through their Brunelleschi-designed family chapel near Santa Croce, its tranquil classicism making it one of the most exquisite night-sights of the city. And latterly, through fiction's most unexpected Renaissance man, Hannibal Lecter, who comes up against a modern Pazzi in the figure of the corrupt policeman who tries to trap him in Florence. In suitably grotesque cultural homage, Hannibal arranges for him the same fate as his defiled ancestors, disembowelling him before dangling him out of the window of the Palazzo Vecchio.'

From: https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...

[Heather Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martines’ April Blood uses the Pazzi conspiracy as a nexus from which to analyse the volatile political and economic situation in late Quattrocento Florence. Beginning with the consolidation of power by Cosimo de’ Medici, this monograph examines rising discontent among the political elite in Florence as well as conflict among other Italian polities to shed light on the motives for and consequences of the April 21, 1478 assassination attempts. After the Pazzi revolt, overt opposition to the Medici was stamped out - yet returned in 1494 when Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici was ousted from the power structure after negotiations with Charles VIII which the Florentines would not accept. April Blood offers a narrative of two competing visions for Florentine government: a “republican” government with hundreds (if not thousands) of voting members and an “aristocratic” government with power largely in the hands of one man whose patronage network coopts other leading families into maintaining his rule.

The reader is offered three vignettes to better illustrate how personalities affected the political situation. While Lorenzo de’ Medici is depicted as a brilliant politician and man-of-letters, his ruthlessness in entrenching himself as the de facto ruler of Florence is condemned in this work which Martines presents as counter-balancing the traditionally positive depiction of the Medici and villification of the Pazzi family and their supporters.

Of particular interest were sections on marriage alliances (see the chapters “Social Climbers” as well as the discussion of Maddalena di Lorenzo de’ Medici’s marriage to Sixtus IV’s illegitimate son), diplomatic alliances (Sforza, Neapolitan and even Papal) and economic constraints.

[Chandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Martines perhaps wanted to simply have fun with this book, after having already established himself as a serious scholar. April Blood lacks the rigor of his earlier works. However, the non-scholar will find it laborious to wade through the chapter on the Pazzi’s business practices and tiresome lists of their tax accounts. Additionally, while serious scholars tend to enjoy long letters from archives describing a bashful girl’s breeding and potential as a marriage partner, such as are found in the chapter on social climbers, the non-scholar looking for a gripping tale of murderous intrigue will be perplexed by this type of extraneous detail, that seems to have no bearing on the Pazzi plot. The jumping back and forth through time will add confusion for the lay reader not well versed in Renaissance Florence, while the lack of footnotes and of rigor will disappoint the careful scholar.

I have multiple gripes with his approach, and could write a few pages but here's one example: Martines, in his zeal to give the Pazzi a fair trial, carelessly implies that the murderous Pazzi Plot was driven by a desire to preserve the city’s Republican constitution.

“Somewhere too, in the Pazzi cause, however self-serving (though their contemporary Alamanno Rinuccini denied this), there was the republican argument: the demand for a more honest and open polity in Florence” (106).

In another instance, he claims that had the Pazzi coup been successful, “in this rescue, they would have been swept into a powerful current of republican reforms, leading to the swift expansion of the political class” (261).

These assertions beg for evidence, yet none is provided. Do the Pazzi commit this murder because they truly are concerned that the Medici are repressing the Florentine people? Or does their plot stem from a baser instinct -- their rivalry with, and hatred of, the Medici? Martines’ attempt to insert honorable intentions into the Pazzi’s shocking plans to commit murder during holy mass at the altar of the city’s most illustrious cathedral wobbles precariously through the book without supporting documentation.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

in my last year as a high school student, our school went to italy and in particular Florence or Firenze. We marveled at all the statues, buildings, art and the good food even on a school budget. Naturally, the Medici got name dropped all the time. That was many years ago but ever so often this dynasty of bankers kept appearing in my scope of interest but always on the side. I picked up bits and pieces and slowly I got more curious about it. Renaissance Europe was never really my forte and never gotten around to expand my knowledge so this was something like a check on a list.

Lauro Martines chose the april plot to murder Lorenzo and Guiliano Medici to talk about the power the Medici and in particular Lorenzo Medici wielded. But more importantly, the book is about how this power was obtained, the careful alliances, subtleties with marriage broker-ship, diplomacy and most importantly of all; wielding power as a defacto prince in an (oligarchic) republic city state. The art of using lending and debts as political leverage was surely mastered by the Medici but what I found most fascinating, is just how precarious their and their supporters/ hangerons and clients position really was. The medici’s incapability to truly dismantle the republican bedrock of Florentine politics even during the crisis of the aftermath of the public assassination attempt in a way cursed them to use any means necessary while walking on a tightrope to cling to power. A vicious circle and selfmade trap if there ever was one; if they fell they would fall hard so they had to use all dirty tricks but that meant adding even more reasons why their fall would be really bad for them.

The plot to kill the Medici brothers is without doubt front and center of the book. For me personally I am not that interested in every little event and person involved so when i got the yest of every side and angle of the plot I moved on. If you are really into murder plots and want to know every little bit, I can assure you you will find a lot to like here. People not that familiar with the major players involved will be happy to find detailed chapters on all those involved in particular the Pazzi family who played a key role in the events transpired. What I found most enlightening was the crucial hours after the failed murder attempt, the collective holding of the breath and uncertainty that gripped the city. More so then anywhere else do you get just how precarious the Medici’s hold on power was. They weren’t princes or hereditary or even elected overlords whose death’s would be avenged by the state, the vendetta that followed was deeply personal and depended on Lorenzo’s influence, agency, charisma and cool head in the few hours of the crisis when anything was possible.

I can easily recommend this book both for those interested in conspiracies and those like me primarily interested in the wider dynamics of power in renaissance Italy. Due to my preference on the bigger picture and the dynamics rather then the piecemeal events themselves, I was not fully on board for the whole thing but it has given me stuff to think about.

On a side not the connection between the Sforza family in Milan and the Medici was one I had not heard about before and had me look at that notorious family in a new light. In a way they too had to walk a tightrope, never truly shaking of the aura of illegitimate rule. It almost makes too much sense that they and the Medici would team up and back each other in those crucial crisis times when they might slip and fall.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

In April 1478, assassins attacked Lorenzo the Magnificent and his younger brother Giuliano. Amazingly, the attack took place in the great cathedral of Florence. Giuliano died, but Lorenzo survived - which proved fateful for the conspirators. The conspiracy was led by one of Florence's leading families, the Pazzi, but also included powerful non-Florentines like the Duke of Urbino, the King of Naples, and even the pope, Sixtus IV. The actual attack on Lorenzo and the murder of his beloved younger brother actually take up just a few pages in the book. Most of it is devoted to Lorenzo's thirst for revenge. He even defies the pope, who comes across as a pretty reprehensible character in his own right. I was reminded of the end of the first Godfather father, where Michael exacts his revenge. I've often wondered if Mario Puzo got his inspiration from this actual event.

Lauro Martines is an excellent writer and historian, who has a gift for making history come alive. Some history books can be rather dry, but I have always enjoyed his books. Highly recommended.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's rare to find a history book which is accepted by academia and interesting to the general public, but this is one of them. Martines is a well-respected authority on the Medici, so there's really no way that professors could turn their noses up at this book just because - gasp - it reads well and is exciting (although a few did). It is interesting to read his introduction, where he apologizes profusely for having written something so entertaining. I am in a weird profession. At any rate, this is the story of the Pazzi conspiracy against the Medici family, in which they tried to overthrow the Medici.
The only complaint I have with this book is that there are no endnotes marked within the text, because apparently to see numbers in the text is too intimidating for "regular readers" - so you have to go through and painstakingly fill all of them in.

[Melisende · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses on the plot by the Pazzi family of Florence to remove the Medici - namely Lorenzo and his brother Guiliano - from power in 1478. It is not light reading.

The author delves deeply into the psychi of medieval Florentine politics - which differs greatly from the politics of today - and into the social and political structure of this city and its ruling families. Customs - social, political and judicial - and the banking industry of medieval Italy are all seriously explored. The plot to remove the Medici had far-reaching affects - and not just for those in Florence.

As I mentioned, this book is not a piece of light reading - there are details here that without careful reading one could become lost in the maze that is the politic world of medieval Italy.

[Tony · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quit on this book after 65 pages. I expected a fast flowing story about a conspiracy, it's failure and the Medici's revenge. Instead, this book is an incredibly detailed portrait of the upper stratum of renaissance Florentine society. The portion I read included, among other things, detailed information on marriage customs and the organization of Florence's government. By the time, I got to (literally) detailed tax returns of the conspirators, I had had enough.

[Carlos Zúñiga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo que empieza siendo un minucioso y académico -y por momentos denso- perfilamiento de cada uno de los actores relevantes en la revolución de los Pazzi, se abre como flor de sangre en la página 147 en una crónica deliciosa y caótica del momento mismo de la fallido atentado. De allí en adelante, ese ritmo permea el resto de la obra y la hace absolutamente disfrutable, sin restarle el rigor.

[leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is very interesting, especially in the the second half. the first half of the book was a bit hard for me to get into, as it largely deals with very technical things about Florence, Italy in the Renaissance. but the second half really pulled me in. i would say this is a great book for anyone interested in historical murder conspiracy plots or just Renaissance Italy in general.

[Ruben Kimmig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr viel zu lesen aber unglaublich informativ und interessant!

[Syed Ali Hussain Bukhari · Rating 4 out of 5]

April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici

By: Lauro Martines


Basically, it's written as a general commentry of the 15th centuary Florence and in serving that purpose focusses specially upon the Medici and their opponent the Pazzi.

The author not only describes the bloody plot against the two Medici brothers; Lorenzo and Guiliano, but also provides us with the general reasons that made the Pazzi people, Pope Sixtus IV, King of Naples and the Duke of Urbino to get their hands equally dirty in the incomplete bloodbath.
In the violent attack, the younger brother Guiliano was brutally murdered. And after this, many gruesome scenes of bloody killings (of the Pazzi and their accomplices) were witnessed by history in the name sake of vengeance.

The book is not the praise for the Medici and also not a condemning statement againt the Pazzi. In fact, it seems like a comparative study of the political situations, the authority and actions, specially before and after the April 1478 plot; in favour or gainst both of the parties. It somehow seemed to me a mixture of a research work and a crime thriller.

It was not an easy digest for me but was very much informative. I cannot say that I enjoyed it very much but overall it was worth reading.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The politics of the 15th century Italian states was complex, confusing and in a state of constant flux. Trade, envy, dynastic alliances and associated power all had a part to play. Against this backdrop, a plot to murder the Medici brothers was hatched. In attempting to make the complex machinations less confusing, Professor Martines has included a wealth of detail about the setting, the times, and the key players.

In summary, on 26 April 1478 in the cathedral of Florence, a plan to assassinate Lorenzo the Magnificent and his younger brother Guiliano was partially successful. Guiliano was murdered, Lorenzo survived. The core conspirators were members of the family Pazzi and were backed covertly by Pope Sixtus IV.

This book examines the questions surrounding who was involved, why they became involved, the consequences of the partial failure of the plot, as well as what the consequences of successful execution of the plot may have been.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book details the plot to kill the Medici that resulted in the death of one intended target. Martines does a good job of giving background to the story and providing the reader with nice character sketches. At times the prose is a little dry, but, hey that happens.

What I found interesting was the role of women in the history, they lack power but have power.

[David Eppenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Renaissance Italians really knew how to take family feuds to an extreme. The Medici and the Pazzis gives intrigue, murder, revenge and the Catholic Church all in one book. Along the way you are given a cursory examination of life in Florence during the time of Lorenzo the Magnificent. An entertaining read.

[M. Shipley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read if you are into historical texts. I found it all the more interesting since I was reading it in Florence!

[Jim Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1478, Lorenzo de' Medici was the leading man in Florence. Grandson of Cosimo, who's banking genius raised him to power, Lorenzo, called the Magnificent, was a poet, a scholar, a patron of the arts, and a crafty politician. Florence was a republic, but the Medici had undo influence, causing resentment in some quarter, both domestic and foreign -- including Pope Sixtus IV who resented Lorenzo's opposition to his appointment of a new Archbishop of Pisa. (It must be remembered that Popes in the fifteenth century were not just princes of the Church, but also political figures, often engaged in political tugs of war (and sometimes actual wars) with surrounding states.)

In April of 1478, it all came to a head, when members of another leading family, the Pazzi, backed by the Pope and the King of Naples, attempted to assassinate Lorenzo as he attended high mass in the Cathedral. Lorenzo was wounded but escape; his younger brother Giuliano was killed. The Pazzi conspirators stormed the central government palace, an attempt to capture the ruling council, sure that the public would rise in their favor if they did so. They failed. The raiders were trapped in the palace, and after the council rallied the people, they were executed: some hung, some simply tossed out of high windows. Other members of the Pazzi family were tacked down and killed, they family fortunes confiscated, and their name eradicated. In all, eighty or more people were killed.

This in turn resulted in a war, which Florence almost lost, until Lorenzo pulled the daring maneuver to travel to the home of one of his enemies, the King of Florence, and negotiate a peace (something that infuriated the Pope). And in the process, Lorenzo consolidated power (though it didn't last long beyond his lifetime).

Martines gives a balanced view of the events. Many histories tend to put most of the blame on the Pazzi, siding with Lorenzo. It's easy to see why. He was a learned man, skillful, brave, resourceful. He's the type of person you'd love to split a bottle of wine with -- as long as you were't one of his political opponents. But he also became a tyrant as he gathered power, particularly after the attempted assassination. Martines is sympathetic to the Pazzi, and in his concluding chapter even speculates that Florence may have had a better, longer lasting republic had they succeeded.

Overall, a good history, presenting a detailed account of an important even in Italian and European history.

[saflori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and included plenty of context before and after the April plot, but was occasionally a load to read and that was at times boring.

There were interesting things learnt. One particular thought I had was the stark contrast of a blood-thirsty society with today’s modern society, as well as how a society that is so regressive in one way (politics, war), can be simultaneously so progressive and brilliant in another way (art, literature, science).

I mused on how a society becomes normalised to violence and blood-shed, and I particularly fear the thought that that isn’t something a society cannot regress back to despite advancements in all aspects but particularly in knowledge and accessibility to education.

Within a society, if punishment towards a person/people is violent, consistent, and visible, even if briefly, it jades a whole society and creates a standard of normalcy that leads to the moral disengagement of a majority (defined as the processes by which a person comes to view a normatively immoral behaviour as excusable (or not bad) or justifiable (or good).

This bleeds into all other aspects of society and feeds humans baser and animalistic tendencies. This normalises things such as honour killings, blood feuds, violent upheavals, punishments being taken up by the general people, crimes of passion, political violence, and overall forms of violence. Though most modern societies have moved from this, we can still see this behaviour in societies that are ruled by fear-based systems, where punishments are held over citizens heads, where bloodshed and blood-thirst is normalised or if not normalised, then still seen as a noble or justified or just not a negative thing. The problem and fear that I have is that people behave in such baser ways already and spew baser philosophies, that I could picture them operating well in these societies, and today if the things of the past were permitted/normalised. I don’t think they’d resist or be above the baser and violent aspects of those societies is my point. Their principles and behaviour are not what they should be considering all the knowledge and resources at our disposal. And less people seem to be reading, or are educated, or have common sense, that I wonder if this regression we are seeing today in our modern societies is foreboding a turn away from an enlightened society.

[Almak · Rating 3 out of 5]

April Blood centers on the Pazzi conspiracy of April 1478 to kill Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici and free Florence, Italy from a perceived politically tyrannical family. Martines admirably gives the reader a glimpse of what it was like to live in Florence, Italy in the 15th century by delving into how members of the community worked to climb the social ladder and obtain political office, thus opening the doors to better business contacts, higher office and marriage into noble families.
Martines describes the process of matching families in marriage that helped to further political and economic ties and how those who did not obtain office were crushed by the inner oligarchy by excessively burdensome taxes. Certain chapters are devoted to profiling important members of Florence at the time such as Jacopo, Francesco and Renato Pazzi, Tommaso Soderini and Lorenzo de' Medici to give the reader insight into each person and their families and to explain how events through the previous decades built up to the assassination attempt of Lorenzo and Giuliano.

The latter portion of the book reviews the repercussions of the failed attempt for the citizens of Florence, the Pazzi family and others that were involved, which were swift and brutal. The reasons for the "war" between Pope Sixtus and Lornezo are given good coverage and shows how Lorenzo deftly brought his family and Florence back from the brink of overthrow through masterful diplomacy. Overall April Bloodis a well written insight of the time period and families it covers. If one is interested in the Pazzi conspiracy I would recommend reading this book.

[Matthew Cable · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely well written! I've been meaning to read this one for a long time. It feels a bit jumbled at times, if I was the editor I may have reworked the order of the chapters. But it's still a really good book that gives you a taste of what politics in Renaissance Florence were like.

It goes into the development of the Florentine bourgeoisie in the late medieval period and how they gradually intermingled with the aristocracy, and some of that plays out in the conspiracy itself. The Pazzi were an old aristocratic family with ancestors who had helped storm Jerusalem during the First Crusade, whereas the Medici derived their status from building up a banking and commercial empire starting in the 1200s. You definitely get a sense of the culture and style of these kinds of Renaissance despots, Lorenzo himself was practiced in the art of flowery, effusive rhetoric. If you enjoy political intrigue and gore, mixed with highfalutin oratory and writing, you'll enjoy this one. It really ought to be made into a movie - if you gave someone like Tony Soprano an aptitude for the classics and some training in rhetoric, you wouldn't be that far off from this cast of characters. Somebody get a copy of this to Scorsese or David Chase!

By the way, if my arithmetic is correct today is the 543rd anniversary of the April 26th attack at the Duomo. RIP Giuliano

[S.L. Barrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a slog if I'm being brutally honest but nevertheless an enjoyable read, packed full of information.
The one thing that always strikes me about books supposedly about the Pazzi is how much of it is dedicated to the Medici, however this was by far the most extensive book I've read offering further insights to the maligned Pazzi family.
I thought the book was well organised, however mch of what is written is subject to supposition.... the author takes many liberties when reaorting to 'maybes', 'could haves', and the like.
There was also one glaring error in the book, which I couldn't wrap my head around how it came to be, since the author provided a handy geneological chart of the Pazzi family at the start of the book, but then on page 108 in an attempt to draw some sort of coincidental connection between the Pazzi and Medici, the author incorrectly states that Guglielmo Pazzi (husband to Bianca de'Medici - Lorenzo's elder sister) was the son of Piero Pazzi, when he was in truth the son of Antonio.
Other than that, this is a a very good read for those with an interest in learning more about the Pazzi and the political climate that led to the April plot to overthrow the Medici. I definitely came away with a better understanding of the politics and contemporary opinion in 15th century Florence.

[Reggie A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It’s a cool topic, it’s insanely well researched, and most importantly it is so unbelievably accessible. This is the only book I read for a class that I then went and bought on my own. My copy is beat to all hell and covered in my own annotations.

A friend of mine described the narrative flow as “it reads like a distinguished YA novel but it’s being narrated by some guy from the History channel,,,cinematic masterpiece in book form”, and that’s so, so real. It’s awesome.

I wish I could be academic in how I talk about this book; my reviews of Doctor Who audio dramas are more objective and through, but this book is too close to my heart to discuss normally. I think it’s an excellent introduction to academic history reading if you don’t already do a lot of it, and I think it’s an expertly crafted book in its own right.

This book is the benchmark by which all research on the Pazzi will be judged.

[Kieran Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned on page 32, in the middle of a tedious (for me) excerpt of a letter about whether someone was marriageable.

Not what I expected from the title - the first chapter on conspiracies of murder in Milan, Rome, etc. was fine, but then a chapter on how people in Florence got married seemed a bit pointless and indulgent. Do I need to know about it in the context of a plot to murder the Medici? Could this be condensed into a page or two detailing how the customs worked, rather than a chapter? Judging by other reviews, such obsession with details is par for the course.

I have plenty of other books that need reading, so sadly abandoned. I don't have the interest, though I'm sure someone who is massively interested in fifteenth-century Italian customs would enjoy it - though I suspect that they wouldn't pick this book up to find it in the first place.

[Davy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Op zich wel een interessant boek om te lezen op citytrip in Firenze, maar de schrijver is een universiteitsprofessor die zich te veel verliest in details, waardoor het soms meer als een cursus dan een boek voelt. Gelukkig heb ik het tweedehands gekocht en voelde ik me niet echt bekocht om delen over te slaan. Na een 50-tal bladzijden heb je immers wel door dat de geroemde Medici de meest corrupten aller corrupten waren en het geroemde Firenze als "bank van Europa" door een door corrupt was. Het hoofdstuk waarin de aanslag beschreven wordt is leuk om te lezen omdat je vlakbij het Medicipaleis, de kathedraal en het Palazzo Vecchio bent, maar dat de boekhouding of brieven tot in detail weergegeven wordt is toch meer voor de echte fans van deze (ongetwijfeld boeiende) historische periode.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book

This book provides a different interpretation of the April plot to assassinate Lorenzo de Medici and his brother Guiliano. It focuses solely on the political lives and maneuvering of the Medici family and therefore the picture presented is not the usual paean to the family and especially Lorenzo. It portrays Lorenzo, and to a lesser extent Cosimo and Piero, as a tyrant who consistently chips away at the underpinnings of the Republic of Florence. It also portrays the conspirators in the April plot more sympathetically than normally seen.

I enjoyed the book which made me reexamine my own views of the Medici. I would definitely recommend the book.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This historical novel got me hooked from beginning to end. April Blood follows the events surrounding the Pazzi Conspiracy, a feud that occured during the Italian Renaissance, between the Pazzi and Medici families and their quests for fortune and power in the iconic Italian city of Florence. April Blood draws the reader with detailed plot twists that do not contradict reports of the era, and reflects how this incident transformed the lives and goals of the Medici family, and indirectly Italian and European history. If you are interested in this particular period of history, I highly recommend it.

[Katherine Neville · Rating 4 out of 5]

April Blood
by Lauro Martines

A meticulously researched examination of the personal relationships, domestic political climate, and international complicity involved in the partially successful (though ultimately disasterously failed) 1478 assassination/coup attempt known to history as the Pazzi Conspiracy. Martines, not at all as taken by the Medici princeling targetted by the plot, offers detailed analysis of contemporary sources, these often appearing as curious epigrams that are given depth and weight through context in the following chapter.