Crisis, Conspiracy, and the Fall of the Medici:
The Pazzi Conspiracy, Piero Sfortunato and Savonarola

Tuesday 23 September 2025 at 18:00

This session examines the turbulent final years of Lorenzo de’ Medici’s rule and the fragile legacy he left behind. Despite Lorenzo’s extraordinary political skill, Florence was rocked by the deadly Pazzi Conspiracy of 1478, a dramatic assassination attempt that exposed deep political rivalries and weakened Medici authority.  

Following Lorenzo’s death in 1492, his son Piero—known as “Piero the Unfortunate”—inherited a city in crisis. Piero was unable to maintain the dominance of the Medici in the face of multiple challenges. The Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola emerged as a powerful and controversial figure. His fiery sermons condemned the moral decay and corruption of the Medici family and also the Church, inspiring a popular movement for religious and political reform. And when Piero made humiliating concessions to the approaching French army under Charles VIII,  Savonarola’s influence helped engineer  the expulsion of the Medici in 1494.

Following the Medici exile, Florence established the New Republic, aiming to restore republican ideals and civic freedom. Savonarola became a dominant voice in this fragile government, reshaping the city’s cultural and political life, until his downfall in 1498.