November 12, 2024 • 33 mins
Lorenzino de Medici killed his cousin, the Duke of Florence, 11 years ago. Still, he's constantly looking over his shoulder, worried that justice might come at any moment. Turns out, he was right: Lorenzino was finally assassinated. But the culprit behind the revenge-killing would only be revealed almost 500 years later.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised before we start,
just a quick announcement. Next summer, I will be leading
a trip to the English Cotswalds to walk, to write,
and to talk about my favorite book. Truly, I think
(00:22):
my favorite book The Remains of the Day by Kazu
Ishi Guru. If you haven't read The Remains of the Day,
even if you're not interested in this trip at all,
go read it immediately. It will change your life. It's
also a great movie, but the book is extraordinary. And
next July, with an amazing program called Common Ground, I
will be leading they called a pilgrimage, but what that
(00:43):
basically means is we all stay together in a beautiful
old mansion in the Cotswaltz. We meet every morning.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
We talk about the book, we talk about our own writing,
and we go on long walks thinking about important questions
that the book raises. This is the third trip that
I've done with this program. It just is an incredible experience.
And so if this interests you at all, there's a
link in my Instagram bio, you should absolutely sign up.
I think there's still a few spots left. Go check
(01:10):
it out. I'm so excited to do that, So I
just wanted to let noble blood listeners know because it
seems like it might be up your alley. It was
a crisp morning in February fifteen forty eight when a
pale nobleman in his early thirties stepped out of a
(01:30):
church in Venice. Lorenzino de Medici was originally from Florence,
a member of the vastly powerful Medici family, but he
wasn't a stranger to the Venetian streets. He'd been living
in exile in Venice for years because back in Florence,
Lorenzino was a wanted murderer. As he strolled through the
(01:54):
bustle of the city with his uncle, Lorenzino repeatedly glanced
over his shoulder and his eyes flicked to the sudden
movements of passing merchants and paupers. Despite his uncle's assurances
that they were safe out in public, Lorenzino's habit was
hard to break. He was always wondering if retribution was
(02:16):
coming for the weighty crime he had committed eleven years earlier.
After all, his infamous murder had rattled the highest houses
of European power. Lorenzino had personally murdered his own cousin,
the first Duke of Florence, Alessandro de Medici. Lorenzino had
(02:42):
claimed that he had rid the realm of a tyrant.
But regardless of his possible intentions, this podcast has taught
us anything, it's that you can't avoid the consequences of
such a brazen act forever, and fate usually finds a
way of catching up with you. Sure enough, on the
(03:03):
morning of February twenty sixth, fifteen forty eight, Lorenzino's punishment
finally found him more than a decade after his crime.
He and his uncle were almost at the Santoma Bridge,
mere minutes from Lorenzino's home, when two assassins ambushed them.
(03:23):
Lorenzino was instantly incapacitated by a fierce blow to the head,
and then he was stabbed several more times to ensure
his imminent death. Lorenzino's uncle and the attackers fled as
Lorenzino lay bruised and bloodied. He didn't take his final
breath for another half an hour, but he couldn't speak,
(03:47):
not even as his own mother rushed out to his side.
It's likely that the blunt force of his mortal injuries
impeded much clarity of thought or reflection, but if any
any synapses were still firing, they certainly would have had
no shortage of questions regarding how exactly the assassination had
(04:09):
been carried out and why this brutal payback took so
long to arrive. Lorenzino would never know who had actually
been behind his own violent assassination, and for centuries neither
did anyone else. But today the question of who was
(04:31):
behind Lorenzino's murder is a mystery no more. It took
almost half a millennium, but that cold case was finally cracked.
I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood. The ripple
(04:53):
effects of this tale of murder and betrayal are immensely
complicated and far reaching, but the simplest place to start
is with one key relationship that between our murderer turned
murder victim, Lorenzino de Medici and the cousin he had killed,
Duke Alessandro de Medici. And our story of their relationship
(05:18):
begins with a cheeky night out on the evening of
January sixth, fifteen thirty seven, twenty three year old Lorenzino
came to his powerful twenty six year old cousin with
an enticing pitch, a secret knight of pleasure with a
beautiful woman. If Alessandro could leave his royal escort, sneak
(05:40):
out of his apartment in the Palazzo Medici and slip
into Lorenzino's bedchamber, Lorenzino would bring the alluring Katerina Solderini
to join him. The careful secrecy was necessary to limit gossip,
especially since Katerina was married and also incidentally Lorenzino's aunt.
(06:03):
As instructed, Alessandro went out that evening with friends, and
then he excused himself. Upon returning to Piazza de San Marco. Slowly,
the duke approached the wing of the Medici complex where
Lorenzino resided. Lorenzino de Medici had little in common with
(06:23):
his namesake, the earlier Medician patriarch Lorenzo the Magnificent, or
with Lorenzino's many other ancestors of the same name who
had brought wealth and distinction to the family. Know for
as long as Alessandro had known his short, pallid and
introverted relative, Lorenzino or Little Lorenzo was a fitting nickname.
(06:50):
Since childhood, Lorenzino was known more for his studious nature
than any commanding bearing, and was far likelier to be
found immersed in a book, book or theater production, then
trying to climb the ranks of power. Back at Lorenzino's palace,
Alessandro slipped inside with quiet ease. Instead of wearing the
(07:13):
chainmail lined doublet he typically favored as protection against any
possible sneak attacks, He was decked out that night in
a Neapolitan silk cloak. Judging by those nocturnal fashion choices alone,
his desire for comfort and style clearly outweighed any cautious
(07:34):
instincts he might have had, and understandably so, this had
all the markings of another one of his trusted cousins
delightfully mischievous schemes. Through their early adult years, Lorenzino and
Alessandro had formed a bond that sparked numerous escapades. Lorenzino
had not only become a close adviser to his cousin
(07:57):
on political matters, he also facilit hated Alessandro's womanizing so
frequently that a few at court snidely referred to him
as the Duke's hymp long. A passionate writer, Lorenzino even
penned a whole irreverent comedy play for Alessandro's marriage to
a young bride from the prominent Habsburg family. So when
(08:21):
Alessandro entered Lorenzino's bedroom that night, it's unlikely he was
in a suspicious frame of mind at all. Lorenzino suggested
that his cousin stow his weapons under the bed to
set the right romantic tone. Alessandro acquiesced. Lorenzino had also
told him to make himself comfortable while he went to
(08:44):
fetch the beautiful cacherina. As Alessandro waited on his cousin's bed,
it's possible that he mulled over all of the red
flags cropping up in his path. After all, his cousin
occasionally seemed to show a slightly darker side. The serious,
melancholy demeanor Lorenzino exhibited as a boy unnerved some people,
(09:09):
and there was the bizarre story about how Lorenzino had
decapitated the heads of several ancient sculptures and statues in Rome.
The defilement was egregious enough to get Lorenzino expelled from
the city by the Pope even though the pope was
a close Medici relative. On the other hand, Lorenzino's childhood
(09:33):
seriousness and strangeness was not necessarily surprising, given that he
had lost his father at a young age, and his
statue shenanigans could have easily been brushed off as an
ill advised prank rather than the sign of some unhinged leaning.
But it's probably unlikely that Alessandro was seriously worried about
(09:58):
any risk while waiting on Lorenzino and Katerina. Alessandro actually
lay down and took a nap, but as you might
have guessed, Lorenzino had more than a little tryst planned
for his cousin. Upon leaving Alessandro in his bedchamber, Lorenzino
(10:20):
did not seek out Katerina. He instead went to his
loyal servant, Piero de Joannabate, nicknamed scorn Concolo. Lorenzino had
already gotten the thuggish man to agree to help enact
justice against an unnamed enemy that he would lock in
(10:41):
his bedchamber while ushering scorn Concolo back, though, Lorenzino had
to ensure that his accomplice was prepared to follow through
on his promise, regardless of the target's identity. In other words,
he told him, yes, they were going long after the
Duke of Florence, and as Lorenzino saw it, it was
(11:06):
a deed that needed to be done. Like Lorenzino, Alessandro's
early years were inauspicious, especially by Medicis standards. Alessandro was
actually born a bastard, son of a Medici ruler and
an enslaved woman. Alessandro also lost his father at a
(11:26):
young age, a death that, after years of strife and
maneuvering within the family, remarkably led Alessandro to be named
the first Duke of Florence. Especially following Alessandro's ascension and
Larenzino's return to Florence from Rome, the cousins outwardly appeared
(11:47):
to be inseparable. Alessandro was said to have greatly loved
his cousin, favoring Lorenzino's advice at court and benefiting from
Lorenzino's hearty enabling of his philander. But as Lorenzino apparently
felt at his core and would continue to argue for
years to come, Alissandro was a true monster, a man
(12:12):
obsessed with torturing and killing men for real or perceived slights,
A tyrant, how could he be allowed to continue to
live and rule Outside Lorenzino's bedchamber, scorn Concolo assured Lorenzino
that he would not spare their wicked foe, whether he
(12:32):
was the Duke or even Jesus himself. So Lorenzino called
out to check whether his cousin was asleep, and then
he and scorn Concolo entered through a different door. The
two attacked Alessandro, who jolted awake and fought desperately. Alessandro
even bit down on Lorenzo's hand in an attempt to
(12:55):
free himself. Finally, after a frenzied struggle, Alessandro fell still,
scorn Concolo's dagger planted in his throat. Lorenzino and scorn
Concolo immediately fled on horseback. As Lorenzino eventually arrived in Venice,
news of the Duke's sensational death was spreading like wildfire.
(13:19):
Word traveled through urgent missives, rumors, and through Lorenzino's own lips.
You heard that right. Rather than refute his guilt, Lorenzino
confessed his crime to anyone and everyone who would listen,
as any fan of TV murder Mysteries or Agatha Christie
(13:43):
novels knows catching a killer is usually a tricky task
that takes cunning and exhaustive investigation. Only when faced with
irrefutable evidence and no foreseeable escape do murderers finally give
up and confess. Lorenzino would have made for an incredibly
(14:04):
unsatisfying novel. Not only did he openly admit he killed
Duke Alessandro, he wrote a whole, flowery, eloquent explanation of it,
called the Apology. Obviously, the Apology is about as subjective
of a statement as you'll find, but in many ways,
(14:25):
that's what makes it so fascinating, because it serves as
a window into Lorenzino's mind and motivations. Why did Lorenzino
murder Alessandro, especially when he had no plan in place
to usurp power himself or to aid another noble in
seizing it. His apology has been hailed by many as
(14:47):
a sparkling piece of rhetoric, but even his own arguments
got fairly tangled. First, Lorenzino emphasized his political reasons for
murdering Alessandro. Per the ancient the Roman ideals of republicanism
that Lorenzino studied and admired, he sought as his duty
to eliminate a tyrannical oppressor. As I touched on earlier,
(15:12):
he claimed that Alessandro was a fiend, a sadistic villain
whose cruel behavior made him worse than Caligula and Nero combined.
The way in which Lorenzino asserted his murderous responsibility essentially
implied that he thought of himself as the brutus of
his day. Republican and Florentine exiles living abroad soon echoed
(15:37):
that sentiment, comparing Alessandro's rule to Caesar's dictatorship and hailing
Lorenzino as their Tuscan brutus. In his apology, Lorenzino also
wades into a more philosophical branch of reasoning for killing
his cousin. Lorenzino debated the entire legitimacy of power wielded
(15:59):
by a hereditary ruler. Thus, in spite of the fact
that returning power to the people would require a brutal act,
in Lorenzino's mind, it was worth it. Niccolomachiavelli had written
his famous treatise The Prince only twenty years earlier, and,
in an ironic turn of history, actually dedicated it to
(16:20):
Alessandro's father, so again, being an avid reader, Lorenzino was
quite steeped in the idea that the end can justify
the means. Finally, the apology also reveals several personal reasons
Lorenzino wanted to kill his cousin. His writing conveys a
(16:41):
lingering sense of self righteousness about being a legitimate Medici's
son and not a bastard. The ways in which Lorenzino
calls attention to Alessandro's quote innate cruelty and savagery, and
his heritage as the son of a Moorish in see
slaved mother are worthy of note. A great deal of
(17:04):
scholarship has been written on the complexities of pre modern
ideas about race and the way they differ from our own,
but in general, it's absolutely worth questioning whether Lorenzino's biases
against his cousin's Moorish ancestry could have factored into both
his slang of his cousin and his subsequent appeal for
(17:26):
understanding from what he assumed to be a similarly biased
audience zooming out to view Lorenzino's crime and written apology together,
it's possible to trace an even more self absorbed arc.
As some historians have conjectured it's possible Lorenzino's driving motive
(17:48):
was simple. He wanted to be noticed. After all, he
was a Medici, but a fairly overlooked one, considering the
highly pre mediti nature of both the murder and confession,
the risks involved in all the new paths to fame
that the printing press had ushered in. Was this assassination
(18:11):
to some degree fueled by a desire to trade relative
obscurity for celebrity, to shed recollections of quote little Lorenzo's
meek childhood demeanor, of his embarrassing expulsion from Rome, of
his literally belittling moniker in order to fully enter the limelight.
(18:36):
Whatever his cocktail of motives, Lorenzino certainly gave the world
a taste of, as some might call it today, his
quote main character energy. He became famous and infamous almost overnight.
He gained tremendous support, especially in Venice, which was home
to many members of the Florentine Republic that had previously
(19:00):
failed against Medici's might. Exiles scattered across Europe celebrated Duke
Alessandro's death. Support and money poured in from France and Spain.
Commemorative medals were even produced depicting Lorenzino in Roman robes,
but Lorenzino had obviously also made himself a marked man.
(19:25):
The rest of the Medici family and its allies vehemently
decried his deplorable act and vowed to retaliate. Cosimo the
First de Medici was named the next Duke of Florence,
and he offered a handsome reward to anyone who would
avenge the murder of his predecessor, Alessandro. And yet for
(19:48):
eleven years no one followed through. Plots were hatched, attempts
were made, but for the most part, the new Duke
dragged his feet getting revenge. Despite promising swift action against
Alessandro's murderer and being repeatedly urged to follow through by
(20:10):
many in his political orbit, Cosimo the First basically tried
to ignore the issue. As Cosimo continued to delay his
plans of revenge, many contemporaries describe Lorenzino as a wretched
soul wrecked by anguish and guilt, but in fact, some
sources show that not only did he stay hopeful that
(20:33):
one day exiles would be able to return to Florence.
Over the years, he went on multiple diplomatic missions to Mirandola,
France and Constantinople to stoke support for his personal cause,
and so eleven years after he killed his cousin on
that chilly morning in Venice in fifteen forty eight, as
(20:56):
Lorenzino left church with his uncle, It's not it's unthinkable
that some part of him dared hope that he might
never actually have to pay the ultimate price for killing Alessandro.
His ambushing attackers, however, had other plans. They beat him,
(21:16):
stabbed him, and closed the homicidal loop. Those men's identities
were clear right away. Francesco Boboni and Bebeo de Volterra
soon went to collect their reward from Duke Cosimo, but
they were contracted killers, hired by somebody with more clout,
(21:39):
so who actually had ordered the hit. It wasn't until
twenty fifteen, a full four hundred and sixty seven years
after the fact, that definitive proof emerged. If this murder
mystery were a movie or a novel, a rmand detective
(22:01):
might have the benefit of interrogating prime suspects in a
nice contained location, say a cozy train or charming English
manor house. In reality, all of the main players here
were spread across Europe and then eventually all dead and gone.
But the detective at the core of this century spanning case,
(22:24):
the historian Stefano de Lallio, was delightfully dedicated in his investigation.
So let's don our sleuthing hats and puff thoughtfully on
our pipes and follow along with him in examining the
likely individuals and possible theories behind who was behind Lorenzina's execution.
(22:46):
The obvious first suspect was Costimo, the first di Medici,
the replacement Duke of Florence, who would have wanted to
avenge a death in the family and protect Medici power.
He offered the rear had multiple agents in Venice trying
to tie up loose ends, met with Lorenzino's two attackers beforehand,
(23:08):
and then gave them their promised reward afterward. Case closed right.
Many scholars accepted that narrative for centuries, but dal Aglio
found letters that proved Cosimo's agents were actually bear with
me in Venice to kill a different influential Florentine exile,
(23:30):
and Cosimo was not even the first noble to be
alerted once Lorenzino's murder was accomplished. John Francisco Ltini was
another likely culprit. Lotini was Duke Cosimo's secretary and a
guy with a history of violence. Several historians writing after
(23:53):
the event posited that Cosimo sent him to Venice, where
he then predominantly organized Laura or Enzeno's assassination, but there's
no direct evidence to support that theory, and in fact,
it was actually later discovered that nineteenth century historians who
posited it had actually misunderstood key archival documents. It was
(24:17):
also natural to wonder whether the assassins had simply acted
of their own accord. The reward was massive. On top
of the huge sum of four thousand gold ducats, which
would have been over one hundred times the annual salary
of many laborers and soldiers at the time, these successful
(24:38):
killers of Lorenzino would also be shielded from punishment and
even receive amnesty for any prior crimes. Still, even for
such a bounty, this theory doesn't make a ton of sense,
given the risks, the political clout of the main parties involved,
(25:00):
and the fact that after so long, any killer seriously
considering the job would want to go through the proper
channels to clear it with Cosimo beforehand to make sure
that they would still get paid. As the two killers did,
I mean, there was no guarantee that the reward was
still standing eleven years later. Margaret of Parma, Alessandro's grieving widow,
(25:26):
was another interesting suspect. The two had been married less
than a year before Lorenzino killed Alessandro. She was only
fourteen at the time and devastated to the point that
she signed her letters sad Margaret, she placed her own
bounty on Lorenzino's head. Although her most potent means of
(25:51):
instigating revenge wouldn't be from her own direct influence, it
would be from her ability to call on other power
powerful figures including Charles the Fifth, the Habsburg King of Spain,
the Archduke of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor, a man
(26:12):
who ruled a conglomeration of realms so large some referred
to it as the empire on which the sun never sets.
Turns out, Charles had two big motives. First, Duke Alessandro
had been under his direct political protection, and two, Duke
(26:33):
Alessandro's wife, Margaret, was his daughter, so he was adamant that,
for reasons personal and political, his son in law must
be avenged. Our investigative historian del Alio had a hunch
that Charles the fifth was the mastermind pulling the strings.
(26:54):
But if so, why did he wait so long for
one thing? Letters showed that Charless felt that revenge should
come from Florence. Cosimo should be the one to enact
justice for a crime that was committed in his own state. Additionally,
Charles the fifth was really, really busy. He was off
(27:15):
at war with France and trying to staunch the spread
of Protestantism in Germany. Back in Florence, Cosimo had his
own reasons for procrastinating avenging his predecessor. On a basic level,
he actually wouldn't even be duke if Alessandro hadn't died,
so he wasn't too terribly upset about it. And furthermore,
(27:38):
he was more focused on consolidating power in Florence at
the time, on quelling more exile uprisings, ardently supporting the arts,
and actually being an unusually faithful husband. He had his
own life to lead. Cosimo eventually proved to be an
astute ruler who became the first Grand Duke of Ty
(28:00):
and he would have a substantial influence on Florentine culture
for years to come, even cementing a relatively successful working
relationship with Charles the Fifth. So ironically, if Lorenzino had
indeed been attempting to limit Medici power in Florence by
killing Duke Alessandro, it backfired. Nevertheless, as the years passed,
(28:26):
Charles the Fifth grew restless on that lingering, loose end
of Lorenzino. The timing of Lorenzino's murder ultimately coincided with
a period when Charles the Fifth's other conflicts abated and
he finally had time to focus on the Italian States.
His direct involvement makes sense, but historian del Alio needed
(28:51):
clear proof in order to connect the dots. Luckily, Charles
the Fifth left behind plenty of evidence. As de Laalio
himself said of his search, the most logical place to
look for a gun still smoking after five hundred years
was Charles the Fifth's own archives, which he founded during
(29:14):
this period to preserve his papers. Sure Enough, surprisingly, explicit
documents preserved there shed definitive light, specifically direct correspondent between
Charles the Fifth and his Venetian ambassador, which revealed the
emperor's adamant stance that Lorenzino's crime should never be forgiven.
(29:37):
The men contemplated the possible methods, logistics, and personnel that
would be needed to finally kill Lorenzino. Then, at long last,
on January eleventh, fifteen forty eight, a letter from Augsburg
arrived in Venice. Charles the Fifth personally ordered Lorenzino de
(29:58):
Medici's murder. Duke Cosimo had been generally informed of the plot,
particularly so that he could guarantee the payment of his
offered bounty, but when it came to bringing Lorenzino to justice,
Charles the Fifth, Charles the Fifth's ambassador, and the two
hired killers took the primary initiative. Accordingly, Charles the Fifth
(30:23):
was immediately notified of Lorenzino's death before any other ruler,
so that he could give instructions on how to proceed.
In hindsight, seeking out a repository of incredibly relevant and
conveniently kept information seems almost laughably obvious. The evidence was
right there. But revisiting such a case took the fortitude
(30:47):
to challenge long accepted wisdom, wisdom that seemed plausible enough,
and to form the right theories to know where to
look solving the mystery in this case also required that
the executioner, our big boss, Charles the Fifth, preserved his correspondence,
and why shouldn't he Why worry about anyone discovering a
(31:10):
little more blood on his hands? If anything, his feelings
were probably the opposite. Though this was only a small
chapter of his sizeable legacy, it's easy to imagine that
on some level he wanted it known for posterity that
if you come for a protected duke, a noble cousin,
(31:31):
the son in law of the most powerful man in Europe,
you don't walk free forever. If revenge is a dish
best served cold, then the final helping Charles served to
Lorenzino was truly ice. That's the story of Lorenzino de
(31:54):
Medici's turbulent life and murder. But stick around after a
brief sponsor to hear about an additional intriguing wrinkle in
Lorenzino's murderous legacy. After killing Lorenzino de Medici, one of
(32:15):
the hired assassins actually distributed his own written account of
his violent act. Far from exhibiting the eloquence and erudite
musings of Lorenzino's apology, Francesco Beiboni's cruder confession still completed,
a fitting sort of eleven year call and response, and
(32:37):
in its own way, this follow up statement amplified some
of Lorenzino's own morbid rationale, or, as author translator Tim
Parks put it, quote, the notion that saving oneself from
the oblivion of anonymity is sufficient justification for any atrocity.
(33:07):
Noble Blood is a production of iHeart Radio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by
me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick,
Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and Julia Milani. The show is
edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producerrima Ill
(33:29):
Kali and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised before we start,
just a quick announcement. Next summer, I will be leading
a trip to the English Cotswalds to walk, to write,
and to talk about my favorite book. Truly, I think
(00:22):
my favorite book The Remains of the Day by Kazu
Ishi Guru. If you haven't read The Remains of the Day,
even if you're not interested in this trip at all,
go read it immediately. It will change your life. It's
also a great movie, but the book is extraordinary. And
next July, with an amazing program called Common Ground, I
will be leading they called a pilgrimage, but what that
(00:43):
basically means is we all stay together in a beautiful
old mansion in the Cotswaltz. We meet every morning.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
We talk about the book, we talk about our own writing,
and we go on long walks thinking about important questions
that the book raises. This is the third trip that
I've done with this program. It just is an incredible experience.
And so if this interests you at all, there's a
link in my Instagram bio, you should absolutely sign up.
I think there's still a few spots left. Go check
(01:10):
it out. I'm so excited to do that, So I
just wanted to let noble blood listeners know because it
seems like it might be up your alley. It was
a crisp morning in February fifteen forty eight when a
pale nobleman in his early thirties stepped out of a
(01:30):
church in Venice. Lorenzino de Medici was originally from Florence,
a member of the vastly powerful Medici family, but he
wasn't a stranger to the Venetian streets. He'd been living
in exile in Venice for years because back in Florence,
Lorenzino was a wanted murderer. As he strolled through the
(01:54):
bustle of the city with his uncle, Lorenzino repeatedly glanced
over his shoulder and his eyes flicked to the sudden
movements of passing merchants and paupers. Despite his uncle's assurances
that they were safe out in public, Lorenzino's habit was
hard to break. He was always wondering if retribution was
(02:16):
coming for the weighty crime he had committed eleven years earlier.
After all, his infamous murder had rattled the highest houses
of European power. Lorenzino had personally murdered his own cousin,
the first Duke of Florence, Alessandro de Medici. Lorenzino had
(02:42):
claimed that he had rid the realm of a tyrant.
But regardless of his possible intentions, this podcast has taught
us anything, it's that you can't avoid the consequences of
such a brazen act forever, and fate usually finds a
way of catching up with you. Sure enough, on the
(03:03):
morning of February twenty sixth, fifteen forty eight, Lorenzino's punishment
finally found him more than a decade after his crime.
He and his uncle were almost at the Santoma Bridge,
mere minutes from Lorenzino's home, when two assassins ambushed them.
(03:23):
Lorenzino was instantly incapacitated by a fierce blow to the head,
and then he was stabbed several more times to ensure
his imminent death. Lorenzino's uncle and the attackers fled as
Lorenzino lay bruised and bloodied. He didn't take his final
breath for another half an hour, but he couldn't speak,
(03:47):
not even as his own mother rushed out to his side.
It's likely that the blunt force of his mortal injuries
impeded much clarity of thought or reflection, but if any
any synapses were still firing, they certainly would have had
no shortage of questions regarding how exactly the assassination had
(04:09):
been carried out and why this brutal payback took so
long to arrive. Lorenzino would never know who had actually
been behind his own violent assassination, and for centuries neither
did anyone else. But today the question of who was
(04:31):
behind Lorenzino's murder is a mystery no more. It took
almost half a millennium, but that cold case was finally cracked.
I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood. The ripple
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effects of this tale of murder and betrayal are immensely
complicated and far reaching, but the simplest place to start
is with one key relationship that between our murderer turned
murder victim, Lorenzino de Medici and the cousin he had killed,
Duke Alessandro de Medici. And our story of their relationship
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begins with a cheeky night out on the evening of
January sixth, fifteen thirty seven, twenty three year old Lorenzino
came to his powerful twenty six year old cousin with
an enticing pitch, a secret knight of pleasure with a
beautiful woman. If Alessandro could leave his royal escort, sneak
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out of his apartment in the Palazzo Medici and slip
into Lorenzino's bedchamber, Lorenzino would bring the alluring Katerina Solderini
to join him. The careful secrecy was necessary to limit gossip,
especially since Katerina was married and also incidentally Lorenzino's aunt.
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As instructed, Alessandro went out that evening with friends, and
then he excused himself. Upon returning to Piazza de San Marco. Slowly,
the duke approached the wing of the Medici complex where
Lorenzino resided. Lorenzino de Medici had little in common with
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his namesake, the earlier Medician patriarch Lorenzo the Magnificent, or
with Lorenzino's many other ancestors of the same name who
had brought wealth and distinction to the family. Know for
as long as Alessandro had known his short, pallid and
introverted relative, Lorenzino or Little Lorenzo was a fitting nickname.
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Since childhood, Lorenzino was known more for his studious nature
than any commanding bearing, and was far likelier to be
found immersed in a book, book or theater production, then
trying to climb the ranks of power. Back at Lorenzino's palace,
Alessandro slipped inside with quiet ease. Instead of wearing the
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chainmail lined doublet he typically favored as protection against any
possible sneak attacks, He was decked out that night in
a Neapolitan silk cloak. Judging by those nocturnal fashion choices alone,
his desire for comfort and style clearly outweighed any cautious
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instincts he might have had, and understandably so, this had
all the markings of another one of his trusted cousins
delightfully mischievous schemes. Through their early adult years, Lorenzino and
Alessandro had formed a bond that sparked numerous escapades. Lorenzino
had not only become a close adviser to his cousin
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on political matters, he also facilit hated Alessandro's womanizing so
frequently that a few at court snidely referred to him
as the Duke's hymp long. A passionate writer, Lorenzino even
penned a whole irreverent comedy play for Alessandro's marriage to
a young bride from the prominent Habsburg family. So when
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Alessandro entered Lorenzino's bedroom that night, it's unlikely he was
in a suspicious frame of mind at all. Lorenzino suggested
that his cousin stow his weapons under the bed to
set the right romantic tone. Alessandro acquiesced. Lorenzino had also
told him to make himself comfortable while he went to
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fetch the beautiful cacherina. As Alessandro waited on his cousin's bed,
it's possible that he mulled over all of the red
flags cropping up in his path. After all, his cousin
occasionally seemed to show a slightly darker side. The serious,
melancholy demeanor Lorenzino exhibited as a boy unnerved some people,
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and there was the bizarre story about how Lorenzino had
decapitated the heads of several ancient sculptures and statues in Rome.
The defilement was egregious enough to get Lorenzino expelled from
the city by the Pope even though the pope was
a close Medici relative. On the other hand, Lorenzino's childhood
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seriousness and strangeness was not necessarily surprising, given that he
had lost his father at a young age, and his
statue shenanigans could have easily been brushed off as an
ill advised prank rather than the sign of some unhinged leaning.
But it's probably unlikely that Alessandro was seriously worried about
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any risk while waiting on Lorenzino and Katerina. Alessandro actually
lay down and took a nap, but as you might
have guessed, Lorenzino had more than a little tryst planned
for his cousin. Upon leaving Alessandro in his bedchamber, Lorenzino
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did not seek out Katerina. He instead went to his
loyal servant, Piero de Joannabate, nicknamed scorn Concolo. Lorenzino had
already gotten the thuggish man to agree to help enact
justice against an unnamed enemy that he would lock in
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his bedchamber while ushering scorn Concolo back, though, Lorenzino had
to ensure that his accomplice was prepared to follow through
on his promise, regardless of the target's identity. In other words,
he told him, yes, they were going long after the
Duke of Florence, and as Lorenzino saw it, it was
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a deed that needed to be done. Like Lorenzino, Alessandro's
early years were inauspicious, especially by Medicis standards. Alessandro was
actually born a bastard, son of a Medici ruler and
an enslaved woman. Alessandro also lost his father at a
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young age, a death that, after years of strife and
maneuvering within the family, remarkably led Alessandro to be named
the first Duke of Florence. Especially following Alessandro's ascension and
Larenzino's return to Florence from Rome, the cousins outwardly appeared
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to be inseparable. Alessandro was said to have greatly loved
his cousin, favoring Lorenzino's advice at court and benefiting from
Lorenzino's hearty enabling of his philander. But as Lorenzino apparently
felt at his core and would continue to argue for
years to come, Alissandro was a true monster, a man
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obsessed with torturing and killing men for real or perceived slights,
A tyrant, how could he be allowed to continue to
live and rule Outside Lorenzino's bedchamber, scorn Concolo assured Lorenzino
that he would not spare their wicked foe, whether he
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was the Duke or even Jesus himself. So Lorenzino called
out to check whether his cousin was asleep, and then
he and scorn Concolo entered through a different door. The
two attacked Alessandro, who jolted awake and fought desperately. Alessandro
even bit down on Lorenzo's hand in an attempt to
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free himself. Finally, after a frenzied struggle, Alessandro fell still,
scorn Concolo's dagger planted in his throat. Lorenzino and scorn
Concolo immediately fled on horseback. As Lorenzino eventually arrived in Venice,
news of the Duke's sensational death was spreading like wildfire.
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Word traveled through urgent missives, rumors, and through Lorenzino's own lips.
You heard that right. Rather than refute his guilt, Lorenzino
confessed his crime to anyone and everyone who would listen,
as any fan of TV murder Mysteries or Agatha Christie
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novels knows catching a killer is usually a tricky task
that takes cunning and exhaustive investigation. Only when faced with
irrefutable evidence and no foreseeable escape do murderers finally give
up and confess. Lorenzino would have made for an incredibly
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unsatisfying novel. Not only did he openly admit he killed
Duke Alessandro, he wrote a whole, flowery, eloquent explanation of it,
called the Apology. Obviously, the Apology is about as subjective
of a statement as you'll find, but in many ways,
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that's what makes it so fascinating, because it serves as
a window into Lorenzino's mind and motivations. Why did Lorenzino
murder Alessandro, especially when he had no plan in place
to usurp power himself or to aid another noble in
seizing it. His apology has been hailed by many as
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a sparkling piece of rhetoric, but even his own arguments
got fairly tangled. First, Lorenzino emphasized his political reasons for
murdering Alessandro. Per the ancient the Roman ideals of republicanism
that Lorenzino studied and admired, he sought as his duty
to eliminate a tyrannical oppressor. As I touched on earlier,
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he claimed that Alessandro was a fiend, a sadistic villain
whose cruel behavior made him worse than Caligula and Nero combined.
The way in which Lorenzino asserted his murderous responsibility essentially
implied that he thought of himself as the brutus of
his day. Republican and Florentine exiles living abroad soon echoed
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that sentiment, comparing Alessandro's rule to Caesar's dictatorship and hailing
Lorenzino as their Tuscan brutus. In his apology, Lorenzino also
wades into a more philosophical branch of reasoning for killing
his cousin. Lorenzino debated the entire legitimacy of power wielded
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by a hereditary ruler. Thus, in spite of the fact
that returning power to the people would require a brutal act,
in Lorenzino's mind, it was worth it. Niccolomachiavelli had written
his famous treatise The Prince only twenty years earlier, and,
in an ironic turn of history, actually dedicated it to
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Alessandro's father, so again, being an avid reader, Lorenzino was
quite steeped in the idea that the end can justify
the means. Finally, the apology also reveals several personal reasons
Lorenzino wanted to kill his cousin. His writing conveys a
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lingering sense of self righteousness about being a legitimate Medici's
son and not a bastard. The ways in which Lorenzino
calls attention to Alessandro's quote innate cruelty and savagery, and
his heritage as the son of a Moorish in see
slaved mother are worthy of note. A great deal of
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scholarship has been written on the complexities of pre modern
ideas about race and the way they differ from our own,
but in general, it's absolutely worth questioning whether Lorenzino's biases
against his cousin's Moorish ancestry could have factored into both
his slang of his cousin and his subsequent appeal for
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understanding from what he assumed to be a similarly biased
audience zooming out to view Lorenzino's crime and written apology together,
it's possible to trace an even more self absorbed arc.
As some historians have conjectured it's possible Lorenzino's driving motive
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was simple. He wanted to be noticed. After all, he
was a Medici, but a fairly overlooked one, considering the
highly pre mediti nature of both the murder and confession,
the risks involved in all the new paths to fame
that the printing press had ushered in. Was this assassination
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to some degree fueled by a desire to trade relative
obscurity for celebrity, to shed recollections of quote little Lorenzo's
meek childhood demeanor, of his embarrassing expulsion from Rome, of
his literally belittling moniker in order to fully enter the limelight.
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Whatever his cocktail of motives, Lorenzino certainly gave the world
a taste of, as some might call it today, his
quote main character energy. He became famous and infamous almost overnight.
He gained tremendous support, especially in Venice, which was home
to many members of the Florentine Republic that had previously
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failed against Medici's might. Exiles scattered across Europe celebrated Duke
Alessandro's death. Support and money poured in from France and Spain.
Commemorative medals were even produced depicting Lorenzino in Roman robes,
but Lorenzino had obviously also made himself a marked man.
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The rest of the Medici family and its allies vehemently
decried his deplorable act and vowed to retaliate. Cosimo the
First de Medici was named the next Duke of Florence,
and he offered a handsome reward to anyone who would
avenge the murder of his predecessor, Alessandro. And yet for
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eleven years no one followed through. Plots were hatched, attempts
were made, but for the most part, the new Duke
dragged his feet getting revenge. Despite promising swift action against
Alessandro's murderer and being repeatedly urged to follow through by
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many in his political orbit, Cosimo the First basically tried
to ignore the issue. As Cosimo continued to delay his
plans of revenge, many contemporaries describe Lorenzino as a wretched
soul wrecked by anguish and guilt, but in fact, some
sources show that not only did he stay hopeful that
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one day exiles would be able to return to Florence.
Over the years, he went on multiple diplomatic missions to Mirandola,
France and Constantinople to stoke support for his personal cause,
and so eleven years after he killed his cousin on
that chilly morning in Venice in fifteen forty eight, as
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Lorenzino left church with his uncle, It's not it's unthinkable
that some part of him dared hope that he might
never actually have to pay the ultimate price for killing Alessandro.
His ambushing attackers, however, had other plans. They beat him,
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stabbed him, and closed the homicidal loop. Those men's identities
were clear right away. Francesco Boboni and Bebeo de Volterra
soon went to collect their reward from Duke Cosimo, but
they were contracted killers, hired by somebody with more clout,
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so who actually had ordered the hit. It wasn't until
twenty fifteen, a full four hundred and sixty seven years
after the fact, that definitive proof emerged. If this murder
mystery were a movie or a novel, a rmand detective
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might have the benefit of interrogating prime suspects in a
nice contained location, say a cozy train or charming English
manor house. In reality, all of the main players here
were spread across Europe and then eventually all dead and gone.
But the detective at the core of this century spanning case,
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the historian Stefano de Lallio, was delightfully dedicated in his investigation.
So let's don our sleuthing hats and puff thoughtfully on
our pipes and follow along with him in examining the
likely individuals and possible theories behind who was behind Lorenzina's execution.
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The obvious first suspect was Costimo, the first di Medici,
the replacement Duke of Florence, who would have wanted to
avenge a death in the family and protect Medici power.
He offered the rear had multiple agents in Venice trying
to tie up loose ends, met with Lorenzino's two attackers beforehand,
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and then gave them their promised reward afterward. Case closed right.
Many scholars accepted that narrative for centuries, but dal Aglio
found letters that proved Cosimo's agents were actually bear with
me in Venice to kill a different influential Florentine exile,
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and Cosimo was not even the first noble to be
alerted once Lorenzino's murder was accomplished. John Francisco Ltini was
another likely culprit. Lotini was Duke Cosimo's secretary and a
guy with a history of violence. Several historians writing after
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the event posited that Cosimo sent him to Venice, where
he then predominantly organized Laura or Enzeno's assassination, but there's
no direct evidence to support that theory, and in fact,
it was actually later discovered that nineteenth century historians who
posited it had actually misunderstood key archival documents. It was
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also natural to wonder whether the assassins had simply acted
of their own accord. The reward was massive. On top
of the huge sum of four thousand gold ducats, which
would have been over one hundred times the annual salary
of many laborers and soldiers at the time, these successful
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killers of Lorenzino would also be shielded from punishment and
even receive amnesty for any prior crimes. Still, even for
such a bounty, this theory doesn't make a ton of sense,
given the risks, the political clout of the main parties involved,
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and the fact that after so long, any killer seriously
considering the job would want to go through the proper
channels to clear it with Cosimo beforehand to make sure
that they would still get paid. As the two killers did,
I mean, there was no guarantee that the reward was
still standing eleven years later. Margaret of Parma, Alessandro's grieving widow,
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was another interesting suspect. The two had been married less
than a year before Lorenzino killed Alessandro. She was only
fourteen at the time and devastated to the point that
she signed her letters sad Margaret, she placed her own
bounty on Lorenzino's head. Although her most potent means of
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instigating revenge wouldn't be from her own direct influence, it
would be from her ability to call on other power
powerful figures including Charles the Fifth, the Habsburg King of Spain,
the Archduke of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor, a man
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who ruled a conglomeration of realms so large some referred
to it as the empire on which the sun never sets.
Turns out, Charles had two big motives. First, Duke Alessandro
had been under his direct political protection, and two, Duke
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Alessandro's wife, Margaret, was his daughter, so he was adamant that,
for reasons personal and political, his son in law must
be avenged. Our investigative historian del Alio had a hunch
that Charles the fifth was the mastermind pulling the strings.
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But if so, why did he wait so long for
one thing? Letters showed that Charless felt that revenge should
come from Florence. Cosimo should be the one to enact
justice for a crime that was committed in his own state. Additionally,
Charles the fifth was really, really busy. He was off
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at war with France and trying to staunch the spread
of Protestantism in Germany. Back in Florence, Cosimo had his
own reasons for procrastinating avenging his predecessor. On a basic level,
he actually wouldn't even be duke if Alessandro hadn't died,
so he wasn't too terribly upset about it. And furthermore,
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he was more focused on consolidating power in Florence at
the time, on quelling more exile uprisings, ardently supporting the arts,
and actually being an unusually faithful husband. He had his
own life to lead. Cosimo eventually proved to be an
astute ruler who became the first Grand Duke of Ty
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and he would have a substantial influence on Florentine culture
for years to come, even cementing a relatively successful working
relationship with Charles the Fifth. So ironically, if Lorenzino had
indeed been attempting to limit Medici power in Florence by
killing Duke Alessandro, it backfired. Nevertheless, as the years passed,
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Charles the Fifth grew restless on that lingering, loose end
of Lorenzino. The timing of Lorenzino's murder ultimately coincided with
a period when Charles the Fifth's other conflicts abated and
he finally had time to focus on the Italian States.
His direct involvement makes sense, but historian del Alio needed
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clear proof in order to connect the dots. Luckily, Charles
the Fifth left behind plenty of evidence. As de Laalio
himself said of his search, the most logical place to
look for a gun still smoking after five hundred years
was Charles the Fifth's own archives, which he founded during
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this period to preserve his papers. Sure Enough, surprisingly, explicit
documents preserved there shed definitive light, specifically direct correspondent between
Charles the Fifth and his Venetian ambassador, which revealed the
emperor's adamant stance that Lorenzino's crime should never be forgiven.
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The men contemplated the possible methods, logistics, and personnel that
would be needed to finally kill Lorenzino. Then, at long last,
on January eleventh, fifteen forty eight, a letter from Augsburg
arrived in Venice. Charles the Fifth personally ordered Lorenzino de
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Medici's murder. Duke Cosimo had been generally informed of the plot,
particularly so that he could guarantee the payment of his
offered bounty, but when it came to bringing Lorenzino to justice,
Charles the Fifth, Charles the Fifth's ambassador, and the two
hired killers took the primary initiative. Accordingly, Charles the Fifth
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was immediately notified of Lorenzino's death before any other ruler,
so that he could give instructions on how to proceed.
In hindsight, seeking out a repository of incredibly relevant and
conveniently kept information seems almost laughably obvious. The evidence was
right there. But revisiting such a case took the fortitude
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to challenge long accepted wisdom, wisdom that seemed plausible enough,
and to form the right theories to know where to
look solving the mystery in this case also required that
the executioner, our big boss, Charles the Fifth, preserved his correspondence,
and why shouldn't he Why worry about anyone discovering a
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little more blood on his hands? If anything, his feelings
were probably the opposite. Though this was only a small
chapter of his sizeable legacy, it's easy to imagine that
on some level he wanted it known for posterity that
if you come for a protected duke, a noble cousin,
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the son in law of the most powerful man in Europe,
you don't walk free forever. If revenge is a dish
best served cold, then the final helping Charles served to
Lorenzino was truly ice. That's the story of Lorenzino de
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Medici's turbulent life and murder. But stick around after a
brief sponsor to hear about an additional intriguing wrinkle in
Lorenzino's murderous legacy. After killing Lorenzino de Medici, one of
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the hired assassins actually distributed his own written account of
his violent act. Far from exhibiting the eloquence and erudite
musings of Lorenzino's apology, Francesco Beiboni's cruder confession still completed,
a fitting sort of eleven year call and response, and
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in its own way, this follow up statement amplified some
of Lorenzino's own morbid rationale, or, as author translator Tim
Parks put it, quote, the notion that saving oneself from
the oblivion of anonymity is sufficient justification for any atrocity.
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Noble Blood is a production of iHeart Radio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by
me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick,
Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and Julia Milani. The show is
edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producerrima Ill
(33:29):
Kali and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Host
Dana Schwartz
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