History Of Florence And Of The Affairs Of Italy

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The Florentines after the war of Serezana, lived in great prosperity
until 1492, when Lorenzo de' Medici died; for he having put a stop to
the internal wars of Italy, and by his wisdom and authority established
peace, turned his thoughts to the advancement of his own and the city's
interests, and married Piero, his eldest son, to Alfonsina, daughter of
the Cavaliere Orsino. He caused Giovanni, his second son, to be raised
to the dignity of cardinal. This was the more remarkable from its being
unprecedented; for he was only fourteen years of age when admitted to
the college; and became the medium by which his family attained to the
highest earthly glory. He was unable to make any particular provision
for Guiliano, his third son, on account of his tender years, and
the shortness of his own life. Of his daughters, one married Jacopo
Salviati; another, Francesco Cibo; the third, Piero Ridolfi; and the
fourth, whom, in order to keep his house united, he had married to
Giovanni de' Medici, died. In his commercial affairs he was very
unfortunate, from the improper conduct of his agents, who in all their
proceedings assumed the deportment of princes rather than of private
persons; so that in many places, much of his property was wasted, and
he had to be relieved by his country with large sums of money. To
avoid similar inconvenience, he withdrew from mercantile pursuits,
and invested his property in land and houses, as being less liable to
vicissitude. In the districts of Prato, Pisa, and the Val di Pesa, he
purchased extensively, and erected buildings, which for magnificence
and utility, were quite of regal character. He next undertook the
improvement of the city, and as many parts were unoccupied by buildings,
he caused new streets to be erected in them, of great beauty, and thus
enlarged the accommodation of the inhabitants. To enjoy his power in
security and repose, and conquer or resist his enemies at a distance, in
the direction of Bologna he fortified the castle of Firenzuola,
situated in the midst of the Appennines; toward Sienna he commenced the
restoration and fortification of the Poggio Imperiale; and he shut out
the enemy in the direction of Genoa, by the acquisition of Pietra Santa
and Serezana. For the greater safety of the city, he kept in pay the
Baglioni, at Perugia, and the Vitelli, at Citta di Castello, and held
the government of Faenza wholly in his own power; all which greatly
contributed to the repose and prosperity of Florence. In peaceful times,
he frequently entertained the people with feasts, and exhibitions of
various events and triumphs of antiquity; his object being to keep the
city abundantly supplied, the people united, and the nobility honored.
He was a great admirer of excellence in the arts, and a patron of
literary men, of which Agnolo da Montepulciano, Cristofero Landini, and
Demetrius Chalcondylas, a Greek, may afford sufficient proofs. On this
account, Count Giovanni della Mirandola, a man of almost supernatural
genius, after visiting every court of Europe, induced by the munificence
of Lorenzo, established his abode at Florence. He took great delight
in architecture, music, and poetry, many of his comments and poetical
compositions still remaining. To facilitate the study of literature
to the youth of Florence, he opened a university at Pisa, which was
conducted by the most distinguished men in Italy. For Mariano da
Chinazano, a friar of the order of St. Augustine, and an excellent
preacher, he built a monastery in the neighborhood of Florence. He
enjoyed much favor both from fortune and from the Almighty; all his
enterprises were brought to a prosperous termination, while his enemies
were unfortunate; for, besides the conspiracy of the Pazzi, an attempt
was made to murder him in the Carmine, by Batista Frescobaldi, and a
similar one by Baldinetto da Pistoja, at his villa; but these persons,
with their confederates, came to the end their crimes deserved. His
skill, prudence, and fortune, were acknowledged with admiration, not
only by the princes of Italy, but by those of distant countries; for
Matthias, king of Hungary, gave him many proofs of his regard; the
sultan sent ambassadors to him with valuable presents, and the Turkish
emperor placed in his hands Bernardo Bandini, the murderer of his
brother. These circumstances raised his fame throughout Italy, and his
reputation for prudence constantly increased; for in council he was
eloquent and acute, wise in determination, and prompt and resolute
in execution. Nor can vices be alleged against him to sully so many
virtues; though he was fond of women, pleased with the company of
facetious and satirical men, and amused with the games of the nursery,
more than seemed consistent with so great a character; for he was
frequently seen playing with his children, and partaking of their
infantine sports; so that whoever considers this gravity and
cheerfulness, will find united in him dispositions which seem almost
incompatible with each other. In his later years, he was greatly
afflicted; besides the gout, he was troubled with excruciating pains in
the stomach, of which he died in April, 1492, in the forty-fourth year
of his age; nor was there ever in Florence, or even in Italy, one so
celebrated for wisdom, or for whose loss such universal regret was felt.
As from his death the greatest devastation would shortly ensue, the
heavens gave many evident tokens of its approach; among other signs,
the highest pinnacle of the church of Santa Reparata was struck with
lightning, and great part of it thrown down, to the terror and amazement
of everyone. The citizens and all the princes of Italy mourned for him,
and sent their ambassadors to Florence, to condole with the city on the
occasion; and the justness of their grief was shortly after apparent;
for being deprived of his counsel, his survivors were unable either to
satisfy or restrain the ambition of Lodovico Sforza, tutor to the duke
of Milan; and hence, soon after the death of Lorenzo, those evil plants
began to germinate, which in a little time ruined Italy, and continue to
keep her in desolation.