Pod Insights Noble Blood The 500-Year Medici Mystery About this episode 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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0:34 Dana Schwartz? Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manke. Listener discretion advised. Before we start, just a quick announcement. Next summer, I will be leading a trip to the English Cotswolds to walk, to write, and to talk about my favorite book, truly, I think my favorite book, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. 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 call
1:16 Dana Schwartz? it a pilgrimage, but what that basically means is we all stay together in a beautiful old mansion in the Cotswolds. We meet every morning, 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 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.
1:55 Dana Schwartz? It was a crisp morning in February 1548, when a pale nobleman in his early 30s stepped out of a 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 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.
2:40 Dana Schwartz? 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 coming for the weighty crime he had committed 11 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 claimed that he had rid the realm of a tyrant, but regardless of his possible intentions, this podcast has taught us anything,
3:25 Dana Schwartz? 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 morning of February 26, 1548, Lorenzino's punishment finally found him, more than a decade after his crime. He and his uncle were almost at the Santomma Bridge, mere minutes from Lorenzino's home, when two assassins ambushed them. Lorenzino was instantly incapacitated by a fierce blow to the head and then he was stabbed several more times to ensure his imminent death.
4:08 Dana Schwartz? 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, 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 synapses were still firing, they certainly would have had no shortage of questions regarding how exactly the assassination had been carried out and why this brutal payback took so long to arrive.
4:50 Dana Schwartz? 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 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 effects of this tale of murder and betrayal are immensely complicated and
5:32 Dana Schwartz? 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 begins with a cheeky night out. On the evening of January 6, 1537, 23-year-old Lorenzino came to his powerful 26-year-old cousin with an enticing pitch: a secret night of pleasure with a beautiful woman. If Alessandro could leave his royal escort, sneak out of his apartment in the Palazzo
6:16 Dana Schwartz? Medici, and slip into Lorenzino's bedchamber, Lorenzino would bring the alluring Caterina Soldorini to join him. The careful secrecy was necessary to limit gossip, especially since Caterina was married, and also, incidentally, Lorenzino's aunt.
6:37 Dana Schwartz? As instructed, Alessandro went out that evening with friends, and then he excused himself upon returning to Piazza di San Marco. Slowly, the duke approached the wing of the Medici complex, where Lorenzino resided.
6:54 Dana Schwartz? Lorenzino di Medici had little in common with 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. No, for as long as Alessandro had known his short, pallid, and introverted relative, Lorenzino, or “Little Lorenzo,” was a fitting nickname. 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 or theater production than trying to climb the ranks of power.
7:39 Dana Schwartz? Back at Lorenzino’s palace, Alessandro slipped inside with quiet ease. Instead of wearing the 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 instincts he might have had, and understandably so. This had all the markings of another one of his trusted cousin’s delightfully mischievous schemes. Through their early adult years, Lorenzino and Alessandro had formed a bond
8:24 Dana Schwartz? that sparked numerous escapades. Lorenzino had not only become a close advisor to his cousin on political matters, he also facilitated Alessandro’s “womanizing” so frequently that a few at court snidely referred to him as “the duke’s him.”
8:43 Dana Schwartz? Long a passionate writer, Lorenzino even penned a whole irreverent comedy play for Alessandro's marriage to a young bride from the prominent Hapsburg family. So when 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 fetch the beautiful Caterina. As Alessandro waited on his cousin's bed, it's possible that he mulled over all of
9:26 Dana Schwartz? 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. 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 seriousness and strangeness was not necessarily
10:11 Dana Schwartz? 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 any risk. Apocryphally, while waiting on Lorenzino and Caterina, 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.
10:50 Dana Schwartz? Upon leaving Alessandro in his bedchamber, Lorenzino did not seek out Caterina. He instead went to his loyal servant, Piero de Joanabate, nicknamed Scorancuncolo.
11:07 Dana Schwartz? Lorenzino had already gotten the thuggish man to agree to help enact justice against an unnamed enemy that he would lock in his bedchamber. While ushering Scorn Concollo 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 after the Duke of Florence." And as Lorenzino saw it, it was a deed that needed to be done.
11:44 Dana Schwartz? Like Lorenzino, Alessandro's early years were inauspicious, especially by Medici standards. Alessandro was actually born a bastard son of a Medici ruler and an enslaved woman. Alessandro also lost his father at a 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 Lorenzino's return to Florence from Rome, the cousins outwardly appeared to be inseparable. Alessandro was said to have greatly loved his cousin,
12:27 Dana Schwartz? favoring Lorenzino's advice at court and benefiting from Lorenzino's hearty enabling of his philandering. But as Lorenzino apparently felt at his core, and would continue to argue for years to come, Alessandro was a true monster, a man 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 Concollo assured Lorenzino that he would not spare their wicked foe, whether he was the Duke or even Jesus himself.
13:09 Dana Schwartz? So Lorenzino called out to check whether his cousin was asleep, and then he and Scorn Concollo 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 free himself. Finally, after a frenzied struggle, Alessandro fell still, Scorn Concollo’s dagger planted in his throat. Lorenzino and Scorn Concollo immediately fled on horseback. As Lorenzino eventually arrived in Venice, news of the Duke’s sensational death was spreading like wildfire.
13:53 Dana Schwartz? 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.
14:13 Dana Schwartz? As any fan of TV murder mysteries or Agatha Christie 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 unsatisfying novel. Not only did he openly admit he killed Duke Alessandro, he wrote a whole flowery, eloquent explanation of it called “The Apology.”
14:52 Dana Schwartz? Obviamente, la disculpa es algo así subjetivo como lo que encontrarás. Pero en muchos sentidos eso es lo que lo hace tan fascinante, porque sirve como ventana hacia la mente y las motivaciones de Lorenzino. ¿Por qué murió a Alessandro? Especialmente cuando no tenía un plan para usurpar el poder por sí mismo o para ayudar a otro noble en su posesión. Su disculpa ha sido aclamada por muchos como una rima de retórica, pero incluso sus propios argumentos se volvieron bastante confusos. Primero, Lorenzino enfatizó sus razones políticas por matar a Alessandro.
15:32 Dana Schwartz? Según los antiguos ideales romanos del republicanismo que Lorenzino estudió y admiró, vio que era su deber eliminar a un oprimido tirano. Como dije antes, afirmó que Alessandro era un venidero, un villano sadístico cuyo comportamiento cruel lo hizo peor que Caligula y Nero combinados. La forma en que Lorenzino afirmó su responsabilidad de muriro básicamente implicaba que pensaba en sí mismo como el brutus de su día. Los exiles republicanos y florentinos viviendo en el extranjero pronto resonaron con ese sentimiento, comparando el gobierno de Alessandro con el de César como dictadura
16:16 Dana Schwartz? y aclamando a Lorenzino como su bruto tusco. En su disculpa, Lorenzino también se inclina hacia una más "filosófica" rama de la razonación por matar a su hermano. Lorenzino debatió toda la legitimidad del poder ejercido por un rey heredero. Por lo tanto, a pesar del hecho de que devolver el poder al pueblo requeriría un acto brutal, en la mente de Lorenzino se lo costó. Niccolo Machiavelli había escrito su famoso "Treatise the Prince" solo hace 20 años, y, en una irónica perspectiva de la historia, en realidad lo dedicó a el padre de Alessandro. Así que, de nuevo, siendo un lector avarioso,
16:59 Dana Schwartz? Lorenzino estaba bastante en la idea de que el fin puede justificar los medios.
17:05 Dana Schwartz? Finally, the apology also reveals several "personal" reasons Lorenzino wanted to kill his cousin. His writing conveys a lingering sense of self-righteousness about being a legitimate Medici son and not a bastard. The ways in which Lorenzino calls attention to Alessandro's "innate cruelty and savagery", and his heritage as the son of a Moorish enslaved mother, are worthy of note. A great deal of 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
17:49 Dana Schwartz? whether Lorenzino's biases against his cousin's Moorish ancestry could have factored into both his slaying of his cousin and his subsequent appeal for understanding from what he assumed to be a similarly biased audience.
18:07 Dana Schwartz? 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 was simple: he wanted to be noticed. After all, he was a Medici, but a fairly overlooked one. Considering the highly premeditated nature of both the murder and confession, the risks involved, and all the new paths to fame that the printing press had ushered in,
18:44 Dana Schwartz? was this assassination to some degree fueled by a desire to trade relative obscurity for celebrity? To shed recollections of "little Lorenzo's meek childhood demeanor", of his embarrassing expulsion from Rome, of his literally belittling moniker, in order to fully enter the limelight?
19:10 Dana Schwartz? Whatever his cocktail of motives, Lorenzino certainly gave the world a taste of, as some might call it today, his “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 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.
19:54 Dana Schwartz? But Lorenzino had obviously also made himself a marked man. The rest of the Medici family and its allies vehemently decried his deplorable act and vowed to retaliate. Cosimo I 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 11 years, no one followed through. Plots were hatched, attempts were made, but for the most part, the new duke dragged his feet on getting revenge.
20:36 Dana Schwartz? Despite promising swift action against Alessandro’s murderer and being repeatedly urged to follow through by many in his political orbit, Cosimo I 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 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.
21:23 Dana Schwartz? And so, 11 years after he killed his cousin on that chilly morning in Venice in 1548, as Lorenzino left church with his uncle, it's not 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, stabbed him, and closed the homicidal loop. Those men's identities were clear right away. Francesco Baboni and Bebo de Volterra soon went to collect their reward from Duke Cosimo.
22:06 Dana Schwartz? But they were contracted killers, hired by somebody with more clout. So who actually had ordered the hit? It wasn't until 2015, a full 467 years after the fact, that definitive proof emerged.
22:30 Dana Schwartz? If this murder mystery were a movie or a novel, a determined detective 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, the historian Stefano Del Allio, 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
23:15 Dana Schwartz? behind who was behind Lorenzino's execution.
23:20 Dana Schwartz? The obvious first suspect was Cosimo I de Medici, the replacement Duke of Florence, who would have wanted to avenge a death in the family and protect Medici power. He offered the reward, had multiple agents in Venice trying to tie up loose ends, met with Lorenzino’s two attackers beforehand, and then gave them their promised reward afterward. Case closed, right? Many scholars accepted that narrative for centuries. But Dal Alio found letters that proved Cosimo’s agents were actually, bear with me, in Venice to kill a different influential Florentine exile?
24:05 Dana Schwartz? And Cosimo was not even the first noble to be alerted once Lorenzino’s murder was accomplished. John Francesco Lotini was another likely culprit. Lotini was Duke Cosimo’s secretary, and a guy with a history of violence. Several historians writing after the event posited that Cosimo sent him to Venice, where he then predominantly organized Lorenzino’s assassination. But there’s no direct evidence to support that theory. And in fact, it was actually later discovered that 19th-century historians who posited it
24:46 Dana Schwartz? had actually misunderstood key archival documents. It was 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 4,000 gold ducats, which would have been over 100 times the annual salary of many laborers and soldiers at the time, the successful killers of Lorenzino would also be shielded from punishment and even receive amnesty for any prior crimes.
25:22 Dana Schwartz? 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, 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 11 years later. Margaret of Parma, Alessandro's grieving widow, was another interesting suspect. The
26:04 Dana Schwartz? two had been married less than a year before Lorenzino killed Alessandro. She was only 14 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 instigating revenge wouldn't be from her own direct influence. It would be from her ability to call on other powerful figures, including Charles V, the Hapsburg King of Spain, the Archduke of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor. A man who ruled a conglomeration of realms
26:49 Dana Schwartz? so large, some refer 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 Alessandro's wife, Margaret, was his daughter. So he was adamant that, for reasons personal and political, his son-in-law must be avenged.
27:19 Dana Schwartz? Our investigative historian Del Alio had a hunch that Charles V was the mastermind pulling the strings. But if so, why did he wait so long? For one thing, letters showed that Charles 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 V was really, really busy. He was off 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.
28:03 Dana Schwartz? 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, 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 Tuscany. And he would have a substantial influence on Florentine culture for years to come, even cementing a relatively successful working relationship with Charles V.
28:46 Dana Schwartz? 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, Charles V grew restless on that lingering loose end of Lorenzino. The timing of Lorenzino's murder ultimately coincided with a period when Charles V'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 clear proof in order to connect the dots. Luckily, Charles V left behind plenty of evidence.
29:34 Dana Schwartz? As Dalalio himself said of his search, “The most logical place to look for a gun, still smoking after 500 years, was Charles V’s own archives, which he founded during this period to preserve his papers.” Sure enough, surprisingly explicit documents preserved there shed definitive light, specifically, direct correspondence between Charles V and his Venetian ambassador, which revealed the emperor’s adamant stance that Lorenzino’s crime should never be forgiven. The men contemplated the possible methods, logistics, and personnel that would be needed to finally kill Lorenzino.
30:20 Dana Schwartz? Then, at long last, on January 11, 1548, a letter from Augsburg arrived in Venice. Charles V personally ordered Lorenzino de 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 V, Charles V’s ambassador, and the two hired killers took the primary initiative.
30:55 Dana Schwartz? Accordingly, Charles V was immediately notified of Lorenzino’s death before any other ruler, so that he could give instructions on how to proceed.
31:06 Dana Schwartz? 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 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 V, preserved his correspondence. And why shouldn't he? Why worry about anyone discovering a little more blood on his hands? If anything, his feelings were probably the opposite.
31:51 Dana Schwartz? Though this was only a small chapter of his sizable 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, 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.
32:26 Dana Schwartz? That's the story of Lorenzino de Medici's turbulent life and murder. But stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear about an additional intriguing wrinkle in Lorenzino's murderous legacy.
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33:46 Dana Schwartz? After killing Lorenzino Di Medici, one of the hired assassins actually distributed his own written account of his violent act. Far from exhibiting the eloquent and erudite musings of Lorenzino's apology, Francesco Baboni's cruder confession still completed a fitting sort of 11-year call and response. And in its own way, this follow-up statement amplified some of Lorenzino's own morbid rationale. Or as author translator Tim Parks put it, "The notion that saving oneself from the oblivion of anonymity is sufficient justification for any atrocity."
34:41 Dana Schwartz? Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manke. Noble Blood is hosted by me, Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Courtney Sender, Amy Height, and Giulia Malani. The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer Reema Ilkayali, 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.
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35:54 Dana Schwartz? This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.
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