Jacopo de' Pazzi
Jacopo de' Pazzi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1423 Florence |
| Died | 26 April 1478 |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Known for | Leadership of the Pazzi family; involvement in the Pazzi conspiracy |
Jacopo de' Pazzi (1423 – 26 April 1478) was a banker from Florence who assumed leadership of the Pazzi family in 1464. He was the younger offspring of Andrea de' Pazzi and Costanza de' Bardi. Between 1462 and 1472, he commissioned the construction of Palazzo Pazzi. Stefano di Ser Niccolo da Bagnone acted as his secretary and also served as tutor to his daughter Caterina. Jacopo met his demise alongside his nephews Francesco and Renato following the unsuccessful Pazzi conspiracy, an attempt to depose the Medici family's dominance in Florence.
The plot was devised at Jacopo’s Montughi villa, where discontented aristocrats conspired to assassinate Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici with the aim of taking over Florence's governance. On Easter Sunday, 26 April 1478, the conspirators launched their attack during High Mass at Santa Maria del Fiore; while Giuliano was slain, Lorenzo managed to escape despite being wounded. Subsequently, Jacopo discovered Francesco wounded—possibly due to self-inflicted injuries—and rallied a group of 100 armed men through the city, proclaiming "Liberty!" Nevertheless, Francesco was apprehended and executed by hanging, forcing Jacopo to go into hiding.
While concealed in Castagno, Jacopo was identified, brought back to Florence, subjected to torture, and executed by hanging alongside fellow conspirator Francesco Salviati. After interment at Santa Croce, his corpse was desecrated—exhumed, dragged through the streets, displayed at Palazzo Pazzi with his severed head repurposed as a door knocker, then discarded into the Arno River. Local children retrieved the head, suspended it from a willow tree, whipped it, and eventually threw it back into the river.
In popular culture
Jacopo de' Pazzi appears as an antagonist in the video game Assassin's Creed II, depicted as an elderly member of the Templar Order. Following protagonist Ezio Auditore’s rescue of Lorenzo de' Medici during the Pazzi conspiracy, Jacopo escapes Florence for San Gimignano but is later fatally wounded by Templar grandmaster Rodrigo Borgia due to his failure to eliminate the Medici. Ezio ultimately ends Jacopo’s life.
Sean Bean portrays Jacopo de' Pazzi in the second season of the television drama Medici: Masters of Florence.