April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici

Lauro Martines takes the reader inside the politics of renaissance Florence and sheds light on a conspiracy that would involve all five city-states of Italy, two families related by marriage, and the involvement of the papacy of itself in a plot to remove the Medici from power. While some may feel the author takes too much time to reach the main story, it is necessary for the reader to have the information Martines provides prior to chapter seven so that most of the players in this intrigue are known. All together a good read for those with a healthy curiosity of historical Florence.

This book provides a different interpretation of the April plot to assassinate Lorenzo de Medici and his brother Guiliano. It focuses solely on the political lives and maneuvering of the Medici family and therefore the picture presented is not the usual paean to the family and especially Lorenzo. It portrays Lorenzo, and to a lesser extent Cosimo and Piero, as a tyrant who consistently chips away at the underpinnings of the Republic of Florence. It also portrays the conspirators in the April plot more sympathetically than normally seen. I enjoyed the book which made me reexamine my own views of the Medici. I would definitely recommend the book.

This book came highly recommended by several tour guides on our recent trip to Florence. They also had it for sale at several museums but I knew it would be easier to get at home. Its a great read and shows what life in Italy in the 1400s was like. All the dark intrigue, violence and some art thrown in. It gives a vivid picture of the times, culture and country.

I read this book in preparation for a trip to Florence. My thought was to prepare myself to understand the Medicis and life in the Middle Ages. It was well written, concise and brought out the brutality that accompanied the power held by the Medicis. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was written in a style that was easily understood.

The packed details of the book are difficult to follow at times but would be very interesting to students of the Medici, Florence history and how the Medici wielded power. The style of revisiting different points in time spanning a century over and over from different points of view creates a substantial mental challenge of piecing together the connections of events and people. Only readers with a purpose will make it through this book.

Fascinating look at Italian Renaissance ambition and revenge. Politics and murder in 1478 have implications for 2023.

I enjoyed the book immensely. It's interesting to read a detailed account of a specific historical incident, and have it put in greater perspective. However, the book did tend to drag at times, in particular with the complex accounting of who was being awarded what by whom for what political purpose, etc. The account of the attempted assassination of the of two Medici brothers - successful in the case of the younger brother Giuliano - was detailed enough without going into further specific two or three times removed from the events. All in all, though a very interesting read.

Col. Kurtz would probably make his famous remark again after reading this book. After five hudred plus years the dust has not settled. the worms eye view provided hs compelling. people don't change at all. all that has changed is the date and the clothing. sic transit gloria mundi.

This is a great book for both those already educated on the subject of the Renaissance and for those who are not and will be visiting Florence.

I'm always fascinated by stories of Medieval and Renaissance Florence, of the Medici, of the ruling families of so many of the small states of Italy during that time. In this book, we read of plot of April 1478 to murder Lorenzo and Giuliano Medici, by then the heads of the most powerful family in Florence and the surrounding districts, with powerful political and monied friends (and enemies) throughout Italy and the whole of Europe. Many people have heard of Lorenzo Medici, Lorenzo `the Magnificent', but the details of the 1478 plot often seem to lie shrouded in mystery. This book seeks to untangle the complicated political and familial ties of Florence from the time of Lorenzo and Giuliano's grandfather, Cosimo, and to weave those threads back in a way that is readable and engaging to the reader, as well as enlightening. This is done magnificently (if I can use that word in a book about Lorenzo). Italian politics of the time could be so confusing that authors have struggled to write clearly and precisely about them, but I feel this book succeeds wonderfully. The background to the Medici family's meteoric rise, and outlines of the other leading families, including the Manetti, Pazzi, Soderini and Della Rovere families who are involved in the events of that century are clearly covered in the initial chapters. By chapter six, we are introduced more clearly to Lorenzo, who succeeds (and how, is explained, when Lorenzo is only twenty years old) to his family's heritage on the untimely death of his father, Cosimo's son, Piero in 1469. It is clear that, by this time, the Medici and their circle of `client' families had raised the stakes too high to be able to ever step down from power voluntarily. Lorenzo was "necessarily brought up both to inherit his father's political patrimony and to wield it." The account of the awful plot of 26 April 1478 reads like a modern thriller, and the resulting carnage, and political, familial and monetary fallout is astonishing. To understand more of the background of Pope Sixtus, and of his nephews, in particular Court Girolamo Riario, I would recommend also reading The Tigress of Forli: The Life of Caterina Sforza by Elizabeth Lev, which tells the astonishing tale of Caterina Sforza, illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza who was married to Girolamo. Their story, and more of the intricate, brutal and complex broader Italian Renaissance political scene is covered well in this book. Ironically, Caterina Sforza's grandson (Cosimo I de' Medici) by a later marriage was to go on to lead the Medici family as Duke of Florence from 1537 and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1569. The lengths to which these men (and women) would go to maintain and increase their power, prestige, and position are astonishing, and it seems somewhat incredible to us, viewing it at such a remove from their world. But this book is a real masterpiece of mind-boggling politics, brutal intrigue, masterful machinations and religious fervour; I cannot recommend it highly enough - utterly brilliant.

A good summary of a very vicious punch up back when political differences were settled with cold steel rather than tweets. Good description of Florentine politics and society and a clear explanation of what went on.

The Roman Catholic cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is the most unlikely setting for a murder of two of the most prominent citizens of Florence. The elevation of the Host was the signal that caused two priests to move forward in order to end the lives of Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici.....Read all about it in Laura Martinez book April Blood. An event that initiated numerous deadly and bloody reprisals.

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