Jacopo
While Battista met with the Pope, Francesco de' Pazzi traveled to Florence to gather military intelligence and to recruit his uncle Messr Jacopo into the conspiracy. Jacopo was opposed to the plot, knowing the complexities and dangers of Florentine politics, and assassination went against his nature. But Francesco continued to pressure him by offering a pivotal role in the plan; To take to the streets after the assassinations and rouse the populace against the Medici and to promote the capture of the Palazzo della Signoria. Unbloodied, Jacopo would be seen as a hero, Francesco asserted.
Jacopo, knighted by both René of Anjou and later by the Florentine Signoria, was a past holder of Florence's highest office in 1469; Gonfalonier of Justice. He was an experienced businessman, having decades of experience as a banker, tax farmer, and partner in a firm that produced luxury silks. The last Pazzi of his generation, Jacopo had no children of his own but was beloved uncle to nine nephews, four nieces, and thirteen grandnephews and nieces. He was related to Lorenzo de' Medici through the marriage of Bianca de' Medici to his nephew Guglielmo - Francesco's brother. Jacopo had also been a strong supporter of Lorenzo's father, Piero in the mid 1460s. Not only that, but Jacopo recognized the favours that Lorenzo had blessed the Pazzi family with.
In the early 1470s, Lorenzo had sent out many letters of patronage for his brother-in-law Guglielmo de' Pazzi who sought to help some of his friends and dependents. In 1473 Lorenzo had supported Messr Antonio de' Pazzi in his efforts to secure the incomes from two Church benefices. Also in 1473, Lorenzo had used his friendship with the Duke of Milan to intercede on behalf of both families when two separate mule trains of goods were seized by officials in Savoyard - the Pazzi shipment being silver destined for minting in Florence, if lost, would have crippled the family fortunes. Most recently, in January 1478, Lorenzo had summoned a skilled doctor from Milan to care for Renato de' Pazzi's ailing wife. Because of all of these things, Jacopo remained unswayed by Francesco's pressures to join the conspiracy to murder Lorenzo and Giuliano.
Next: Meeting Lorenzo