Pazzi War/Paper War
In answer to Pope Sixtus IV's suggestion that the release of the Cardinal of San Giorgio would see an end to the conflict between Papal and Florentine powers, the Signoria released the Cardinal on June 4 and saw him safely to Rome. Yet despite this show of goodwill, Pope Sixtus IV went against his word and continued his political onslaught and to press for open war on Florence. Determined it seems to achieve what the Pazzi conspiracy could not; The death of Lorenzo and Papal control of Florence through his nephew Count Riario. Repeatedly, the Pope issued demands for the Florentines to rise up and give him Lorenzo and put an end to these troubles. But to Florentines at least, Sixtus had proven that he could not be trusted.
The Signoria of Florence steadfastly rejected the Pope's demands, despite Lorenzo's offer to surrender himself in order to free his native city of the looming war. The Signoria were moved to tears as Lorenzo - who had resigned from the Eight in May - stated that he had "received more favour [from Florence] than any other citizen" and was ready "to suffer exile or death, putting the common good above my own life". The Signoria and the populace of Florence rejected his offer, and instead elected him into the Ten of War - the Florentine council which directed warfare and diplomacy.
By the second week of July, Papal and Neopolitan troops commanded by the dukes of Urbino and Calabria had invaded Florentine territory in the southeast near Montepulciano. They rapidly moved northwest, by-passing Siena and took two fortified Florentine towns; Radda and Castellina in Chianti. Other than a small victory near Perugia, the Florentine armies were being overwhelmed by the combined troops of Pope Sixtus IV and King Ferrante.
At the same time, both the Pope and Florence were also engaging in a diplomatic struggle - a "paper war". In answer to the Pope's interdicts and excommunication sent though out Italy, Lorenzo and the Signoria sent letters to princes, friends and allies, including copies of the full confession of Giovan Battista that detailed the conspiracy including meetings with the Pope. Response was swift; Giovanni Bentivoglio of Bologna led his troops to the defense of Florence; Milan sent a number of companies of troops; Venice voiced outrage over the Pope's tactics, and; King Louis XI of France, denouncing the Pope, sent emissaries throughout Italy to undermine Papal authority and called for a general Church Council.
The paper war continued along side the real war; The Signoria sent a scornful letter to Pope Sixtus IV on July 21, 1478 referring to him as "friar Francesco ... the Judas in the seat of Peter" and stating "your charges make us laugh".
Lorenzo's former tutor, Gentile Becchi, the Bishop of Arezzo, distributed the Florentina Synodus, a scathing denunciation of the Pope that was issued from a meeting of Florentine clergymen in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. It contained mocking reference to Sixtus' bull of excommunication, and described the Pope as the "Vicar of the devil" ... a pimp who has prostituted the mother Church by selling rites and offices to feed his family members - "... pigs with golden truffles" and that Sixtus was akin to "... all those little women who, being whores themselves, call others fornicators". It stated that Archbishop Salviati "was never a Christian, but an agent of insurrection" and his actions on April 26, 1478, were that of an armed criminal, not a man of the cloth. Lorenzo's crime, for which the Pope issued the excommunication, was that he did not allow himself to be assassinated as Giuliano was.
Though Florence was winning the paper war, the actual war was taking its toll; A new outbreak of the Black Death swept through Florence. The southern territories were being raped by Papal and Neopolitan troops. Crops, livestock, and goods were pillaged or put to the torch. The towns of Arezzo, Certaldo, Castellina, Colle, Cortona, Poggibonsi, and Vico all fell to the invaders. The Signoria was forced to impose war taxes to pay for troops. Trade in wool and silk - traditionally the strongest industry in Florence declined alarmingly because of the war. In response to fears of famine, riots broke out within Florence's city walls. All of this played on Lorenzo's conscience - these troubles began with he and his brother. He could see only one way out ...
Next: In the Enemy's Court