Born to a poor family, Francisco della Rovere was destined from childhood for the Franciscan order. He studied philosophy and theology with great success at the University of Pavia, and lectured at Padua, Bologna, Pavia, Siena, and Florence. After filling the post of procurator of his order in Rome and Provincial of Liguria, he was - in 1467 - elevated to Cardinal of Santo Pietro in Vincoli by Paul II. Devoted to theology, in 1470 he published a treatise on the Precious blood and a work on the Immaculate Conception. The conclave which assembled on the death of Paul II elected him pope, and he ascended to the chair of Saint Peter as Pope Sixtus IV.

From the opening days of his reign as Pope, Sixtus IV used his office to expand the Papal Kingdom and advance his family members through political appointments. It was Lorenzo's refusal of Sixtus' demand on the Medici bank for a loan of 40,000 ducats to purchase the town of Imola that set the conspiracy into action. Sixtus IV sought the purchase of Imolo to give to his nephew, Girolamo Riario. Once the conspiracy began to grow, he promised Riario the Duchy of Florence.

Nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, Girolamo Riario was one of the key plotters in the conspiracy to assassinate the Medici brothers. Riario tried to use his marriage to the Duke of Milan's bastard daughter to sabotage the relationship between the Duke and Lorenzo. Driven by greed, Riario fueled Francesco de' Pazzi's inner fire by intimating that the Pazzi family would play a large part in the next government of Florence, while coveting the future Dukedom of Florence for himself.

Born to one of Florence's most active political families, Francesco Salviati was related by marriage to the Pazzi, Medici, Vettori, and other powerful families. Orphaned at a young age, Salviati was educated as a humanist but vied to succeed in the church, knowing he could not rise to power in the family after losing his father.

Defined as such by his contemporaries, Salviati was a flatterer, a gambler, and lusted for the power that could be attained through church favour. In 1464, Salviati moved to Rome and attached himself to Francesco della Rovere - who would later become Pope Sixtus IV - and his nephews, Girolamo and Pietro Riario. It was an association that would see him rise to become Archbishop of Pisa and to become a willing co-conspirator to murder and a attempted coup d'etat.

Giovan Battista was the Count of Montesecco, a hired 'lance' from a hill town eighteen miles southwest of Urbino. A minor nobleman, Battista was typical of the professional captains from the Adriatic area of Italy - the Marches and the Romagna - a breeding ground for hungry mercenaries. As a mercenary captain, Battista was known as a captain of sober judgement and honour, ranking with Orsini, Sforza, and Fortebracci as a leader who risked the lives of his men as little as possible

A papal soldier, Battista had served in Rome as Captain of the Apostolic Palace Guard and as the chief officer of the Roman fortress, Castel Saint Angelo.

Next: The Wounds that Festered