Lorenzo de' Medici

Lorenzo de' Medici (1449 – 1492) was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as il Magnifico (the Magnificent) by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists, and poets.

His life coincided with the high point of the early Italian Renaissance. Throughout his lifetime, he worked to maintain the fragile peace that existed between the various Italian states. When Lorenzo died, the relationships between states deteriorated, marking the end of the Golden Age of Florence, as the fragile peace he had helped maintain collapsed with his death.

Secretly, Lorenzo was an ally of the Assassins, particularly the House of Auditore. Lorenzo worked closely with Giovanni Auditore da Firenze, a close friend and ally, against the corrupt Borgia. After Giovanni's death, Lorenzo was saved from an assassination attempt by Giovanni's son, Ezio, during the Pazzi conspiracy. Ezio later carried out several assassination contracts in cities such as Forlì and Venice on Lorenzo's behalf.

Biography

Early life

The most brilliant of Cosimo de' Medici's grandsons, Lorenzo would be sent on various diplomatic missions, even as a child. While his father, Piero the Gouty, was sickly and largely absent from Lorenzo's life, his mother, Lucrezia Tornabuoni, was a poet. She introduced her son to many prominent artists at the time, instilling in him a love of art and beauty that would greatly influence his adult lifestyle.

When he was six years old, Lorenzo fell into the Arno river. Fortunately, he was saved from drowning by the then 19-year-old Giovanni Auditore, an event which started a long-lasting friendship between the two families.

In 1469, when he was only twenty, Lorenzo became the head of the Medici family, at which point he quickly gained control of the Florentine government through friends in the city council, payoffs, strategic marriages and threats. While the populace was left with very little legitimate power, Florence flourished under Lorenzo's rule.

Working with Giovanni

Uberto, Lorenzo, and Giovanni in the Palazzo Medici

While Lorenzo ruled over Florence, several parties conspired against him and the Medici family, in an effort to overthrow him and gain more power themselves. In response, Lorenzo assigned Giovanni Auditore, a close ally and an Assassin, to investigate.

In late 1476, Giovanni captured one of Rodrigo Borgia's men, and handed him over to Lorenzo and his guards for interrogation. After being tortured, the man revealed an assassination plot against Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the Duke of Milan and a powerful ally of Lorenzo's. Lorenzo then sent Giovanni to Milan in order to prevent the assassination.

Though he arrived too late to save the Duke, Giovanni managed to retrieve a pouch of coins stamped with the winged lion of Venice from one of Sforza's murderers. Upon traveling to the city to investigate further, he intercepted a courier and acquired an encrypted letter which he later presented to Lorenzo. Lorenzo subsequently gave the letter to Uberto Alberti, the Gonfaloniere of Florence, in order to decode it, unaware that the latter had betrayed him and Giovanni and was secretly working with Rodrigo Borgia and the Templars.

That night, Lorenzo called another meeting with Giovanni and Uberto, where the latter falsely claimed that Father Antonio Maffei had been unable to decrypt the letter. He then suggested that the only way to learn the identity of its intended recipient was for Giovanni to deliver the letter himself. Giovanni agreed, and headed for Rome with a copy of the letter in-hand.

Lorenzo arguing with Uberto on the way to Santa Croce

In Rome, Giovanni learned of a larger conspiracy masterminded by Rodrigo Borgia and his Templar allies, though he was unable to inform Lorenzo of it, as the latter had left for the Villa Careggi by the time of Giovanni's return to Florence. On 28 December 1476, the Templars took advantage of Lorenzo's absence to make their first move on Florence, and had Uberto apprehend Giovanni and two of his sons, Federico and Petruccio, before executing them the following day on false charges of treason.

On 31 December, Lorenzo accompanied Uberto to the Basilica of Santa Croce for the unveiling of Andrea del Verrocchio's latest work. Along the way, Lorenzo conversed with Uberto about the Auditore execution, telling the Gonfaloniere that he had overstepped his bounds, only to be insulted by him in response. Shortly after Lorenzo left the exposition, Uberto was killed by Giovanni's only surviving son, Ezio, as revenge for betraying his family.

Pazzi conspiracy

"Francesco de Pazzi! I'll kill him! I'll wipe his entire family from the city! They'll be ERASED!"

―Lorenzo de' Medici, after the Pazzi Conspiracy was instigated, 1478.

Stefano da Bagnone stabbing Lorenzo

On 26 April 1478, the Templars attempted to assassinate Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano in order to take over the government of Florence. While the Medici brothers attended High Mass at the Santa Maria del Fiore, Francesco de' Pazzi attacked Giluiano, stabbing him nineteen times and killing him. Lorenzo was wounded by two of the other Templar conspirators, Stefano da Bagnone and Antonio Maffei, but rapidly drew his sword in a defensive attempt to stop them.

He was quickly joined by Ezio Auditore, and the two men fought off Francesco and the Pazzi guards. After emerging victorious from the battle, they proceeded onward to the Palazzo Medici to seek sanctuary. After Lorenzo's servant Poliziano opened the gate, Lorenzo was safely tended to inside his palazzo, and Ezio continued onward to assassinate Francesco de' Pazzi at Lorenzo's request.

Soon after, Ezio met with Lorenzo on the Ponte Vecchio. There, Lorenzo told him how he had been saved from drowning by Ezio's father, and apologized for having been unable to prevent his family's execution. He also gave Ezio the names of the remaining Pazzi conspirators who had managed to flee Florence, and a codex page, which he had recovered from Francesco's archives.

Lorenzo meeting with Ezio after he defended his home from the invaders

In 1479, Lorenzo's palazzo was overrun by Pazzi hitmen, though Lorenzo himself managed to retreat to safety in one of his treasure rooms. As luck would have it, Ezio had been nearby at the time and noticed the bodies of Lorenzo's servants in the courtyard. He subsequently battled his way through the palazzo, eventually finding Lorenzo, who gave Ezio permission to take whatever he wanted from the treasure room as a reward.

Working with Ezio

In 1480, Ezio successfully found and assassinated Jacopo de' Pazzi, therefore eliminating the last of the major Pazzi conspirators. He met with Lorenzo in the Palazzo Medici's external courtyard, and Lorenzo thanked him once again before rewarding him with the Medici cape.

Over the following years, Ezio continued to work as Lorenzo's personal Assassin by performing assassination contracts on his behalf – which mainly involved weeding out the few remaining Pazzi conspirators. In his later years, Lorenzo faced increasing backlash against his rich lifestyle. He died in 1492, nearly broke and unable to prevent Girolamo Savonarola's rise to power in Florence.

Behind the scenes

Lorenzo de' Medici is a historical character introduced in the 2009 film Assassin's Creed: Lineage, where he was portrayed by Alex Ivanovici. He later appeared in the 2009 video game Assassin's Creed II, where Ivanovici reprised his role.

Trivia

• After awarding Ezio with the Medici cape, Lorenzo could be seen walking the streets of Florence, and could be killed. This had no impact on the story however.
• Historically, as Rodrigo Borgia and Lorenzo sent their sons to the same university around the same time, and considering that Cesare Borgia and Giovanni de' Medici were friends during their schooldays, it is unlikely that they became enemies in reality.
• When the Templars attacked the Medici at the Duomo, Lorenzo seemed to defend himself pretty well against Francesco de' Pazzi before collapsing due to his wounds. Historically, Lorenzo was never involved in any physical altercation or battle, though he did fend off Francesco with a sword after Giuliano was murdered.
• In the non-canonical mobile adaptation of Assassin's Creed II, Lorenzo is captured in 1486 by the henchmen of Francesco de' Pazzi during a ball in Florence. He is rescued by Ezio and provides him with Francesco's location so that the Assassin may kill him.
• Historically, Lorenzo was a patron of Savonarola's before his death. Savonarola is even said to have been present at his deathbed and, according to some, to have damned Lorenzo as he died.

Gallery

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  Original concept art of Lorenzo de' Medici
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  Assassin's Creed: Memories art of Lorenzo
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  Memories art of Lorenzo with a codex page
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  Lorenzo's Database picture
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  Lorenzo and his wife Clarice Orsini at the Duomo
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  Lorenzo fighting Francesco de' Pazzi
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  An injured Lorenzo telling Ezio to kill Francesco
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  Lorenzo and Ezio conversing on the Ponte Vecchio
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  Lorenzo rewarding Ezio with the Medici Cape
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  Lorenzo as he appears in Rebellion
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  Lorenzo's avatar in Rebellion's character menu

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Lineage (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed II
• Assassin's Creed: Renaissance
• Assassin's Creed: Memories
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)