House of Pazzi

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"The Pazzi were a venerable and potent family, reduced to rubble by one assassin."

―Rodrigo Borgia, reflecting on the collapse of the Pazzi family

The Pazzi family were Tuscan nobles who were bankers in Florence during the 15th century. They are most famous for the "Pazzi Conspiracy". They are also part of the Knights Templar in Assassin's Creed II.

Conspiracy

The Pazzi family were established in Florence as one of the most powerful families of the city. It held its own guards posted all around the city, but they couldn't rule it, as long as the de facto governors of Florence held it: the Medici family. Rodrigo Borgia, the Grand Master of the Templar Order proposed them to overthrow the Medici by killing its head: Lorenzo de' Medici.

In 1476, Giovanni Auditore a close friend of Lorenzo and a member of the Assassins, sworn enemies of the Templars discovered the involvement of the Pazzi family in a conspiracy against the Medici. He managed to put Francesco de' Pazzi in jail. But the plot already reached members of the Medici government itself: Uberto Alberti, the gonfaloniere of justice freed Francesco while he executed Giovanni and most of his sons for treason, wiping out the rival family of the Pazzi from Florence.

With Giovanni dead, there were no more obstacles in the way of the Pazzi, until one Ezio, a son of Giovanni decided to fulfil his vengeance against the ones responsible for his father's murder. Joining with his uncle Mario, Ezio infiltrated San Gimignano, witnessed a meeting between the Pazzi family and Rodrigo Borgia, and killed his rival, Vieri de Pazzi.

In 1478, Ezio returned to Florence. At the same moment, the Pazzi were having a meeting with the other Templars (excluding the Venetian and Forli branch) in the catacombs under the church of Santa Maria Novella. Ezio attended it unnoticed, thanks to the help of La Volpe and an Assassin Tomb. They were planning the assassination of Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano. Among the conspirators were: Stefano da Bagnone, Bernardo Baroncelli, Francesco Salviati, Antonio Maffei and of course the two members of the Pazzi family, Jacopo and Francesco and the Templar Master Rodrigo Borgia, while they were given "spiritual" and military supports from His Holiness Pope Sixtus IV.

On the next day, they executed their plan. In front of the Florence Cathedral, they publicly attacked the Medici brothers. Francesco and Bernado brutally stabbed Giuliano to death while Stefano and Antonio severely wounded Lorenzo, but fled when he drew his sword. Francesco confronted Lorenzo and attacked him with a group of men, but Ezio intervened and slew all the offenders except the primary conspirators. Lorenzo was forced to withdraw to his palazzo while Pazzi forces engaged Medici loyalists in earnest.

Francesco gained control of the palazzo Della Signoria, but Medici forces continued to resist. Meanwhile, Ezio had snuck/fought his way to the roof of the palazzo and confronted Francesco. Francesco fled immediately, but was pursued, hunted down, and killed by Ezio.

When Jacopo arrived at the Palazzo with the support of many citizens, it was far too late: Francesco's dead body had been hung from the rooftop of the building. With the failure of their plot, the Pazzi left Florence to hide in the Tuscan countryside and the city of San Gimignano. Despite this, Ezio (again with Mario`s help) hunted down and slew all of the co-conspirators. Jacopo went to plead his case with Borgia, but was instead fatally wounded and used as bait for a trap. Ezio fought his way out of the trap and ended Jacopo`s life, and the Pazzi family with it. With its ruling family gone, San Gimignano and presumably what was left of the faction was assimilated by the Medici.

Trivia

• The Pazzi's personal guards are the only guards to patrol Florence, until Sequence 4. This is odd, since the Medici guards do not appear in Florence from 1476 (the beginning of the game), until 1478 (the end of Sequence 4) even though the Medici were in power.
• Francesco de'Pazzi is the only non-Assassin to have performed the leap of faith in Assassins Creed 2.
• There is also another un-named member of the Pazzi Family, Francesco de Pazzi's cousin who you have to assassinate for one of the assassination contract missions, it is unknown whether this family member was involved in the Pazzi Conspiracy.