Magnifico by Miles J. Unger

Author:Miles J. Unger [Unger, Miles J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2008-07-27T20:00:00+00:00

Despite signs of impending trouble, Lorenzo did not seem entirely displeased with the new state of affairs. From the rubble of the old triple alliance had emerged a new confederation, as formidable (at least on paper) as the one it had replaced. With the military might of Milan and the economic might of Venice solidly behind the Florentine Republic, Lorenzo felt confident he could weather the storm of papal disapproval. Even Sixtus’s sanctions against the Roman branch of the Medici bank did not dampen his spirits. He still had plenty of pocket money and intended to use it as he always did, to burnish his own and his family’s image. To this end Lorenzo arranged a splendid joust in which Giuliano was to play the starring role, just as he himself had done six years earlier. Officially the joust was held to celebrate the recently concluded treaty with Venice and Milan, but it was simultaneously a coming-out party for Giuliano, recalling Lorenzo’s own debut on the public stage made under similar circumstances.* Like that earlier event, this one would be staged in the Piazza Santa Croce, whose squat, workaday buildings would be transformed into faerie castles by banners, pennants, and rich brocades such as only the workshops of Florence could supply. The greatest artists, artisans, goldsmiths, armorers, poets, and musicians of the age were once again assembled to display the magnificence and sing the praises of the Medici family.

Lorenzo spared no expense to ensure that this festival was even more magnificent than his had been.† Giuliano himself was deeply involved with the preparations, conferring with artists on the details of his outfit and scouring the country for the finest mounts. The one sour note came when Giuliano wrote to the duke of Urbino asking him to loan him a particularly fine jousting horse. The answer he received was brusque to the point of rudeness. “I sent it to Renato de’ Pazzi,” replied Lorenzo’s godfather, “who requested it from me.”

The twenty-one-year-old Giuliano could shrug off this snub in the general excitement of the moment. The prince of Florentine youth was in his element, orchestrating the elaborate program and relishing the chance to show off his athletic prowess. If Lorenzo tended to have mixed feelings about such pomp and empty display, Giuliano not only knew the value of projecting a splendid image but could show off with unself-conscious enthusiasm.

As the populace streamed into the stands around the square on the morning of January 29, 1475, it appeared to many that the city had never been more prosperous nor the Medici family more firmly in control. Even those who resented the Medici and their high-handed ways could not deny that they knew how to put on a show. Statecraft in Florence was as much about spectacle as policy and Lorenzo was a master impresario. Giuliano rode into the square resplendent in armor designed by the famous Milanese armorer Antonio Missaglia, holding aloft a banner painted by Botticelli, and a shield with an image of the head of Medusa picked out in pearls.

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