Killing of Nobles in Florence?

March 17, 2025 4:01 AM

Reading a link from the post about the Vasari corridor, there was a single sentence that said "After many civil wars & watching neighbors fall to conquerors, the Florentine Republic decided to secure its liberties by *massacring all the nobles and putting their heads on pikes!*." Where do I get details about this?

When did this happen? What was the name? Trying to google it leads me to stuff about either the Medici seizing back control of Florence or the Pazzi conspiracy to kill the Medicis, which are both later. How did Florence empty itself of nobles? How was this not immediately put down by the surrounding cities and nobility? Why have I never heard of this?

Is this an exaggeration and I'm getting my hopes up for some juicy late medieval gossip?

posted by Hactar to Society & Culture (2 answers total)

Best answer: My assumption was this related to the stuff post Guelf/Ghibelline war that lead to the Ordinances of Justice and the banning of nobles. There may have been some head on pikes going on, but I thought this was generally not that violent, so either I'm wrong (in terms of what it's referring to or the level of violence) or it's a bit overhyped...
posted by Hartster at 4:57 AM on March 17

Best answer: The quote appears to come from a post about Clarice Orsini's hat (and the associated sumptuary laws). It's in the context of Lorenzo di Medici's family, particularly Lucrezia Tornabuoni, so yup, I'd assume it would have to be referring to Giano della Bella and the revolt that lead to the c. 1293 Ordinances of Justice.
posted by zamboni at 9:44 AM on March 17