April Blood

Students of Renaissance Italy will find much to savour in Lauro Martines's scholarly yet hugely accessible work about this most exhilarating period of history. Painstakingly researched, and brimming with detail, his book is immensely enjoyable and will prove compulsive reading for both the dedicated historian and the amateur enthusiast. Although Martines's ostensible purpose is to examine the Pazzi conspiracy of 1478, his canvas is far wider, encompassing the turbulent years leading up to the assassination attempt and the profound effect it had on the city states, particularly Florence. This is a book seething with political intrigue and rivalry, greed, treachery and often almost unbearable cruelty. Florence in the 15th century is inseparable from the name of Medici. Cosimo de'Medici dominated the government of Florence from 1434; financially powerful and a great patron of the arts, he established a family line which went from strength to strength, culminating in the meteoric rise of his grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent, target of the Pazzi assassins. Displaying a thriller writer's flair for tension, Martines inexorably sets the scene for the conspiracy. In the early chapters he gradually builds up a picture of a world where personal and political advancement was all, but staying at the top could never be taken for granted. Future wives were regarded as political pawns, social climbing was essential to political advancement and no one was to be trusted. The Medici's ruthless determination to control Florence inflamed many of the other leading families, but it was their greatest financial and political rivals, the Pazzi, supported by the papacy, who finally decided enough was enough. Incensed by Lorenzo's repeated attempts to block their rise to positions of power, the Pazzi realized their only chance of success in bringing down the Medici clan involved getting the Pope on side. In 1473, the Pazzi Bank loaned Pope Sextus IV a huge sum of money, enraging Lorenzo who regarded any financial dealings with the papacy as Medici business. This seemingly insignificant loan was the turning point - the stage was set for the bloody denouement of April 26 1478. Martines is the author of several books about Renaissance Italy, and those who have not read his earlier works will be inspired by this one to delve more deeply into this colourful period of Italian history. He includes riveting chapters on capital punishment and the significance of cannibalism, as well as entertaining biographies of many of the players in this fascinating drama. Despite the complexity of the subject matter and the sometimes bewildering array of characters, this is a work of great scholarship that will be universally appreciated and enjoyed. (Kirkus UK)