Sorry I've been away so long, I was off on vacation (again
).
For my long-past 7th round pick, team Five-hole selects, in the category of Wildcard,
Lorenzo de' Medici (also known as
Lorenzo the Magnificent).
Lorenzo was born into the ultra-rich Medici family and used his wealth and influence to propel Florence into its golden age. He was a patron of many important Italian Renaissance artists such as Botticelli, da Vinci, and Michelangelo. He was also a poet and writer himself.
He was also something of a Gangster Pioneer. I like this passage in particular: "Lorenzo, like his father and grandfather, ruled Florence indirectly, through surrogates in the city councils, through threats, payoffs, [and] strategic marriages." He was the "de facto" ruler of Florence.
He was also the victim of a conspiracy involving the local Archbishop and the Pope in which he was stabbed but escaped and survived. "The conspiracy was brutally put down, with measures including the lynching of the archbishop and the death of the entire Pazzi family." True Italian style. This erupted into being excommunicated, Medici assets being seized by Papal authority, and Florence being put under
interdict. Serious business. Eventually, Lorenzo resorted to diplomacy and everything was right with the world.
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