Guglielmo di Antonio de' Pazzi, Lord of Civitella (

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence (; Old Italian: ), known officially as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flor ...

, 6 August 1437 - 6 July 1516) was an Italian nobleman, banker and politician from the Republic of Florence. He was also husband of

Bianca de' Medici Bianca Maria di Piero de' Medici (10 September 1445– 20 July 1505) was a member of the de' Medici family, ''de facto'' rulers of Republic of Florence, Florence in the late 15th century. She was the daughter of Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, ''de ...

, sister of the Lord of Florence

Lorenzo the Magnificent Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the '' de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lo ...

Biography

Guglielmo was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

on 6 August 1437. He was one of nine children (three sons and six daughters) of Antonio di Andrea de' Pazzi and his wife Nicolosa degli Alessandri. In August 1459 he married

(1445 - 1505), a member of the most powerful and wealthy family in the city and daughter of the Lord of Florence Piero de' Medici and sister of

. Thanks to the marriage, Guglielmo obtained many important offices. He was ''Priore'' of Liberty (1467), ''VIII of Balia and Guardia'' (1469), Officer of Monte (1471) and Mint Consul (1475). In 1478 relations between the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

and Pazzi had deteriorated for political, economic and personal reasons.

Jacopo Jacopo (also Iacopo) is a masculine Italian given name, derivant from Latin ''Iacōbus''. It is an Italian variant of Giacomo (James in English). * Jacopo Aconcio (), Italian religious reformer * Jacopo Bassano (1592), Italian painter * Iacopo Bar ...

and

Francesco de' Pazzi Francesco de' Pazzi (28 January 1444 – 26 April 1478) was a Florence, Florentine banker, a member of the Pazzi, Pazzi noble family, and one of the instigators of the Pazzi conspiracy, a plot to displace the House of Medici, Medici family as rul ...

(Guglielmo's uncle and brother) organized the

Pazzi Conspiracy The Pazzi conspiracy () was a failed plot by members of the Pazzi family and others to displace the Medici family as rulers of Renaissance Florence. On 26 April 1478 there was an attempt to assassinate Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother ...

to kill Lorenzo and his brother

Giuliano de' Medici Giuliano de' Medici (28 October 1453 – 26 April 1478) was the second son of Piero de' Medici (the Gouty) and Lucrezia Tornabuoni. As co-ruler of the Florentine Republic, with his brother Lorenzo the Magnificent, he complemented his broth ...

. Giuliano died but Lorenzo survived. With the support of the city, Lorenzo retaliated by killing or exiling all male members of the

Pazzi family The Pazzi were a powerful family in the Republic of Florence. Their main trade during the fifteenth century was banking. In the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, members of the family were banished from Florence and their property w ...

, and forbidding any Pazzi women who chose to stay in Florence from marrying. Finally he condemned the Pazzi to

damnatio memoriae () is a modern Latin phrase meaning "condemnation of memory" or "damnation of memory", indicating that a person is to be excluded from official accounts. Depending on the extent, it can be a case of historical negationism. There are and have b ...

. Guglielmo did not take part in the conspiracy, but was himself exiled and banned from politics for 15 years. His wife and children went with him. However, his daughters were exempt from the ban on marrying. His wife Bianca died in 1505. In 1495 he held political offices in

Tortona Tortona (; , ; ) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Spinetta Marengo, Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. Its ''frazione'' of ...

and was ambassador to

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13. His elder sister Anne acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Du ...

. In 1497 and 1498 he held offices in Mugello and

Scarperia Scarperia is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Scarperia e San Piero, located in the Metropolitan City of Florence, in Tuscany, Italy, about north of Florence. It was an independent comune until 1 January 2014. Main sights * Ch ...

. In 1501 he fought for Florence against

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

and in 1502 he was Commissioner in

Val di Chiana The Val di Chiana, Valdichiana, or Chiana Valley, formerly Clanis Valley, is a tectonic valley of central Italy, whose valley floor consists of important alluvial residues filled up since the 11th century, lying on the territories of the provinc ...

and

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

. In 1513 he became ''

Gonfaloniere The Gonfalonier (Italian: ''Gonfaloniere'') was the holder of a highly prestigious communal office in medieval and Renaissance Italy, notably in Florence and the Papal States. The name derives from '' gonfalone'' (English: "gonfalon"), the term ...

'', the highest Florentine office. Later he bought the fiefdom of Civitella in Romagna and became Lord of Civitella. He died on 6 July 1516.

Issue

Bianca and Guglielmo had sixteen children, nine sons and seven daughters:{{Cite book , last=Litta , first=Pompeo (1781-1851) Auteur du texte , url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8452340m , title=Famiglie celebri di Italia. Pazzi di Firenze / P. Litta , pages=IX , language=EN * Antonio de' Pazzi (1460), died as an infant; * Giovanna de' Pazzi, married Tommaso Monaldi in 1481; * Antonio de' Pazzi (1462-1528), ambassador and politician, '' Gonfaloniere di Giustizia'' in 1521, second Lord of Civitella; * Contessina de' Pazzi, married Giuliano Salviati in 1486; * Alessandra de' Pazzi (1465), married Bartolomeo Buondelmonti in 1486; * Cosimo de' Pazzi (1466-1513), archbishop of Florence from 1508 until his death; * Piero de' Pazzi (1468), died as an infant; * Lorenzo Alessandro de' Pazzi, (1470-1535) merchant, patron of the arts and latinist; * Cosa de' Pazzi, married Francesco di Luca Capponi; * Renato de' Pazzi, goldsmith merchant * Lorenzo de' Pazzi, politician and ambassador; * Luigia de' Pazzi, married Folco di Edoardo Portinari in 1494; * Maddalena de' Pazzi, married Ormanozzo Deti in 1497; * Alessandro de' Pazzi (1483-1530) ambassador, literate and greekist; * Lucrezia de' Pazzi, married Cattani di Diacceto, and then a member of Martelli family in 1500; * Giuliano de' Pazzi (1486-1517), doctor of law, abbot and canon of the Metropolitan of Florence.

References

1437 births 1516 deaths Italian bankers Pazzi family 15th-century Italian businesspeople 15th-century people from the Republic of Florence Italian politicians Nobility from the Republic of Florence