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The key plot of the series is Lorenzo beginning to try to unite some of the main city-states of Italy, in particular Milan and eventually Venice, together to form a stronger alliance for these cities and help their businesses, including the Medici bank that is struggling as it is and overextended. In addition, the Medici lost their Papal papal account and their bank is threatened with insolvency as the Pazzi conspire with the Pope (Pope Paul II and later Pope Sixtus IV) to stop the Medici. The Medici try to forge an alliance with Francesco Pazzi, as they see a split within the Pazzi family. This initially works but then begins to failas Francesco begins to question the motives of Lorenzo. The alliance with Milan is also broken up with the murder of Duke Sforza of Milan, which was a conspiracy launched by the Pazzi. The Pope is also used to threaten families from forming alliances with the Medici. However, there is a desire to smooth tensions and the Pope gets involved by expressing his desire wish for peace. Without seemingly knowing or at least not knowing in detail, Pope Sixtus has Cardinal Riario send a delegation to Florence to try to sooth relations with the Medici and resolve the conflict with the Pazzi. Cardinal Riaro is a Pazzi alley and works with them to conspire against the Medici. This deligation delegation is sent , although Lorenzo's wife begins to suspect something when she visits Carlo, Cosimo's illegitimate son who eventually became a prelate in Rome, with armed guards who are actually sent to conspire against the Medici and take over the Signoria. The Pazzi form alliances with some of the powerful families of Florence so they can also take power after killing the Medici while turning families against the Medici. The choice of Easter Sunday was chosen to launch the conspiracy because the Medici will would certainly be in the Duomo attending services. The Pazzi appear to show peace and reconciliation with the Medici but in reality attack the Medici in the Duomo during EasterMass. Giuliano is killed from behind by Francesco and his collaborators. However, they fail to kill Lorenzo, who is wounded but holed up in a small room in the Duomo with his wife and mother. Eventually, the people of Florence rally around the Medici and the conspirators are rounded up in the Signoria, where they tried to complete their conspiracy by taking authority over the city. Lorenzo also escapes the Duomo. The conspiracy now fails and the conspirators are captured and hung from the Signoria. Leonardo da Vinci, who was young and in Florence at the time, drew the hanging of one of the conspirators, who was Bernardo Baroncelli from a prominent merchant family in Florence that conspired with the Pazzi(Figure 2).<ref>For more on the key events leading up to the main Easter conspiracy, see: (Martines, 2004).</ref>