Arms of the House of Pazzi, Patricians of Florence

    Azure semy de crosses-crosslet fitchy or two dolphins
 addorsed or finned gules slightly larger further apart

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Shield Shape

heater

Visual Appearance

none

Palette For Heraldic Tinctures

wappenwiki

Aspect Ratio

0.5

Notes

Azure, semy de crosses-crosslet fitchy or, two dolphins addorsed or finned gules. The Pazzi were an ancient patrician family of the Republic of Florence, and one of the most dangerous opponents of the House of Medici. In 1477, Francesco de' Pazzi plotted to assassinate Lorenzo and Giovanni de' Medici during Mass at the Duomo. Their goal (with the tacit support of Pope Sixtus IV, whose nephew was among the plotters) was to oust the Medici as rulers of the Republic in what would later be known as the Pazzi Conspiracy. Giovanni de' Medici was killed, but his brother Lorenzo escaped with wounds. The conspirators attempted to seize the Palazzo della Signoria, but were repulsed and defeated. Francesco de' Pazzi was captured and hanged from the windows of the Palazzo della Signoria; his uncle, Jacopo, head of the family, fled the city but was captured and later met the same fate after prolonged torture. After being buried at Santa Croce, Jacopo's body was dug up, thrown in a ditch, dragged through the streets, and propped up at the door of the Palazzo Pazzi, where his head was mockingly used as a door knocker. After that, his body was thrown into the Arno, where it was retrieved by children, hung from a willow tree, flogged, and thrown back into the river. Although the Pazzi family was not completely extinguished, they were banished from Florence and lost all their property; their name and coat of arms were permanently suppressed by order of the Signoria of Florence. After Piero de' Medici was overthrown in 1494, the surviving family members were able to return to Florence after twenty years' banishment, but their power and wealth never recovered.

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