Francesco's Demise

The always impressive Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza Del Signore in Florence.

The Palazzo Vecchio was already an old building by the time Cosimo I of the Medici pimped it out into a gaudy palace and made it the Medici's central seat of power, which it continued to be until the Medici eventually moved to the Palazzo Pitti across the river. Inside it's as lavishly decorated as any Monarchical Palace in a European Nation that actually had Monarchs back then. (like Versailles, which I have not been to)

So why the title? Because the villainous Francesco De Pazzi, head of the Pazzi Conspiracy, was hung from the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio for all to see. This was a clear message to the populace saying "Don't fuck with the Medici."

Francesco had conspired to assassinate the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de Medici, and his brother Giuliano, while they were at Mass in Il Duomo. They succeeded in killing Giuliano but Lorenzo survived by hiding in a cupboard like a wuss.

Afterwards, the Pazzi conspirators were all rounded up and executed, with the leader, Francesco, being hung from the neck from the Palazzo's tower. Contrary to popular belief he was NOT stabbed by a certain Ezio de Auditore before he was hung.

Aside from Assassin's Creed II, the Palazzo also formed a major plot location in Thomas Harris's "Hannibal." A terrible sequel to a great book that would later be made into a terrible sequel to a great movie. It's where Hannibal Lecter hung the crooked Italian cop from, who in a sad twist of irony, was descended from old Francesco.