obviously coming to mind thanks to Ezio, one thing i've been considering exploring for my ASB ATL is what would/could happen to Renaissance Italy if the Pazzi succeeded in destroying the Medici. for quick reference and for those who don't know, here's a quick run-down of the events of the conspiracy IOTL:
- the ultimate goal of the Pazzi was to replace the Medici as rulers of Florence, and were aided by the Salviati and Florentine Papal bankers, and Pope Sixtus IV was a personal enemy of the Medici
- the conspiracy entailed the assassination of both Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici, though Sixtus IV purportedly only supported the plot if no one were to be killed; IOTL, only Giuliano was killed
- the conspiracy started on April 26, 1478, during High Mass in the Duomo, and in front of ten thousand people, no less; as stated, Giuliano was killed here, and Lorenzo was seriously injured but managed to escape
- after the attempted assassination, there was a coordinated attempt to capture the Gonfaloniere and Signoria, but these failed when the Salviati were trapped in a locked room. soon after, the conspirators were attacked and killed by enraged Florentines; specifically, Jacopo de' Pazzi was thrown out a window, dragged through the streets, and thrown into the Arno River, and Salviati was hanged from the Palazzo Vecchio; the rest of the major conspirators were later hunted down throughout Italy
- at least 600 troops commanded by Federico da Montefeltro were committed to the conspiracy, expected to enter Florence at the right moment
- after the conspiracy ended IOTL, Florence was forbidden from holding mass or communion by the Pope because the Salviati archbishop had been killed in the aftermath, and King Ferdinand I of Naples was enlisted by Sixtus IV to attack Florence; Lorenzo more or less resolved this by placing himself in the custody of Don Ferrante
- the conspiracy IOTL resulted in the Medici supporters that greater concentrations of political power were desirable, and Lorenzo gained more power in foreign affairs in general