Bianca was a daughter of
Piero di Cosimo de' Medici and
Lucrezia Tornabuoni. In 1459, she married
Guglielmo de' Pazzi, who was a childhood friend of her brother,
Lorenzo de' Medici. This alliance was intended to help resolve the animosity between the families, but it was not successful in that regard as
Machiavelli noted in his
Florentine Histories. Their first child, Antonio, was born in 1460. The marriage agreement included a significant reduction in taxes imposed on the Pazzi family. In the aftermath of the
Pazzi conspiracy of 1478, Bianca's marriage significantly softened Lorenzo's wrath towards Guglielmo, who was only put under house arrest for a time, while his male relatives were exiled or executed; his daughters were exempted from the marriage ban imposed on other Pazzi daughters. In 1460, Bianca was asked to play the organ for Pope Pius II and his entourage during a visit to Florence, as the pope was coming back from the
Council of Mantua. Teodoro Montefeltro, the
Apostolic protonotary travelling with the pope, praised the performance in a letter to
Barbara of Brandenburg, Marquise of Mantua. During the same papal visit, she performed a second concert for the future pope
Rodrigo Borgia at his request. Bianca often performed for local and visiting dignitaries, contributing to her families' reputation and influence. In 1475, Bianca asked her mother to purchase farmland from other relatives for her, as Lucrezia had more influence within the family. Though Bianca owned the property, it was managed by staff employed by her mother. == Issue ==