A blood-member of the
Salviati family (to whom
Pope Sixtus IV had re-awarded the papal banking contract after taking it away from the Medici), he was also related by marriage to the
Pazzi, Medici, Vettori, and other powerful families. Orphaned at a young age, Salviati was educated as a
humanist but vied to succeed in the church, knowing he could not rise to power in the family after losing his father. Pro-Medici sources paint Salviati as a flatterer and gambler who lusted for the power that could be attained through church favour. In 1464, Salviati moved to
Rome to attach himself to
Francesco della Rovere – who later became Pope Sixtus IV – and his nephews,
Girolamo and
Pietro Riario. This paid off in his appointment as archbishop. The
Medici family, who ruled the
Republic of Florence at the time, opposed his appointment as archbishop, and so Salviati met with several other individuals dissatisfied with the Medici's rule to plan the assassination of
Lorenzo and
Giuliano de ' Medici, co-rulers of
Florence, in what later became known as the
Pazzi conspiracy. In spring 1478, Salviati sent his nephew
Raffaele Riario to lure Lorenzo and Giuliano into a trap by inviting them to
mass at the
Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral, where the attack would take place. When the bell that was rung during the elevation rang, Salviati was to go to the
Palazzo Vecchio, kill the
Gonfaloniere Petrucci and take possession of the
Palazzo della Signoria, whilst the main killing occurred in the cathedral. However, upon arriving at the Palazzo Vecchio, Salviati was arrested by Petrucci and within an hour had been hanged by a
lynch mob from the window of the
Sala dei Duecento. In the end, the Pazzi plot failed due to Lorenzo surviving the assassination attempt, and most of the conspirators were promptly hunted down and executed. Salviati's death at the hands of the Florentines was a key factor of the
interdict placed upon Florence and the ensuing two years of war with the Papacy. ==In popular culture==