The Pazzi Conspiracy: A Walking Tour of Murder in Medici Florence

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The Pazzi Conspiracy: A Walking Tour of Murder in Medici Florence

(3 reviews)
Florence audio tour: The Pazzi Conspiracy: A Walking Tour of Murder in Medici Florence
This is a 1.1mi walking tour.
It takes an average of 75 mins to complete.
Florence
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$11.99
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About the Tour

Florence's Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore witnessed Sunday Mass turn into a political assassination in 1478. On this walking tour, you'll find out how a plot to kill two Medici brothers became a fight for control of the city. You'll also hear how murder, betrayal, and family loyalty shaped Florence for generations after.

The tour starts in Piazza del Duomo, facing the cathedral where Giuliano de' Medici was stabbed to death and Lorenzo narrowly escaped. From there, you'll follow the conspiracy's trail past Palazzo Medici Riccardi, once home to Donatello's bronze David, and Palazzo Pazzi, house of the rival banking family behind the plot. You'll also pass a bricked-up window linked to a later assassination attempt against Duke Cosimo I.

Along the way, you'll hear how Alessandro de' Medici was murdered by his own cousin in 1537, and how an assassin's confession, rediscovered centuries later in Florence's archives, revealed the conspirators' plans. You'll stand in Piazza della Signoria, where the plot's second front collapsed outside Palazzo Vecchio, and learn how Lorenzo's survival ultimately strengthened Medici rule. The tour ends at Piazza Santa Croce, facing the basilica where the defeated Pazzi family's name still lingers in Florentine memory.

On this 75-minute tour, you'll have a chance to:

  • See the Baptistery of San Giovanni, its octagonal form a fixture of Florentine religious life for centuries
  • Visit Piazza San Lorenzo, where the Medici family's funerary memory brought both brothers back together
  • Learn why Pope Sixtus IV and the Kingdom of Naples had a stake in Florence's internal power struggle
  • Stand before the Badia Fiorentina, where a fleeing conspirator's capture ended his role in the plot
  • Admire the Bargello's medieval tower, once the seat of Florence's chief magistrate and later its prison
  • Discover the Scoppio del Carro tradition, still marked by the Pazzi coat of arms on its cart

By the time you reach Santa Croce, you'll understand exactly how a failed murder plot ended up cementing the very power it tried to destroy.

AI generated voiceover
Categories
Religious Sites Architecture Crime And Mystery Politics

Tour Producer

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GeoBeat Audio Tour

23 tours

GeoBeat creates self-guided cultural audio tours across Italy for travellers who don’t just want to visit places, but who want to understand what they’re looking at.

Since 2018, its founder has brought this passion to guided cultural visits across Italian cities, developing an approach based on slow observation, historical research, and the ability to reveal what most visitors pass by. Today, that experience shapes audio journeys that turn cities, monuments, churches, ruins, and quieter corners into stories you can walk through.

Each tour is built through historical research, on-site exploration, and the perspective of a cultural heritage professional, revealing what often remains invisible during an ordinary walk through a city.

Our audio walks are designed for curious travellers who want more than sightseeing, but don’t want to join a group tour or spend hours searching online. Clear directions guide you from place to place, while the narration helps you understand what you see step by step.

Instead of scattered fragments of information, each tour gives you a coherent cultural experience you can follow at your own pace.

Behind every tour is a simple belief: places are never just places. They are layers of human stories, and the more carefully we listen, the more they begin to speak.

You won’t just collect places. You’ll learn how to read them.

Become a GeoBeat traveller.

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Preview Location

Location 4

Approximate Site of Alessandro de' Medici's Murder (1537)

Stop beside the junction of Via de’ Ginori and Via de’ Gori, leaving the pavement clear.

Remain here while I tell you about a murder within the Medici family.

::

We now leave the Pazzi conspiracy of 1478 and jump forward almost sixty years, to 1537. Florence has a duk...
View locations and route

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Major Landmarks

  • Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

  • Cappelle Medicee

  • Medici Riccardi Palace

  • Palazzo Pazzi (INPS)

  • Badia Fiorentina - Monastero

  • Museo Nazionale del Bargello

  • Palazzo Vecchio

  • Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence

  • Basilica di San Lorenzo

  • Pazzi Chapel

  • Piazza della Signoria

  • Piazza di Santa Croce

  • Piazza del Duomo

  • Baptistery of St. John

  • Giotto's Bell Tower

  • Palazzo Pucci, Florence

  • Loggia dei Lanzi

  • Fountain of Neptune

  • Brunelleschi's dome

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.
  1. Start location
    Piazza del Duomo, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
  2. Total distance
    2km
  3. Final location
    Largo Piero Bargellini, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
  4. Distance back to start location
    707.44m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins in the centre of Piazza San Giovanni, Florence, on the western side of the octagonal Baptistery of San Giovanni: the side away from the cathedral. Use the starting-point pin in the VoiceMap app to reach the correct spot, rather than joining the cathedral entrance queue. Stop in the open square, clear of doorways and the main pedestrian flow, with the Baptistery close by and the cathedral dome in view. Download the tour before you arrive and bring headphones. You do not need to enter the Baptistery or cathedral to begin.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

You can pause for a break in Piazza San Lorenzo, Piazza della Signoria or Piazza Santa Croce, keeping access routes clear. For a longer visit, consider the Medici Chapels, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the Bargello, Palazzo Vecchio or the Santa Croce complex. Interior visits are optional and are not part of the walking tour; check each venue's current opening times, tickets and accessibility separately. The final story is told from outside Santa Croce, and the Pazzi Chapel may not be visible from the public square.

Best time of day

Take this outdoor tour in daylight so you can see the architectural details. Choose a time when you can stop comfortably in the busy squares and narrow streets. In hot weather, avoid the hottest part of the day and bring water and sun protection. Events, queues or temporary barriers may affect the route: follow current signs and pedestrian access.

Precautions

Wear comfortable walking shoes and watch for uneven historic paving and kerbs. Stay aware of vehicles at crossings and in narrow streets, even where most people are walking. Keep doorways, queues and pedestrian routes clear when stopping to listen. Bring water, weather protection, headphones and a charged phone. Pause the audio whenever you need to cross or negotiate a crowd. The stories include murder, execution and political violence; consider this when choosing the tour for children. Visitors using mobility aids should check the route and current street conditions before setting out.

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“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”
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Last Updated

30 Oct 2026

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