Gathering
1478 · Florence, Italy
Lorenzo, wounded and grieving, gathers allies and observers at table and begins the diplomacy that will save Florence.
The conspiracy in the cathedral has killed Lorenzo's brother Giuliano and left Lorenzo himself with a wound in the throat. The city has answered with a fury of its own, and now Lorenzo must decide how to answer the pope and the king of Naples, who backed the plot.
He keeps a table because to withdraw would look like weakness. Caterina Sforza, a Sforza by birth and a ruler in her own right, is among the guests; Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia has come to observe on behalf of the Curia. Lorenzo is pale and speaks little, but he is already working, sending envoys and weighing concessions. Over lasagne, roast pheasant, and broad beans, he begins the long negotiation that will end with him sailing to Naples alone.
Host: Lorenzo de' Medici
Caterina Sforza — A Sforza of Milan, watching how Florence handles its crisis.
Pope Alexander VI — Rodrigo Borgia, a cardinal observing for the Curia that backed the plot.
Everything you need to host this menu, sorted aisle by aisle:
The menu
11 of 34 items checked
Claimed by Lorenzo de' Medici
Serves 8 · 4 of 12 items checked · 5 aisles
Claimed by Caterina Sforza
Serves 4 · 2 of 7 items checked · 6 aisles
Claimed by Pope Alexander VI
Serves 4 · 2 of 5 items checked · 4 aisles
Claimed by Lorenzo de' Medici
Serves 12 · 3 of 9 items checked · 2 aisles
Claimed by Caterina Sforza
Serves 12 · 0 of 1 item checked · 1 aisle
This gathering is an editorial recreation grounded in the biographies of those present; it did not necessarily take place as described.
