CHAPTER VI.

POSITION AND RELATIONS OF THE MEDICI.

Splendour of the Medici Family—Their Position at Home and their Connections Abroad—The Royal Family of Naples—Ippolita Maria, Duchess of Calabria—The Queen of Bosnia—Luigi Pulci in relation to the Medici—Pulci’s Journeys and Missions—Camerino and Naples—Unfortunate Attack against Piombino—Galeazzo Maria Sforza and his Wife, Bona of Savoy, in Florence—Visit of King Christian of Denmark—Giovanni Bentivoglio in relation to the Medici—Proceedings of King Louis XI. and Lorenzo concerning King Ferrante of Naples—The Relation of Lorenzo towards his Fellow Citizens—His Manner of Life, Residence in the Country, and Travels—Madonna Clarice in Umbria and Rome—Visit to Zoe Palæologa—Lucrezia de’ Medici in Bagno a Morba—The Death of Madonna Contessina 255