CHAPTER IV.

POLITICAL TROUBLES. WAR OF THE BARONS.

The Sarzana Dispute in Presence of Innocent VIII.—Lorenzo de’ Medici in connection with Milan and Siena—Disturbances in Siena—Political Balance—Political Situation of the Kingdom of Naples—Ferrante of Arragon—Alfonso of Arragon, Duke of Calabria—Alliance of the Barons—Capture of Aquila—Outbreak of the War of the Barons—The Barons, the King, and the Pope—Innocent VIII., Venice, and the Barons—Neapolitan Affairs and the People of Florence—Unsettled Position of Affairs—Lorenzo de’ Medici in Favour of King Ferrante—Lorenzo’s Counsel to the Arragonese 226