Thanks to the confession of the soldier Giovanni Battista di Montesecco, it is possible to trace the dynamics and diplomatic conflicts that acted as a precursor to the tragedy of April 26, 1478. The Medici family was often the center of political disputes and violent battles over contested territories between the Florentine Republic and the Holy See. The bloody Pope Sixtus IV had unfinished business with Lorenzo the Magnificent and for this very reason decided to eliminate him once and for all.