The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-10-29

Now CrumbIed to Bones and Whit
Dust -One of the skulls shows knife
Wounds, and that Recalls Story from
Aptiquity-History of the Two Brother
Showing Their Deeds.
Rome. Oct. Psf dweller Of Flo
| renee of the end of the fifteenth cen
fury were allowed by fate 10 visit
| again 1.-The g,imoSes Of the moon, al
| the end of the nineteenth century and to
behold the mea of today break open
| the tomb of the great Lorenzo de Med
! lei, he might we'll cry out against the
deed, in the words of Hamlet:
| Why the sepulchre,
| Wherein we saw thee quietly fnIrn d,
! Hath open his poLderous and marble
jaws
| To cast thee up again"
Yet it is The desire Of the Italian
ministry of pubic instruction TO verify
the contents OF the tomb Of Lorenzo
and Julian de Medici has led to the
! opening of their sepulcilre. There was
| doubt regarding the site Of their burial.
| In order TO resolve it the ministry re-
quested the regional, or district Office
| for the preservation of monuments. %
make researches in the new sacristy OF
| the Bascilica of San Lorenzo to verify
| if the mortal remains of Julian and Lo-
| TenZo de Medici were laid there 10 rest.
TOMBS OF THE MEDICI.
Upon this historical point" says a
| Florentine journal "tfleTe were many
| differences of opinion 1t is only now
| that the general public is made aware
| of these differences. The general opir-
| ion is that repeated in every history of
| art in every guide-book, in every work
| descriptive of Florence, and is to the
| effect that the bodies of Lorenzo and
Julian We're placed in the sepulchre in
The old sacristy with the remains of
their father, Piero, or Pietro, the son of
Cos1no de Medici. Murray, Baedeker.
Miss Homer, Hare, and Eugene Muntz
in his voluminouS History of the Art
of the Renaissance in Italy all repeat
the statement that Lorezo and Julian
were buried in the tomb OF their father
Piero, In the old sacristy-a tomb
wrought by the cele brated sculptor,
Verocohio.
''Singularly enough says Miss
Horner, in her Walks in Florence"
''there was at one time an uncertainty
where LorenZo's body had been laid
until the Abate Moreni, a canon Of San
Lorenzo, satisfied public curiousity by
inserting an inscription in marble on
the walls of the sacristy." And now
public curiosity" is to be satisfied
again by discovering that Off the re-
suit of the present Investigations be ac-
curate) the inscription of 1.-THE Abate
Moreni was based upon AN incorrenct
idea
On October IS representative of the
mayor of Florence, the counsellor of the
prefecture, Monsignor Attilio Giovan-
mini, mftred prior of the Basihca; the
author of the Life of Savomarola," the
Life of Machiavellf and a History Of
Florence" all well-known to readers
of English; Professor Paoli, CavalNere
Carocci director of the Florentine
Galleries, and other personages gather
ed together in the new Sacristy, where
the architect. Commentators Del Moro,
began TO make the necessary re
searches
Here, then, THE persons already men
TONED began their search, according to
the desire of the ministry of public in
struction- The first thing done was to
remove from their places three marble
staItues-the Madonna and Child, by
Michael Angelo; the STATUE of Saint
Damian, by Raffaelle da MCptelupo,
and that of ST. Cessna, by McntorsoH
These Statues stood on a stone ledge at
one side of the Sa.cristy. There was no
sign of a tomb here. Yet when the
large slab ON which these statues had
rested was removed it was seen that
two wooden casketS or collins lay there
resting on another slab. The collins
rested one upon the other. The first
found. which was very we'll preserved.
was SMALL the other beneath. which
was longer. was oorroded by time-in-
deed. might be regarded as quite de-
cayed.
JULIAN'S REMAINS.
Upon the lid of the upper one there
was ain inscription. 1t was written by
hand on the wood in very crude charac-
ters and with ink. and reads: Giulinno
dt Pietrc di Cosimo de Medici This,
then, is the name of Julian de Medici.
son of Peter de Medici, known as uhe
Gouty. VINO was the son of Cosinro de
Medici, regarded as the real founder of
this powerful and wealthy Florsntine
family. This Julian was the brother of
Lorenzo de Medici, better known TO
history as Lorenzo the Magnificent
Within the coffin as skeleton lay with
the tIbiaS and femor bones folded back
upon the thorax. On THE skull, which
was well preserved, there were seen TO
De traces of two wounds made with a
sharp-cutt7ng Instrument. The traces
OF another wound, likewise of a shary-
cutting instrument, was observed on
one tibia-
HOW HE LOST HIS LIFE
History has related in no uncertain
mode how Julian de Medici met death.
1t occurred IN the old sacristy Of the
cathedral: On Sunday. April %. 147S.
the two Medici brothers, Julian and
Lorenzo. were kneei;ng in prayer be-
fore the high altar under the cupola-
IuSe Pazzl conspiracy, got up against
them, was to find Its fulfIllment here.
The corrspiratO tors had determined to do
away with the hated Medici in church
on this day. The moment Of the eleva-
ton OF the host at mass was the mo-
ment pr'sconcerted for the attack
Julian fell under the many blows he re-
ceived, Lorenzo was wounded, but Is
capped into the SacriSty Politian. the
great Lauinist, whose monument is in
the cathedral, was with Lorenzo. and
he closed the doors against the enemy.
Another friend. Antonio RidIf, sucked
the wound OF Lorenzo lest the dagger
should have been poisoned; a third.
Sisnrondi della Stufa. climbed into the
organ loft or gallery for the singers.
and hooked through the windows Of II
into The church 10 see that all was safe
before admitting Lo-enzo's partisars.
Who had assembled at this door ready |
armed for his defense
MACCHIAVELLTS ACCOUNT.
But Julian died MaochiavslH. n his |
~ SifN4lt' ifsIol1erS. WRITES the mar
rdtiVe OF this murder. Now came he /
deSrlned hour, and Bernardo Bandidi.
HiCh q short weapon prepared for that
effect, drove u INTO Julsau's breast
VINO after q few steps, fell 10 ne
ground. whsreupoa F'rances>o de Pazzi
threw himself up,ocl him. filed him with
wounds, and with such force did he
strike HIM that. blinded by that fury
which carried him away. he wounded
himself seriously in one leg" This. in
seed = a hfte-srI-h century Fioreutire