Clarice de' Medici

Clarice de' Medici

## Early Life

Clarice Orsini-Medici was a Roman noblewoman raised in an elite Roman family of Orsini branch. Her father Jacopo Orsini was the lord of Monterotondo, a papal state. One of her brothers, Orso Orsini served as the commander of the Papal army while the other Rinaldo Orsini was archbishop of Florence. She is the wife of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Clarice who happens to be a naive young lady from Rome wishes to take her Holy vows and serve to be a nun out of her compassion for the people, but however she got married to Lorenzo, but kept on doing her charitable deeds among the Florentine people.

## Season 2

### Standing alone

From the moment Lorenzo the magnificent saw Clarice, she caught his eye. Clarice is shown very religious and intends to take her religious vows by joining the clergy services as a nun. However, since the Medici family being adamant on gaining greater benefits from Pope and other financial incentives through their Roman branches of bank lures Clarice into marrying Lorenzo through Lorenzo's half-uncle Father Carlo, who also serves to be Clarice's good friend.

### Obstacle and opportunity

At first Clarice Orsini who is originally from a Roman noble elite finds herself incompetent and unsophisticated in terms of the Florentine culture which is in itself very extravagant and artistic, Also Lorenzo's interests seem much contradicting with Clarice's as he is a great admirer of arts and vanity while she is an introvert and religious person, however Lorenzo's continuous patience with her helped her to move into her new Florentine life.

### Blood with blood

Later when she finds her husband to be involved in a long-term romantic relationship with his married mistress Lucrezia Donati, who also happens to be much more beautiful and up to Lorenzo's interests than Clarice herself is. She confronts Lucrezia first and later her husband who in a very proper manner consoles her that he respects her from the very first moment but did not seem to be changing his mind regarding his adulterous relationship. Due to which Clarice tries to remain much patient with the situation, followed by Lorenzo himself apologizing for being a fool eventually and acknowledged to be much privileged to have her as a wife.

### Ties that bind

A year later Clarice gives birth to a boy, whom Lorenzo names Piero de' Medici in remembrance of his late father, and it is thus shown that Clarice has finally found some solace.

### Alliance

While trying to gain votes for securing the post of the existing Gonfalonaire in the Priori's (re)elections, Lorenzo seemed much worried as his ex mistress Lucrezia Donati's husband who at first happened to be his ally now rejects voting in his favor. Clarice herself meets Lucrezia and persuades her to change her husband's mind, while also making Lucrezia believe that Lorenzo never had deceived her rather he loved her once with all his sentiments. Resulting in Lucrezia helping Lorenzo for Clarice's sake and thus Lorenzo gaining his favorable candidate in the elections.

### Betrayal

After successfully establishing an alliance between Florence, Milan and Venice Lorenzo becomes de facto ruler of Florence, much to his rivals Pazzis' dismay who start to plot to murder Lorenzo and his younger brother Giuliano. While trying to lure Lorenzo to Rome for peaceful negotiations over his certain hostile relations with Pope, to kill him in reality, the conspirators (which include Francesco and Jacopo de' Pazzi, Francesco Salviati, Count Girolamo Riario and Pope Sixtus IV himself, and others) face a delay when Clarice arrives in Rome on behalf of her husband who rather stayed in Florence over her insistence. In Rome Clarice tries to figure out the situation by meeting her friend Carlo, but does not get the clue for the upcoming conspiracy as Carlo was himself blackmailed by one of the conspirators Count Montesseco, and was unable to inform her regarding the new plan the conspirators had planned for her husband and brother-in-law. Clarice however arrives back to Florence safely but tells Lorenzo about Carlo being troubled.

### Mass

On the day of 26th April 1478, while the Medici family (including Clarice, her mother-in-law Lucrezia, Giuliano and Lorenzo) was attending Easter Mass in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Francesco Pazzi along with other conspirators including Marco Vespucci, Antonio Maffei and others strikes Giuliano and Lorenzo with their daggers. Giuliano who though happened to be much good with combat, could not make it past their assault and was stabbed at least 19 times by the daggers all around his body, while Lorenzo who was struck at the neck very brutally by Antonio Maffei bled very heavily but luckily made it to the sacristy of the cathedral with the help of Clarice who was simultaneously holding the very delirious and hysterical Lucrezia. After the conspirators leave for Plazzo de Vechio, falsely believing Lorenzo to be dead in the sacristy as he was heavily bleeding, Lorenzo also leaves for the government palace with Sandro after attending to the dying Giuliano on the floors of Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral under the Duomo. At the Plazzo de Vechio, after witnessing Lorenzo to be alive the people start hailing him and turn against the Pazzi's who were firm on taking the government from the Medicis. At the end of the day Lorenzo orders the assassinations of all the Pazzis who were later hanged and their corpses mutilated. On witnessing this Clarice and Sandro try to persuade Lorenzo on taking humane measures and being a leader, but all their efforts go into vain as Lorenzo is now firm on slaking his thirst for revenge for his dearest younger brother's demise.

## Season 3

Realizing her husband Lorenzo much adamant in securing their family and city against the people who had plotted to bring horrors upon their family, Clarice shall try each and every way to support her husband for the sake of her love for him and their children.

**Survival**

After Giuliano's death, Lorenzo is hell bent on revenge and the Pope excommunicates Florence, hoping to turn the citizens against the Medici. Giuliano's illegitimate son Giulio is brought to the family for protection from Riario who had his mother killed, Clarice and Lucrezia accept him, but Lorenzo is skeptical. As a result of the excommunication people cannot be baptized, Clarice is approached by a woman whose child is dying begging for help. Clarice implores Lorenzo to put aside vengeance for the good of the people of Florence, Lorenzo informs Clarice on how he got the excommunication lifted and she is worried and troubled by this warns him not to turn his face from heaven. Carlo who managed to escape his captors informs them of the Papal and Naples alliance.

**The Ten**

Clarice is pregnant once again. While doing charity Clarice is distressed when a dying solider rejects God, she is taken back when she sees her husband and his former mistress talking. Lorenzo tells her he wants to send her and the children away to the country because of the pox and the city might come under siege. While in the country Clarice invites her sister-in-law Bianca who Lorenzo exile from Florence to visit, during lessons Giulio becomes restless, Clarice disagrees with the teachings saying they should study the bible and she suddenly collapses and is bleeding. When Lorenzo arrives, Clarice is in childbirth and can't travel, soldiers arrive to kill the family and Clarice has to be moved for her safety and she gives birth to a girl she names Maddalena, hoping for a new beginning for the family. They arrive back in Florence and discover that they have been betrayed, Clarice finds out that Lorenzo is planning to go to Naples and begs him not to go but Lorenzo says he must but he does not wish to go without her love, and she tells him that he is never without her love. ￼

**Trust**

With Lorenzo in Naples, Maddalena catches a fever. On the way to mass Niccolò Ardinghelli accuses, and insults Lorenzo and Giulio and Clarice defends him. Later at night Lucrezia and Clarice discuss the bank's finances and Giulio temper. Lorenzo ends up being held for ransom 50 thousand florins and they have to pull all their resources to come with it and Clarice hears rumors that Lorenzo and Ippolita Maria Sforza have become lovers. She is approached by Lorenzo former mistress Lucrezia Donati who offers money to help pay the ransom and she tries to assure Clarice Lorenzo will come back and not to believe the rumors of his infidelity, but Clarice tells her she finds no consolation in her words considering Lorenzo did cheat on her before with Lucrezia herself. Lorenzo returns to Florence and assures that nothing happened with Ippolita but Clarice knows in his heart he wished it had, Clarice is very upset, but she knows she has to perform her duty with Lorenzo and pacify the crowd gathered outside the Medici palace and she puts on a smile and greets the crowd but pulls away from Lorenzo.

**Innocents**

Seven years later Clarice and Lorenzo no longer share a bed. Clarice goes to her husband and her daughter, telling her she is the center of her father's world, and she worries about the peace conference because Lorenzo has not invited the Pope, but Lorenzo tells her that the envoys have already agreed to come. Clarice finds Piero in Lorenzo's study, telling him he should have gone with his father to the council meeting, but Piero does not believe he would be of much help and compares himself to his father and that Lorenzo trust Giulio more than him, Clarice reminds him that Lorenzo was an exception and that no matter what he his Lorenzo's son. Maddalena comes running into the room crying and upset Clarice asked her what is wrong she says nothing, Lucrezia remarked that Clarice raised fine children, and also that she has noticed a distance between her and Lorenzo, Clarice says it is more on Lorenzo part than her own and expresses she wish to be close to him again. Lucrezia says it is easier to share the man's dream rather than compete with them and that why she took on the running of the bank. Now she must and over the responsibility to Clarice, but Clarice thinks she would not be able, but Lucrezia assures her otherwise and that she will teach her whatever she needs to know. Clarice gathers that something is wrong Lucrezia tells her that she is sick and dying Clarice comforts her, Lucrezia asks her to say nothing to Lorenzo and she agrees to help however she can. Later Lucrezia teaches Clarice about the management of the bank, reveals to her that the bank is stealing from the city and Lorenzo is not aware and asks Clarice to also keep this secret from Lorenzo and she feels trapped. At dinner Lorenzo informs both Lucrezia and Clarice that he intends for their son Giovanni to become Pope. While Lorenzo is away in Bagnolo Clarice finds a delirious Lucrezia on street dead, they have a funeral and the whole family grieves for her. When Lorenzo returns home Clarice goes to tell him about the bank finances, but Lorenzo is distraught by his mother's death, and she comforts him and promises to stand him, and she kisses him, and Lorenzo kisses her back passionately finally reconciled after years apart and later sees her son Giovanni off to Rome to become a priest.