I'm glad you came.
I assumed you'd not keep me from Clarice's funeral.
No, of course not.
She wrote to me, Lorenzo...
Told me of your illness.
And I'm so sorry.
Where are the people?
Savonarola must have commanded them to stay away.
This is Savonarola?
He shows me that the people are now his.
Piero will indeed lead his family soon.
The Lord has made clear to me...
Lorenzo de' Medici is dying!
Messer Medici!
Don't stop.
I won't run from Savonarola.
You're using these people.
You use them.
I serve them.
The killing of Tommaso Peruzzi has...
exposed the rotten heart of Florence...
to its citizens. They now wish to cut it out.
The people want an end to the council of Ten!
Ordinary men elected in its place, to rule themselves.
Let it be done, before I preach at the loggia on Sunday...
or I will openly declare my support for their cause.
I will not will not allow it.
And how will you stop me, Lorenzo?
You are dying of the same illness that took your father.
How could he know?
- It's a lie. - He's not dying.
Whether Lorenzo is dying or not...
if Savonarola openly declares his support...
for a General Council of the people and we are seen...
to have blocked it, the mob will turn us.
Look to your soul before it's too late.
I pray you find the courage to beg the Lord's forgiveness...
for the sins that stain your soul.
It is he who should beg forgiveness.
That's blasphemy. He's our father.
And he's abandoned his children.
Lorenzo. You cannot fight God.
Summon the Ten.
They won't be reassured until they know who truly rules Florence.
He has to be stopped.
You just say the word, the friar will trouble us no more.
Stop whispering in my ear!
I just need time to think.
You were a true friend to the people, Clarice.
The gates of heaven stand open to you.
In nominee Patris et filii et spiritus sanctus Amen.
What will happen to Florence when Lorenzo dies?
The people would have a city where all men are equal.
Are they?
In God's eyes yes.
Who am I equal to?
Leonardo?
You are a believer, Sandro.
You will live for eternity in the grace of God.
While Leonardo da Vinci burns in hell.
And what about Lorenzo?
Who is his equal?
I'm a servant. Not a prince.
You don't have the luxury of time.
He's a priest.
There's truth in what he says.
So what if there is?
I've done terrible things, Bruno.
Look at what beauty you've created.
Act now, Lorenzo, or lose everything.
This city, the place it now holds, your family.
Sometimes a man has to do bad to do good.
Summon Piero.
And Bruno?
Ask my sister to come.
Savonarola must be killed before he can give his sermon on Sunday.
- There must be another way. - He is an enemy to the Medici.
And to Florence.
He will call on the people to rise up and seize power.
Bruno's right.
This is about survival.
Piero, you've got nothing to say?
An opportunity has to be identified, men recruited.
I'll find some from his hometown in Ferrara.
Rumors will be spread that they held a grudge against him.
You really think people will believe that?
Where there is doubt, there is hesitation.
That hesitation will allow us the...
time we need to choke off any unrest.
We have too few guards to quell a widespread revolt.
Mercenaries should be recruited. Piero, you'll accompany me.
Father, I refuse...
We have to be sure that the Ten will support us when the act is done.
Will you help me in this?
Lorenzo, I need time to think...
There is no time.
It's a yes or a no.
Very well.
Right.
Let each do their part.
You must be desperate to come to the man...
who betrayed Florence and took Riario's gold.
I'm looking for a man with no honor.
You're the first that came to mind, Guiscardi...
Name the city we are to march on.
Florence.
Savonarola's influence spreads.
It must be extinguished.
And after this I must make sure that peace remains within the city.
I can't be party to this.
Well then, leave us.
Go on.
I'll have to pick my men with care.
Make sure they're within the city...
before Savonarola preaches at the loggia on Sunday.
Do you think I'm wrong to do this?
To kill a man that gets in your way?
If you cared what I thought...
you would have asked me how I felt before Tommaso's murder.
Deny it.
Your own friend.
He loved you!
You don't understand.
If he'd have lived...
You open your mouth...
but it's Bernardi's words that fall from it.
Was it your hand that did it?
No, you don't have the courage.
You just gave the order.
If there is a choice...
then you tell me what it is.
Tell me what it is.
We don't have time for this.
Bastiano?
Thank you for agreeing to meet me.
After your exile I did not expect to see you again.
I have council business to attend to.
I'll not waste your time.
There are rumors Savonarola has...
enemies in Ferrara who want him dead.
My brother will do everything he can...
to protect him.
But should he fail...
he wishes to know that Florence and the Medici can count...
on our support within the Ten.
You have great influence.
You ask me to think of the Medici...
and yet you divide them to run off with Guglielmo Pazzi...
one of the family that took your brother's life.
There must be times when you regret not marrying me.
Never.
The best thing I ever did was follow my heart.
I ask you to do the same, Bastiano.
You love this city...
When the time comes...
use your influence to see she does not tear herself apart.
I will support Lorenzo.
But only when Savonarola is silenced.
Gentlemen...
Savonarola follows a routine that never varies.
Every morning he leaves the convent with father Quintin.
After greeting the beggar outside San Marco...
Savonarola will put his hood on and walk down toward the orphanage.
And after they have visited the children...
he'll take his usual morning walk down this street...
Here is where you must strike.
Understood.
It must happen.
He cannot live to preach that sermon.
Piero returned alone.
You argued?
He's weak.
Is he?
Who else had the courage to stand up to you...
when you called for Savonarola's murder?
Do you disagree, too?
This was Clarice's?
What would she think of what you're going to do?
She would have done whatever I asked her.
I didn't ask what she'd have done...
I asked what she'd have thought.
That's enough.
Piero?
Ah, the chosen one.
Have you come to pray?
There seems to be a choice of subject here.
Not only God, but my father.
Or at least, his younger self.
Take your pick.
Can't we make peace, Piero?
I'm a priest.
I have no ambition to be anything else.
I never resented you for taking my place in this house.
Only in my father's affection.
But you're welcome to it.
The man you revere so...
has commanded Savonarola be killed.
Can't he be reasoned with?
No.
But I'll stop him.
How?
Madonna Medici...
To what do I owe this honor?
Save your breath. It won't work with me.
I see.
Why are you here?
To understand you.
I don't believe my brother would be set on the path he is...
if it weren't for your advice.
The decisions have all been his.
But I believe they were the correct ones.
This is a game to you. Isn't it?
You win or you lose.
There is nothing else.
No compassion, no morality?
Piero will make a good leader.
Rest assured, I will advise him well.
I didn't see you come in.
Well, you were lost in your work, as it should be.
May I?
It's not finished.
It's beautiful, Michelangelo.
As it is.
I didn't use a bow-drill.
Rather than smooth it over, I'll leave the marks...
of the chisel.
The faun's broken tooth gave me the idea.
Civilization and savagery.
No.
No, it's more personal than that.
It's the fight within us.
I see you've brought your soldiers, Messer Guiscardi.
They may not be many, but they can be trusted.
If the people resist...
You do whatever is necessary.
Word of Savonarola's death will reach them within the hour.
We'll show you where your men will be best placed.
Here they come.
I was told he'd be killed before he could come here to preach.
Take position here and wait for instructions.
Here, here...
We've lost a lot.
Haven't we?
What news, Messer Bernardi?
Savonarola is already at the Loggia.
Then it's too late to kill him...
Someone warned him.
Maddalena, leave us.
Now, come on.
It's alright. Don't be scared. Do as father says.
So you betrayed me to Savonarola?
Some evils can't be justified, no matter what good they do.
You're no son of mine.
If only that were true...
You will never ever rule Florence!
You're not capable. You're too weak!
Get out of my sight.
Get out of my sight! Go on!
Savonarola will die anyway!
Come on.
You did the right thing, Piero.
I wish I was as brave as you.
He's going to do it anyway.
We'll persuade him not to, together.
No. You speak to him.
Uncle Lorenzo, do this and you strike at God himself.
It was God that struck the first blow against your father.
Even as I spoke my holy vows...
I imagined the man who killed my mother, dead.
But when I saw him lying there in the street, I felt pity.
Because you took me in.
Gave me love, instead of that knife.
I realized I wasn't angry at him.
But at myself for leaving my mother to die.
Well, you were a child.
There was nothing you could have done.
You don't blame God for what happened to my father.
You blame yourself.
There was nothing you could have done.
Bruno!
Send word to the assassins and Guiscardi's men.
And tell them it will be done at the Loggia.
And that I'll be there.
At the Loggia? It's too dangerous.
Would I dare stand amongst the people...
if I had ordered the assassination myself?
As Savonarola starts his sermon...
you will move amongst the congregation.
That's when it must be done.
Before he declares himself in favor of a people's council.
Even though Clarice loved you...
loved you more than life itself...
she would never forgive you for this.
Never.
If you've come to dissuade me, don't waste your time.
I do not agree with what you are about to do.
But if the people will be reassured by your presence...
they will be doubly so, if your family stands with you.
- Everything is ready? - Yes, Messer.
You're a good boy, Nico.
You learn from what you see.
Lorenzo...
Clarice is watching over you.
Is everything in place?
Today we will save Florence.
Lorenzo de' Medici is here.
Perhaps he still intends to kill you.
And if he does?
You can't go ahead.
Quintino, do you doubt God watches over me?
No.
Then if any harm befalls me...
It is His will.
And serves his purpose.
Now, let us do what must be done.
When I first came to Florence...
I made a friend.
I learned...
that as a young man...
he once had a dream.
To make this city a true Republic.
But by the time we met...
he had already given up on it.
Why?
This world is a complex place.
A man may feel he must compromise to achieve half...
of what he desires.
It is true.
A man must give up on his dreams...
if he acts alone.
Without God.
Worse...
he can become lost.
Believe he's doing good, even as he does evil.
Such a man might murder not only those who mean him harm!
But those who love him!
Such a man might create a false Eden...
built in the grounds of God's house.
A place where the logic of ancient minds...
like the apple of knowledge, corrupts our faith.
Destroy the gardens!
I understand your anger, brothers!
It is righteous!
But violence...
is not the way of Christ.
But I am not here today...
to talk of lost friends.
But of new beginnings.
To offer you hope.
A family built on what?
Lies?!
Corruption!? What else, Lorenzo, what!?
For if man acts with our Lord...
he can achieve anything.
Do you want to rebuild your city?
Yes! Yes!
And if it is a new Jerusalem you wish to build...
Yes! Yes!
Where the only Lord who rules over you is our Lord Jesus Christ!
No, Lorenzo!
Have you lost your mind!?
He must die!
He must die or everything is lost!
No, he saved him!
You don't understand! He saved him! Lorenzo saved him!
Brothers!
- Brothers! - Lift him up!
- Listen to me!
Listen!
God...
God has saved me from those who intended me harm!
So that I might tell you...
it is His wish that your dream come true!
Florence is lost. Make your own way to safety!
Go, go, go!
Guiscardi, wait! Where are you going?
What's your name, boy?
Nico Macchiavelli.
Well, if I were you, I'd get out of here too.
God wills you demand...
the Ten hand power over to you!
But brothers...
sisters...
do not let your righteous anger turn to rage.
Just ask and you will receive.
Ask and you will receive.
Those in favor, raise their right hand.
Thus...
the council of Ten is dissolved.
And the people rule Florence.
Today the dog...
tomorrow the master!
- Bolt the door. - Wait.
Have we something to fear?
Open it.
You are very welcome in this house.
Come in.
My husband is a loyal supporter of the Prior. Aren't you?
Take any books or whatever vanities you may find.
Uncle, please, take something to help with your pain.
No, I don't want all my senses dulled.
At least lie down.
What news is there from the city?
- It's of no consequence. - No, no, no, what news is there?
The Ten have voted to disband.
There is a General Council of the people.
Savonarola's won.
Florence is his in all but name.
Forgive me, father.
Forgive me.
- Forgive me, father. - No. No.
Forgive me.
- I've failed you. - No.
And we all fail.
Part of what it is to be human.
And I failed you as a father not to teach you that.
I'm sorry.
Piero, you've never failed me.
Never.
I lost myself.
And I lost the people.
- Father... - And you saw that.
I'm sorry...
Lorenzo!
- Lift him up. - Gently, gently, gently.
No, I'm alright.
Gently...
Bianca, sister, I ask you one last favor.
Anything, Lorenzo.
See the jewelry is used to pay for bread for the poor.
Madonna de' Medici.
How may I be of service?
My brother wishes to see you.
I will be there within the hour.
There may not be an hour.
I will come when I can, Madonna.
Lorenzo gave everything to save your life!
From the assassins he sent to kill me.
It was God that saved me.
Not your brother.
He's here.
I'd like to speak with him alone.
Thank you for coming, Prior.
What do you want, Lorenzo?
To ask for God's forgiveness.
As his servant, I cannot deny you that.
Where is he?
He's with Savonarola.
You have confessed your sins.
Now you can make your act of contrition.
God...
I am sorry for my sins.
For I know I have offended you.
I beg your forgiveness, from the bottom of my heart.
God...
in your name...
have mercy on me.
It pleases him greatly...
that you have seen your failings.
Oh, there is much much that I regret.
But much more that I cannot.
The beauty that flowered here.
You've learned nothing?
What flowered here was corruption...
that spread out like the plague...
tainting everything it touched.
This is your punishment.
Maybe.
But I think if it's...
punishment for anything...
somehow thinking I could take God's place.
Don't do that, father.
Don't do it.
In the end...
you just lose sight of...
how things really are.
Of who you are.
The Lord has commanded me to destroy it all.
Nobody will remember your gardens.
The names of Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli and the rest...
and all they have made will be dust.
Blown away by the winds.
I don't think so.
Your brethren once said...
separating art from God is a lie.
Because the heart of man craves beauty...
as he craves God.
What happened here in Florence...
I don't think it can ever be erased.
But I think you know that.
I know God's will.
That must be nice.
Florence may be yours today...
but she'll not forget the Medici.
As they'll not forget her.
The friar...
was not the only man to know the weight of a dream, was he?
You don't regret ours, do you?
No.
You were right.
All those years ago.
Beauty does bring us closer to God.
He wishes...
He wishes to be with his family.
You have all our love, Lorenzo.
Is there anything...
that you want to say to my brother?
Tell Giuliano he must look after you
until we're all together once more.
No staying up all night drinking.
I'll tell him...
I'll tell him to be proud of his son.
As I am of mine.
All of you.
You hold each other tight.