The next day he proposed to present himself before the Signoria, but when
he arrived at the Piazza del Palazzo Vecchio, he perceived the
gonfaloniere Jacopo de Nerli coming towards him, signalling to him that
it was useless to attempt to go farther, and pointing out to him the
figure of Luca Corsini standing at the gate, sword in hand: behind him
stood guards, ordered, if need-were, to dispute his passage. Piero dei
Medici, amazed by an opposition that he was experiencing for the first
time in his life, did not attempt resistance. He went home, and wrote to
his brother-in-law, Paolo Orsini, to come and help him with his
gendarmes. Unluckily for him, his letter was intercepted. The Signoria
considered that it was an attempt at rebellion. They summoned the
citizens to their aid; they armed hastily, sallied forth in crowds, and
thronged about the piazza of the palace. Meanwhile Cardinal Gian dei
Medici had mounted on horseback, and under the impression that the Orsini
were coming to the rescue, was riding about the streets of Florence,
accompanied by his servants and uttering his battle cry, "Palle, Palle."
But times had changed: there was no echo to the cry, and when the
cardinal reached the Via dei Calizaioli, a threatening murmur was the
only response, and he understood that instead of trying to arouse
Florence he had much better get away before the excitement ran too high.
He promptly retired to his own palace, expecting to find there his two
brothers, Piero and Giuliano. But they, under the protection of Orsini
and his gendarmes, had made their escape by the Porto San Gallo. The
peril was imminent, and Gian dei Medici wished to follow their example;
but wherever he went he was met by a clamour that grew more and more
threatening. At last, as he saw that the danger was constantly
increasing, he dismounted from his horse and ran into a house that he
found standing open. This house by a lucky chance communicated with a
convent of Franciscans; one of the friars lent the fugitive his dress,
and the cardinal, under the protection of this humble incognito,