ficial residence to the
Palazzo Vecchio. This he did to show that he was absolute ruler of
Tuscany as well as head of the Medici family. With the skilled
assistance of Tasso, the architect, and Vasari, the painter, he set
about structural and decorative alterations and adornments, which
rendered the old building more suitable as a residence for the
Sovereign.

In 1549 Duchess Eleanora purchased the Pitti Palace from Buonaccorso
Pitti, for 9000 gold florins, and laid out the adjacent gardens. There
the Duke and Duchess took up their residence with their family and their
suite.

* * * * *

Among young aspirants to fame and fortune, who enrolled themselves in
the "_Bande Nere_," were several scions of the proud and warlike Rimini
family of Malatesti. One branch of the family held the Marquisate of
Roncofreddo, and their stronghold was the castle of Montecodruzzo.
Marquis Leonida de' Malatesti was the happy father of many sons and
daughters. After the premature death of the Condottiere Giovanni de'
Medici, his sons maintained their allegiance and devotion to the cause
of his son Cosimonino.

Giacopo and Lamberto, elder sons, became esquires of the young Medico,
and were of the party which entered Florence on that memorable day in
1537. A younger boy, Malatesta, followed his brothers' example, for, in
1548, in the list of officers and men of the Ducal household in
Florence, appears his name as a page, but of the tender age of ten.

The lad was possessed of the vigour and spirit of his race, and it
required all the patience and tact of Frate Cammillo Selmi, the Master
of the Pages, to keep him in order. His pugnacious disposition attracted
the attention of the Duke, and his pretty looks and fair hair charmed
the Duchess. One other recommendation the young boy had--his father's
fidelity and worthy services, and he was looked upon as a pet of the
palace, and became rather a playmate than an attendant of the Duke's
family. Besides, his mother was a Florentine--she was Madonna Cassandra,
the daughter of Messer Nattio de' Cini, a devoted adherent of the
Medici.

Many were the escapades in which Francesco, Giovanni, Garzia, and
Ernando, the Duke's sons, were joined by young Malatesta de' Malatesti
and other pages of the household. One such boyish prank, when the Court
was at Pisa, in the winter of 1550, had a tragic ending. In the pages'
common room the lads were playing with shot-guns, which