Italy: Piero Capponi (1447 - 1496), Italian statesman and soldier. 19th century statue outside the...

Piero Capponi (1447 – September 25, 1496) was an Italian statesman and warrior from Florence. He was at first intended for a business career, but Lorenzo de' Medici, appreciating his ability, sent him as ambassador to various courts, where he acquitted himself with distinction. On the death of Lorenzo (1492), who was succeeded by his son, the weak and incapable Piero, Capponi became one of the leaders of the anti-Medicean faction which two years later succeeded in expelling Piero de' Medici from Florence. Capponi was then made chief of the republic and conducted public affairs with great skill, notably in the difficult negotiations with Charles VIII of France, who had invaded Italy in 1494 and in whose camp the exiled Medici had taken refuge.