England had no Holy Saturday tradition; even on Easter, people only gave a single egg filled with candy.
But Italy observed Holy Saturday. A vigil was held that day, and the celebrant blessed the new fire and the Easter candle outside the church. The faithful held candles and waited for the Easter candle to be lit, then entered the church carrying their own candles under the guidance of the celebrant, who held a large candle.
A member of the Pazzi family had brought back a stone from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during the First Crusade. Thus, the Pazzi family possessed the privilege of striking fire from that stone on Holy Saturday, when not a single flame burned in the city, and using it to light the candle in the celebrant's hand.
Dermide had been given a new lesson: he had to learn how to strike fire from stone before Holy Saturday... In any case, after assassinating Giuliano de' Medici, the Pazzi family had not gained what they wanted. Instead, the whole family had nearly been wiped out, as enraged citizens executed its members in a frenzy of vengeance.
Lorenzo de' Medici had lost his brother, yet he had not allowed the people to execute the conspirators at will. Instead, he called on everyone not to act rashly, and even saved two relatives of the Pazzi family.
Yet the surviving members of the Pazzi family lived in disgrace until Lorenzo died in 1494, the Medici family was overthrown, and Savonarola established the Republic of Florence. Only then did the Pazzi family reappear and take office.
Botticelli was also a follower of Savonarola. In 1475, when Simonetta, newly married into Florence, appeared in the church square amid a sea of people, the painter's keen eye discovered Simonetta's beauty.
She had