As the opening stroke of the Pazzi Conspiracy, he was assassinated in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore by Franceso de' Pazzi and Bernardo Baroncelli.
His illegitimate son with his mistress Fioretta Gorini, Giulio, went on to become Pope Clement VII.
He is buried with his brother Lorenzo, Il Magnifico, in the Medici Chapel of the Church of San Lorenzo; their tomb is ornamented with the Madonna and Child of Michelangelo.