Power in Perugia, following mutual atrocities by the Oddi and the Baglioni families, had at last concentrated in the Baglioni, who, though they have no legal position, defy all other authority.

The condottiero Gian Paolo Baglioni has fought mostly in Umbria, especially against the family rivals, the Oddi.

He had been hired in 1498 by Florence to hold minor operations in Umbria.

The bloody internal squabbles of the Baglioni culminate in a massacre, however, on July 14, 1500, in which Gian Paolo, now lord of Perugia, narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Grifone and Carlo Baglioni.