“On the night before the third of January in this present year, Gianluigi Fieschi having secretly assembled armed men and concealed them in his house, corrupted and enticed some soldiers in the pay of the Republic, and with his brothers Gerolamo, Ottobuono and Cornelio and other partners in his guilt, issued forth armed, assailed and killed many of the guards, seized the gates of the city and cruelly assassinated Gianettino, lieutenant of Prince Doria, Captain General of the emperor on the seas; then, uttering seditious cries, they incited the people to take up arms against the Republic, and induced some of them to break into the arsenal where lay the unprotected galleys of the said Prince Doria, the defender of Christianity, and to pillage the said vessels and liberate their slaves and convicts. “Not content with these crimes, the conspirators turned their arms against the commissioners of the senate, and demanded that this Ducal palace should be surrendered into their hands, threatening death to such as should resist their will. Having been admonished to lay down their arms and cease to disturb the public peace, they refused to obey until they obtained grace and pardon for themselves and their accomplices, which condition the senate accepted, believing it the most speedy remedy for the disorders of the afflicted city, and the best means of saving public liberty. The said conspirators then departed from the city, not because of the pardon given by the senate, but because Gianluigi Fieschi had perished in the sea, many of their followers had deserted them and the troops of the Republic had recovered one of the gates of the city. “These facts show the heinousness of the crime attempted against the state and what weighty evils were devised to its hurt, and furthermore that the Republic is still in peril from the consequences of the pardon extorted by force and without foundation in justice, equity or religion. The authors of these acts of treason must not escape the reward of their crimes. “Therefore, we the illustrious Doge and magnificent governors of the most serene Republic of Genoa, having taken our vote in due form of law, do declare and condemn as traitors, rebels and enemies of the state, the late Gianluigi Fieschi and his brothers Gerolamo, Ottobuono and Cornelio, and we banish them perpetually from the dominions of Genoa and confiscate all their property for the use of the state. We further order that the Fieschi palace in Vialata be razed to the ground and we give authority to the rectors of the city to destroy also all other houses belonging to the Fieschi family, if they shall deem it of public utility.