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Florence, 1471

Florence is a very interesting place to live. We have our own currency*, the gold Florin, which is valid the world over, or so I am told. We have our own rulers, the powerful Medici family who made their fortune out of banking and inventing accountancy. As a result they have their own palazzo**, which is built four-square around a courtyard. The outside has only ten windows, is rather forbidding, and looks like a military fortress.

Now why would a family with money coming out of their orecchie * live in such a place? Well, this is probably why they are the richest and most powerful family in these parts. They built it this way so that we poor humble citizens wouldn’t pass by every day and hate them for being rich.

But I have been inside, delivering sculptures and paintings, and I can tell you, their wealth is knee-buckling.