Readers of history, like all readers, love an engrossing narrative: a conquest triumphant or repulsed, a great man brought to ruin by his flaws. The story doesn’t have to have heroes and villains, but ...
The Albizzi were one of the oldest families in Florence and led the republican government for two generations. By 1427, they were the most powerful family in the city, and far richer than the Medici.