To satisfy a curious mind
Tue 07 July 2009
Claire Lai, Communications
The day that Giovanni di Bicci closed his warehouse and sent his workers home early I followed him, I think because his behaviour was so unusual for a man in his position.
With over 300 workshops crowded in on each other, fighting to be nearer to the waters of the river Arno, something was afoot for a trader and banker to give up half a day’s profits.
Giovanni was lucky to even have such a position for his business.
Water was easy to access, and waste could drain directly into the lye smelling effluent to be washed downstream.
In 1340, English princes with their bad debt had decimated the Florentine banks and businesses.
Ten years later, 80,000 citizens had been reduced to less than 30,000 in two years by the Black Death.
The city walls now seem more like a loose coat than a fortification.
Giovanni’s father had made the most of these changes to acquire the coveted building beside the fetid river that Giovanni had inherited.
The river was not always fetid.
Long ago these banks watched over a clear river ford of the Fiesole Etruscans.
It was the spring festival of Floralia when they descended from their hillside citadel to meet the Romans.
Their Etruscan blood stained the river as red as the poppies that grew on their hillside.
Since that time the river has always been stained by Roman pollution.
And so Giovanni hastened along the river as I watched.
His clothing bothered me.
He did not dress as a man in his position ought.
His clothes, though good, were plain, and he only suffered attendants when they were absolutely necessary to his business.
He was not interested in being noticed.
He certainly was not making his way towards the Palazzo Vecchio, where the guilds met to struggle for power.
Instead he turned right when he reached the Ponte Vecchio, away from the bridge and the river.
In and out he wove past the shops, apothecaries, markets and offices.
He did not even pause as he passed the cathedral site to shake his head.
Almost 100 years in the making and still not finished!
He continued on until he came to his destination, the worker’s church of San Lorenzo.
His haste surely indicated something must be very wrong, and yet he threw his arms about the priest’s shoulders, their talking was jovial, their faces animated.
“This is wonderful news Giovanni,” the priest said.
“To donate a new sacristy to the church is beyond generous.
“You must bring the child in for baptism as soon as possible.”
“Thank you father,” replied Giovanni.
“He shall be here within the week.”
So he has had a child, a boy.
“And have you chosen a name Giovanni?” the priest asked.
“Cosimo,” Giovanni said.
“Ah you have been studying the ancient Greeks with Salutati, haven’t you?”
Giovanni looked pleased at this remark.
“But you recognise it father. You must have studied yourself. Salutati has uncovered some manuscripts that are quite intriguing,” Giovanni said.
“Cosimo,” smiled the priest.
“The word for order.
“Yes, it is certainly what Italy needs.
“ ‘O servile Italy, breeding ground of misery, ship without a pilot in a mighty tempest’.
“Dante was right, a pilot is needed.
"Perhaps with a name like Cosimo your son will lead the way.”
It will not just be Giovanni di Bicci that I shall be watching in future.
Changes are talked of, new ideas and languages are being shared.
There are more players here than I imagined and it looks as if another has just arrived.
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Submitted Comments
Wow. This is remarkable, and I wish there were more.
Lynne Green