Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights:#1 Florence in 1433 was a city of squares and towers, of busy, narrow, and twisting streets, of fortress-like palaces with massive stone walls and overhanging balconies, of old churches with geometrical patterns on their façades, and of abbeys and convents.#2 The city was very congested around the stone bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, which spanned the Arno at its narrowest point. The area around the Orsanmichele, the communal granary, was the bankers' district in summer.#3 The Florentine people were known for their frugality, but they had become more extravagant in recent years. The stone houses of the well-to-do still presented a severe, even forbidding appearance to the street, but behind the glazed and curtained windows, the rooms were often carpeted, painted, and hung with tapestries.#4 The wives of Florentine merchants were famous for their lavish clothes, their elegance, and their pale skin. If their hair was too dark, they dyed it or wore a wig of white or yellow silk. They were not allowed to wear buttons or ermine.