Florentia - the flowering wonder that bloomed in the Renaissance era to be remembered forever.  Originally home to farmers, sheepherders, and straw makers, the fertile soil gave way to the world’s most reknowned wines – Chianti, Brunello, and Super Tuscans. 

At the same time the flourishing textile industry made a small group of families in the area extremely rich.  The merchant heart of these Florentine families led them to establish the gold florin, minted in 1252 and they used their ever-increasing wealth in the international banking and financial loan business throughout Europe.
But loan-sharking was a mortal sin for the Church.  So, listening to their Christian conscience and in search of forgiveness and safe-haven after death, the affluent families such as the Medici’s and their archrivals the Pazzi’s, - with a little help from the Vatican - understood that pardon lay in the commissioning of churches, sculptures, murals, and altarpieces to express the greater glory of God.

This was the beginning of one of the greatest miracles in human art history, the Florentine Quattrocento (15th Century).
Thanks to Anna Maria Luisa, sister of the last grand duke, the property and art belonging to Florence was to remain there forever:  “for the ornament of the state, the utility of the public and in order to attract the attention of foreigners”.