Hot answers tagged italy
3
According to Niall Ferguson in The Ascent of Money, they aren't balls, but coins. (I listened to the audiobook so I can't provide a page citation.) I'm somewhat suspicious because the blazon for the arms is
"augmented coat of arms of the Medici, Or, five balls in orle gules, in chief a larger one of the arms of France (viz. Azure, three fleurs-de-lis ...
2
Well, turns out that there is a wikipedia article about this. It is not clear from the article how valuable in reality was the help the US got from Lucky Luciano. It certainly was valuable for him, procuring him an eventual release from prison...
2
The Basilica was built next to a bell tower built in 1414. Although the English Wikipedia article states that Alberti's restoration began in 1462, most of the other sources that I found state 1472. Also, Alberti sent a description and a drawing of the proposed site to Gonzago (the patron) in 1470, after 1462.
The construction began in June 1472, shortly ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
