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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 ...

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 ...