September 27, 1389
Can you believe that the taxes on Florentine crafts and goods implemented in 1316 are still in place? It’s absolutely ridiculous! This morning I ran some errands for Piccarda, my pregnant wife. I just picked up some meet from the butcher, some spices, and four new locks for the doors in the new addition to our home, and it cost me a fortune. Shortly after finishing my errands, I attended jury trial brought about by conflict between Florence and St. Gimignana, a common reason for trial. The peace treaty between Florence and St. Gimignana in 1225 did lay out a set of rules for conflict between commoners of each city, but these rules, just like all rules, are broken daily. I do not have a particular interest in politics or government law so the trial was grueling. Soon after the trial, I met with a young architect by the name of Filippo Brunelleschi. I am very interested in the arts and I constantly look to identify new artists and architects. In fact, I am the first of the Medici family to be a patron of the arts. I look to aid Filippo in his architectural studies and help sponsor his future projects. I see a very bright future for him and maybe one day he will build something in conjunction with me. After my encounter with Filippo I decided to stop by Basilica di San Lorenzo. I often go there at random times during the day to pray, being a catholic man. Basilica de San Lorenzo is the parish church of the Medici family and the burial grounds to many of my ancestors, so it is a very important place to me. I finally came home to see my beautiful wife at around the beginning of the day, two hours after sunset, and you would never guess what happened. I walked in and called her name, “Piccarda! Piccarda!,” but there was no answer. I walked further into the house and started to hear the screams of my wife. I ran to the sound of her cries and noticed she was on the ground in the bathroo
Basilica di San Lorenzo. One of the oldest churches in Florence and the parish church to the Medici family.
Giovanni de Medici
m yelling in pain. I quickly realized that my wife was about to give birth to my first child. I rushed her to the physician (another service that has been taxed heavily:( ) and she gave birth to my oldest son. We decided on the name Cosimo di Giovanni de Medici, a common name in my ancestry. Who knew that today would be the day that I get my first son!
