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1 Beautiful.

They command the Pope himself from Rome

Why not?

The Pope owes you money

Who's there?

Stop it!

You all know he was a tyrant!

He ruined anyone who got in his way!

Who's there!?

Stop pretending!

You know what he was!

A monster!

You liar!

You liar!

What the people of Florence owe Giovanni de' Medici

they could never repay in gold.

The Lord blessed his family with great wealth.

Yet he acted not from greed

but from conviction.

Conviction that

wealth was not to be hoarded by the few

but used

to provide for the many.

That power was not to be used to enrich the strong

but to raise up the weak.

Care for some wine?

I think we could all use a glass.

Go drink elsewhere.

With pleasure

as soon as you tell me what your friend here

whispered in your ear.

It's none of your concern.

If it has to do with this family, Cosimo, it is very much

my concern.

Father was murdered.

What?

He always

tasted the grapes on his morning walks.

Only, this time

they were painted with hemlock.

Marco had the surgeon study his liver to be sure.

Do you know who did it?

Power breeds enemies.

You father had many.

None greater than Albizzi. He's always hated us.

Not always.

We must inform the Signoria.

We must do nothing of the kind.

Did father teach you nothing?

Perception is power.

And we must appear powerful, now more than ever.

His murder demands justice, Cosimo.

Alerting his killer

will only make him harder to catch.

I will have justice.

Once I know who did it.

I'm sorry to disturb you

You never disturb, Ugo. What is it?

This just arrived.

It's from Albizzi.

He wants to meet at the fulling mill.

Messer Medici

Strange that you would ask to meet here

This old mill is where it all started, isn't it?

Where your father began his climb from peasant

to monarch.

But my father held no such title.

No Giovanni de' Medici was far too clever to claim a title.

Everyone knows he ruled this so-called republic.

He lined the people's pockets

and gave them a voice just loud enough to make them feel strong.

What is it you want Rinaldo?

His position in the Signoria.

Replacement will be selected tomorrow.

And I expect it to be you.

If I am so fortunate to have my name drawn

at random.

Random yet, remarkably

the restricted council

is always seated with a name loyal to the Medici.

My family has had

differences with yours.

But in matters of the Signoria at least

we had an understanding with your father.

He did not challenge the established order.

And you're here to ensure that I won't either

Hm.

I am my father's son.

It's not quite a "no", is it?

You certainly are your father's son, Cosimo.

I fear you're even more your father than he was.

Know this: if you challenge us

your children will be back at this mill

selling filthy wool like your late father

Piero, are you quite alright?

I'm fine, grandmother.

Then stop making a spectacle of yourself with those tears.

Your grandfather would want you to show strength.

Where is my son?

He went out this morning.

I asked, "where is he".

He had a meeting, mother.

Marco Bello's gone to find him.

Missing dinner.

His father's not been in the grave one day

and already he neglects his family. Hm.

Cosimo de' Medici, have you seen him?

- I'm concerned about you, Cosimo. - I'm fine.

You vanished for hours.

What happened this afternoon with Marco Bello and Lorenzo?

Nothing of important.

There's always been a distance between us, Cosimo.

But I have been a good and loyal wife these many years

And now you bear a heavy burden.

The weight of this family this bank, this republic.

It would be enough to break another man.

If you would allow me, I could help to lessen it.

Where's your brother?

He had an errand.

- Oh, God, Roberto! - He's early.

No, he's late.

That means I'm late!

Hey!

Hey!

- Hey! Watch out! - Sorry!

Sorry, father.

Sorry. I was, uh

Is it new?

Your cloak.

Is it new?

- Yes. - Oh.

Very nice. May may I see it?

Of course.

Woah Very fine.

My father would sell wool like this, but only to the wealthiest nobles.

What?

No! No.

No, no, no, no!

That will be all, Ugo.

What did you do that for?

The Medici do not call attention to themselves with fancy dress.

I have money. Why not enjoy it?

You have my money.

Stand up!

- You wanted to see us, father? - Yes.

This is a letter from Rome.

The Pope has died.

The Curia will act swiftly

to replace him.

How does this concern us?

Pack your things. You'll see.

You spend hours studying the Duomo

Yes, father.

Have you considered why the old Florentines

built a cathedral so enormous

no one could complete it?

It was folly. Their ambition exceeded their ability.

They knew it was impossible.

The cathedral is too grand, too glorious.

But if they knew it could not be completed, why build it?

Because they had dreams, Cosimo.

That God would produce future generations

clever enough to realize those dreams.

That could be me, father

If I apply myself to my drawings.

It could be you.

But not with your drawings.

The dome will not be completed by an artist or an architect.

It will be completed by a man who can marshal

the vast resources needed

to accomplish the task.

A man of great wealth and power.

I know you fancy yourself

an artist Cosimo.

But I too have dreams.

For this family

for this city.

And when I die

it'll be up to my sons and their son's sons

to realize those dreams.

Come back next time, I'll give you a real blessing!

Giovanni de' Medici

Admiral

These are my sons

Cosimo

and Lorenzo.

Lorenzo

Your father has come up with a rather remarkable proposal, boys.

At present Holy Mother Church is fatally divided.

There's a false pontiff in Avignon

another one in Naples

With Pope Alexander dead

our hopes depend on a strong successor to purify

and unite the Church.

You seek financing?

To buy votes, among the Curia

in Rome.

Bribery.

I believe it's pronounced "lobbying".

And your candidate?

Why me, of course!

You're not seriously thinking of

giving money to

a--a pirate?

No, no, no, a condottiero!

Not just that

but

an ordained cardinal and voting member of the Curia.

He seeks to unite and purify by buying his way into the papacy?

It is sometimes necessary to do some bad

in order to achieve a much greater good.

What collateral do you offer?

None at all.

Now, I'm afraid if I fail

there's little hope of you recovering your investment

but if I succeed

the Medici become bankers to the Pope.

All the tithes and taxes that flow to the Curia

from London to Tunisia

would pass through our bank.

In a stroke, we would become the most successful bankers in Europe.

No one could call us usurers anymore

not if the Pope was our client

What? Usurers?

Usurers make money by charging interest to the desperate.

Our profit comes from trade

and credit. We give opportunity

to those who otherwise would have none.

And never forget that. Alright.

You will go to Rome at once.

So will you.

- Me? - Yes.

Lorenzo is good at convincing people, not me

Only one of you can lead the bank if I die.

He wants to pit us against each other.

Yes.

No, we won't let him divide us

will we?

Never.

Today, with heavy hearts, we choose a successor

for the late Giovanni de' Medici.

Oh, the suspense is killing me

The successor

to Giovanni de' Medici shall be

Cosimo de' Medici!

They're cheating

You are cheating!

You are cheating!

You are cheating!

My father understood that

money should be used to allow all men

to benefit from their toil.

Not just those born to rank and title.

That is the Florence he helped build.

He may be gone

but what he stood for

cannot be destroyed.

Message for the Signoria.

Visconti, Duke of Milan, has attacked Lucca.

The city walls have fallen.

I call for immediate adjournment!

Adjourned!

The important families must call for war

to protect our interests in Lucca.

But the merchants whose livelihood depends on trade

war is not in their best interest.

You will support us, Cosimo, just as your father did.

Or you'll find his seat needs filling again.

Father!

Is it true there will be war?

It is possible.

Piero was meant to go with you today

to see you take your father's seat in the Signoria.

It's time I started working with you.

Is there nothing else you dream of being?

Other than a banker?

It's what grandfather wished. Is it not?

He is your heir.

- I do not need to be reminded. - But he is brilliant!

He has a mind for books, not for the affairs of men.

At least give him a chance.

You were his age when you started learning from your father.

Piero is not me.

Welcome to Rome!

The sooner we can leave this stinkhole, the better.

Twenty-three cardinals vote for the Pope.

We have three weeks to persuade twelve of them to elect me.

- But you're among the twenty-three - You see?

We already have one vote.

Cardinal Cossa!

It's for your vote that we're here.

Are you entirely serious?

Entirely.

As you are doubtless aware, Carinal Cossa is highly qualified

And fully ordained

Cardinal Attavanti has my vote.

I see no reason to change it.

How many reasons does Your Eminence need?

You see, Your Eminence

we deeply believe in the candidacy of Cardinal Cossa.

And we are prepared

Not bad.

Not as good as me, of course.

But not bad.

You're an artist?

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi.

That's a mouthful.

I'm called Donatello.

You're not from here, are you?

Florence.

So am I.

Messer

Medici.

Medici?

Then you are a banker.

I am

I am here to learn.

A banker who wants to be an artist

Alright then, Medici.

Come with me.

What is this place?

My workshop.

Bertolo!

This is my new friend, Cosimo.

Enchanted. Have a cup.

Thank you.

The wisdom of the ancient.

Salvaged from the streets.

This is why you came to Rome?

It seems the only artists who have something to teach me

died a thousand years ago.

See?

They have no clothes.

You are a banker, aren't you?

Are we not made in God's image?

By showing the beauty of man, do we not depict the beauty of God?

You said you wanted to learn.

Come.

Start there.

I

I hope you didn't mind me staring

Why would I?

You were

- almost - naked.

I wasn't sure you'd noticed.

Your eyes

didn't look down once.

What's your name?

Bianca.

I'm Cosimo.

Cosimo

Oh.

Will I see you again?

I hope so.

I hope so too.

Come, brother, there's work to be done.

Myself, I'm inclined to favor

Cardinal Colonna.

Your Eminence, permit a small donation towards

Go away!

Cardinal Torelli

A moment of your time.

Holy Mother Church

Where are you going?

I have to go to work.

I thought you were an artist

I would very much like to be.

Why?

If you have a job

Artists make no money.

There is more to life than money, you know.

Like what?

Like beauty.

Like you.

Beauty doesn't matter without food in your stomach

clothes on your back

or a roof

Where are you from?

What did you do before this?

I was a laundress.

I will be again when I leave this place.

Who do you think you are?

Who do you think I am?

Are you so depraved

as to believe there is no honor or faith in Rome?

Your Eminence, we were merely hoping to help guide

I know precisely what you are hoping, Cardinal Cossa.

How dare you presume we are all as corrupt as yourself?

I serve God.

And you?

This usurer

with social pretentions.

Another time, perhaps

How's it going with Cossa?

Oh, so you remembered about that, did you?

I'm sorry. I know I haven't exactly been carrying my weight.

No. You've done nothing.

And to answer your question

it isn't going particularly well.

We have five days left

and all we have done is depleted our funds. Where have you been?

You're far better at this than me, Lorenzo.

If that's supposed to be an excuse

I don't want to be a banker, you know that.

We don't have a choice.

Neither of us do.

It's time for mass.

Close the door. I want a word.

We've understood some things about who murdered father.

Such as?

Whoever he was, he had a classical education.

Poisoning fruit was a trick used on Emperor Augustus.

His wife knew he had his food tasted, so she killed him

by having the figs on the tree daubed with poison.

Well, that certainly narrows the list.

Can I speak with you?

Alone?

You do know the Albizzi are rallying support for a vote

in the Signoria to authorize war against Lucca.

His men are in the streets as we speak readying for battle.

The families need this war

to preserve the revenue from the properties there.

Yes.

How will you vote?

Father would have gone along to get along.

He would have voted with them.

You hold father's seat now.

And if you oppose the war

many others in the Signoria will vote with you.

And the families will be at war with us.

Now, Albizzi warned me against opposing them. I

Albizzi had a classical education.

And when he was a boy

he played in that vineyard many times.

I know.

If he killed our father, he did it for one reason: to weaken us.

And now you have a chance to weaken him.

If you do not take that, Cosimo

then you may not get another.

In nomine Patris

et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.

Amen.

Oremus.

Deus

qui beatam Mariam semper Virginem

Spiritus Sancti abitaculum

odierna die in templo presentare voluisti

praesta quaesumus ut eius intercessionem

in templo gloriae tuea presentari mereamur.

Deus qui beatam Maria semper Virginem

Spiritus Sancti abitatuculum

You must forgive my intrusion upon your devotions, my Lord.

You had me break the law by conducting an autopsy

on your father.

And yet I notice word of his poisoning

has not spread.

Would I be correct in assuming that your Excellency

prefers to keep this melancholy fact a secret?

What's your point?

My point is

that someone does know

what befell your lamented father.

Someone besides his murderer.

You know

For one-hundred Florins

my lips are sealed for ever.

In nomine Patris, et Filii

et Spiritus Sancti.

Amen.

Father and his debts go on too long. Four months

Well, then let's do something about it.

May I have a word?

I went to the piazza, as instructed.

Di Cecco says one hundred Florins

is nothing to a man such as yourself.

Tomorrow he wants a thousand.

Frighten him.

How long have you known me?

Eighteen years now.

You found me on the street. I was bloodied and beaten.

You brought me into your home

It has been my honor

to serve you ever since.

You've done more than serve, Marco. You've been like a brother.

Then you know you must trust me.

I've known men like the surgeon all my life, and I'm telling you:

he will never go away.

Not until he's made to go away.

Frighten him, Marco.

Nothing more.

Bianca?

Will you betray us?

- Please, just let me - Bertolo is only 19.

Must he be put to death for sodomy?

Must I?

Cosimo

I was afraid you'd left.

Just for bread, that's all.

I don't want you to leave

Ever again. Do you understand?

Cosimo Don't be silly.

You are the son of a banker.

And I am a laundress.

I am in love with you, Bianca.

I am in love with you.

As if that mattered

One day, soon

I'm going to take you to meet my brother.

And my father.

You're a dreamer, Cosimo.

That's exactly what I am.

What is it?

A letter from my father.

The Albizzi have been sowing bribes the other way.

- What? - We're nearly bankrupt.

It's a pity.

I could have helped.

And I could have cleansed the Church.

I've just spoken to Cardinal Mosca.

He's with us.

But how did you manage that?

There's no money left to bribe him with.

I used the argument you first made to us:

the need to unite

and purify the Church.

There, you see!?

Now, if we could get Orsini to switch

then Attavanti and the other three would follow.

We might as well wish for the sun to rise at night.

I don't know why we're here.

Orsini will never switch!

He hates me!

You there!

Cardinal Orsini, we

You must leave here at once!

I am a member of the Curia.

Sadly, this is true

but they are not.

Go

or I will have you thrown out.

Guards!

Guards!

We're going.

We're leaving!

What is it, Claudio?

Your son Cosimo is in love.

With a

With whom?

A peasant.

A laundress Messer.

Sir calls us to the next ballot.

Thank you.

First ballot, nil

Their food.

Now, if we had gold, there's how you get it in.

I don't need gold.

I need paper.

What are you going to do?

Something bad, in order to do something good.

Donatello?

What happened?

The Curia Guards shut us down.

- What for? - Charges of sodomy.

Someone reported us.

Where is Bianca?

She's gone.

What do you mean gone?

She said she was leaving.

Someplace you'd never find her.

She was scared, Cosimo.

She'll never come back.

You should feel proud.

Lorenzo and I did this together.

Yes.

But it was your idea to blackmail Orsini.

Your brother never would have dared.

I didn't want him to tell you.

He had to.

He knew in his heart

you should lead the bank.

A case for war has been made.

Duke Visconti and his hired general Sforza

must be driven out of Lucca.

Signor Guadagni, call the question.

Exception!

Signor Albizzi.

Will you yield to Messer Medici?

The Albizzi and the other noble families of Florence

have provided for this city for centuries.

And war has been the instrument of their power

and they prosecute them endlessly.

Your point, Messer Medici?

We're in the new age.

With a new generation of men

who understand a simple truth:

that war

is wrong.

Is it all there?

Of course.

Then this will do.

For now.

These lofty paintings glorify war, but omit its stench.

A new world is here.

A world of business and trade.

A world where men are awarded for their ideas

and initiative

a world where if you are born poor

it no longer means your children must remain poor!

Your business

is nothing but usury.

Which Holy Mother Church condemns.

Jews

not gentlemen, are usurers.

Gentlemen don't hold pens, we wield swords!

And swords grow rusty if they are not used.

I call a vote!

No, no!

Order!

Order!

Order!

What is that?

Albizzi carried the vote.

So there will be war

With guns in Lucca, and without them in Florence.

What of the surgeon, Di Cecco?

He's dead.

How?

He was going to shout out.

I had no choice.

There is always a choice.

I made mine years ago.