♪ I am here for all to see ♪
♪ In my bones there's dignity ♪
♪ I will fight them I can say that I can change the world ♪
♪ But if you let me I will make my world stand tall ♪
♪ Let me show you one last time ♪
♪ Let me show you one last sign ♪
♪ I can see it all ♪
There are survivors over here.
-How long have these men been here? -Since last week.
And more keep coming every day.
We can provide shelter, but this mill must keep spinning.
There's no wool to spin.
The English ships won't deliver, not as long as the war drags on.
Our obligations cannot be met without revenue.
We can't even send the Pope's tithes to Rome.
The people are desperate.
This war must end.
Albizzi is outmatched.
If the war ends now, it will mean defeat for Florence.
If it doesn't end now, we shall be ruined.
--Madonna...
-What's going on? -There are men at the door.
-Where are the guards? -Showing the mercenaries.
-Shall I find Messer Cosimo? -No, I'll deal with this.
- Get out of the way!
How may I help you, Messer?
We have come to search the house, Madonna! Step aside!
Search? Whatever for?
There's no work to be found and we're hungry!
Go to the kitchen!
-Have the cook bring these men some food. -It's not food we're looking for!
This is not a bank. If you want gold, go there.
There are guards at the bank!
Move aside, Madonna. We don't want to hurt you.
Wouldn't it be simpler to just ask me where the gold is to be found?
If you please.
At the mint.
-The mint? -There are 54 grains of gold in a florin.
The last of ours are being used to strike new coins as we speak.
You're de Girolamo, aren't you not? The weaver.
And you're del Giudice, the mason.
If you ransack this house, rest assured the Gonfaloniere will hear of it.
Do you really want to face prison for a pointless search?
Wait outside, Messer. The cook will bring you food.
What good fortune that the gold is at the mint.
Of course it isn't.
That door is to remain locked until you find Marco Bello.
Tell him we need guards.
What are you thinking?
I come from the front.
Where my son Ormanno fights valiantly.
Not to deliver fantasies of easy victory.
But the hard facts of war.
Written with blood and steel! We are sworn to defeat the Milanese!
But this, condottiero, Sforza, has killed and maimed many of our men.
To defeat him...
We need greater resources.
We have no more money to fund your wars!
-You cannot draw blood from a stone! -Yes!
I understand your hardship, Messer.
But our republic cannot afford to lose!
- Not after we have invested so much. - Signor Guadagni!
-Signor Pazzi... -We agree with Signor Albizzi.
We demand a vote!
--A vote!
- Yes! Yes! - A vote! A vote!
We agree!
Good!
Then let's move to the vote. Black for yes, white for no.
Our supporters are waiting for you to lead, Cosimo.
This war bleeds us dry.
-Oppose Albizzi. -Is that what you would do?
-If Father had asked you to lead the bank? -Why won't you?
I can see what Albizzi does not when the price of victory is too high.
So you just accept defeat?
I act when I can act.
The vote for more taxes...
- is past!
What are you doing here?
Are you deaf? Answer me.
-Praying. -Enough of that. Come with me.
When will you complete it, Father?
-Complete what? -The cathedral.
I told you to put away your drawings.
You will lead the life of a banker, not an artist.
I have put them away.
But the church cannot be consecrated until it has a dome.
I will not live to see it consecrated, neither will you.
Someone must be clever enough to complete it.
The problem is not the engineering. It's capital.
Well, surely we can afford it now.
With the Pope's revenues flowing through the bank.
Think, Cosimo. Why was the cathedral built?
-To honor God. -Yes.
And you honor God by serving this family, and our bank.
-I don't see how a bank honors God. -Men are God's creation.
- Whatever we achieve is God's glory.
-We're late. -What for?
We're going home to meet your father-in-law.
Some wine, Messer Bardi?
No.
My father will be with us at any moment.
I'm not accustomed to being made to wait, Messer Medici.
Yes. No disrespect is intended, I assure you...
I see you have already met my son Lorenzo, Monsieur Bardi.
-This is Cosimo. -It is an honor.
Shall we get down to business, Messer Medici?
Back this way.
My father and grandfather were bankers who could afford to buy noble blood...
Just as you do now.
I am aware, Messer.
Centuries of prosperity ruined
by a single unpaid loan to the King of England.
And now I find myself forced to sell my daughter's hand.
Your noble blood
is an asset whose value cannot be diminished.
Beware, Messer Medici.
It's difficult to scale the heights of power.
The fall is swift and easy.
-You are a wise man, Messer. -A humbled one.
As we are both men of business, shall we speak terms?
- Please. - Romantic, isn't it?
The loan that ruined my family was for 900,000 florins.
For my daughter's hand, I ask 100,000.
Oh!
Pardon me.
I appreciate your position, Messer,
but that is far more than this union is worth.
In that case, there is no union to be made.
Your daughter is attractive, but opinionated.
She has very few suitors,
none with the means to support your family.
You need to marry her off, Messer. And at a good price.
I am prepared to offer 50,000 florins.
That will not do.
You will not do better.
You miscalculate, Messer Medici,
50,000 florins can scarcely improve my family's position.
Not by itself, perhaps, but...
your bank holds bills of trade with merchants in Barcelona,
Seville, and Marseille.
Bills of trade as yet unpaid.
My bank is prepared to acquire these bills,
at one-third their face value.
All told, that would result in a net dowry of, uh...
81,473 florins.
Mm.
You calculate the conflict in Avignon will end
and these bills of trade will become payable.
Sooner or later.
In which case, rather than
paying for my daughter's hand, you would actually profit from it.
My family can afford to wait to pay these debts, Messer.
Yours cannot.
Very well... I agree to the terms.
And you, young man, you shall have my daughter as a bride.
We are delighted to welcome her into our family.
She's looking forward to meeting you.
Medici!
I must get back to the front.
But I am not ungrateful for your support, however belated.
I had no choice. The people of Florence are suffering.
It's not just the people who suffer, but your bank, which is starved of trade.
Do you have a question, Rinaldo?
I understand the surgeon, di Cecco, is dead. Murdered.
-So I have been told. -Curious.
I saw you talking to him inside the cathedral.
Only a few days before he died.
We are making inquiries.
Good.
I should be most eager to find out who killed him. And why.
Why does he speak like that?
He cannot suspect you.
It is not only the Milanese he seeks to destroy.
Come.
I was just going to get you.
- What is it? - Your wife.
Darling, are you unwell?
-I'm perfectly fine. -She's not fine.
-She fell. -When?
-An hour ago. -I stood up too quickly, that's all.
After drinking a cup of wine, she said it tasted off.
It was fine. I'm fine.
Will everyone please stop fussing over me?
You're pale as a ghost.
This is my fault, for worrying you with talk of going to war.
Nonsense.
She just needs a little rest.
-That's all. -Thank you.
Do you think she's been poisoned?
-I'm not certain, of course. -How? In my home!
Well, it wouldn't be too difficult to uncork a bottle from the vineyard.
-I want all our wine disposed of. -I have already given the order.
Go to the apothecary. Seek an antidote.
At once.
What is it, Cosimo?
Business.
What kind of business?
Let me tend to these affairs.
You take care of this family.
I always have!
And more besides.
- Is he handsome? - I couldn't say.
Well, did he seem kind? Clever?
I've been told he's a cold fish.
I didn't notice, and you must stop asking questions.
Father, this man is to be my husband.
Do you take so little interest in my happiness?
This is not about your happiness.
-Obviously. -Contessina!
-Your tongue is too sharp! -So I'm told.
You've been given the chance to save your family from ruin.
By marrying beneath me.
That is the way all my friends will see it.
In that case, they are not worthy of your friendship.
Father, there are others who would have my hand.
You mean, Ezio Contarini?
He may have a title, but he has no resources.
He has declared his love for me, and I care for him.
Daughter, do you know how naive you sound?
When you marry into the Medici, we will gain 80,000 florins,
and you will be my eyes and ears on what is now the richest bank on earth.
Your bride's arrived, Cosimo.
-What are you doing? -I have no use for them.
Now that I am to lead the life of a banker.
Brother, you were always to lead the life of a banker.
The one that you wanted us to meet in Rome...
-That doesn't matter. -Who was she?
Bianca. A true woman.
But not suitable for a Medici, so Father got rid of her.
Well, whatever Father may have done,
Contessina de Bardi is to be your now bride, Cosimo.
-You must accept that. -More bad to do good.
Marrying into nobility is not bad.
And, uh, who knows, in time your affections may grow.
Advises the man who's yet to fall in love with a woman?
Come.
They're waiting.
Oh, yes, I do.
Contessina de' Bardi, Cosimo de' Medici.
Contessina...
My son is delighted to meet you.
You two should get acquainted.
Are you quite well, Messer de' Medici?
You may call me Cosimo if we are to be married.
Thank you, Cosimo. You've not answered my question.
I think you know I am quite well, Contessina.
-Then you are uncomfortable. -And you are as direct as I've been told.
I know you did not choose this union, Cosimo--
I did not.
I do not appreciate being mated like cattle.
-Cattle? -I'm sorry if the truth offends you.
-I did not choose this union either. -Then why go through with it?
Because it benefits my family, of course.
From the moment we are married, you will be a Medici.
You will not act as an agent for your father's bank,
telling him our family's secrets.
You will be my wife,
and you will be loyal to me, and only to me.
Do you understand?
What can I help you with, mastro?
Are you familiar with the properties of hemlock?
Yes, of course.
My friend may have accidentally ingested some.
That is quite an accident. Is your friend still alive?
-I seek an antidote. -When was it consumed?
Just a few hours ago.
I'm sorry, mastro. The only antidote is an emetic.
Zinc or mustard and castor oil, but it's too late for that.
Keep your friend warm. And pray.
That is his only hope.
-You sell hemlock here, don't you? -Yes.
It is needed from time to time to put down a sick animal.
-And do you sell it as a liquid? -As a liquid?
One that could be used, say, to paint grapes.
Grapes? No.
I don't prepare liquid hemlock, mastro.
Trade in or out of Florence has virtually dried up.
This cursed war is destroying the bank.
Well?
The apothecary says it is too late for an antidote.
Am I simply to watch and wait as my daughter-in-law dies?
May we have a moment?
Of course. I'll collect the accounts from the other room.
We don't know how much she ingested.
We are not even certain that it was hemlock.
But the apothecary does sell such a poison.
He could have sold the hemlock used to kill your father.
Surely he would never admit to such a crime.
No. Not freely.
You are not to hurt this man, Marco.
You need proof Rinaldo degli Albizzi killed your father.
-The apothecary could supply it. -But the surgeon was enough.
I'll not have any more blood on my hands.
The blood is on my hands, Cosimo, not yours.
Once a thing gets started, it must be finished.
God knows that is enough.
And Albizzi suspects.
-He can never prove it. -A viper cornered may strike anyone.
-He's already struck my daughter-in-law-- -Then we need the truth.
How is she?
No better, no worse.
-Ah, good morning. -Ugo...
-What are you doing here? -Your wife is in need of funds.
So I've been, uh, scraping together florins from different accounts.
Florence has ground to a halt under the weight of this war,
and there will be no hope of recovery until peace is restored.
When was the last time tithes were paid to the Pope?
Six weeks ago, I believe. Since before the war began.
-How much are we holding? -A great deal.
Almost, uh, 70,000 florins.
More than enough.
All those funds belong to the Pope. We cannot touch them.
Thank you, Ugo.
What are you thinking?
Opportunities may arise in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Messere...
Those men? Who were they?
It doesn't concern you.
Any strangers in my home at this moment concerns me.
I'm looking for her.
Rosa?
I can't get her out of my mind, Cosimo.
I loved her.
I don't care what anyone says. She wouldn't just disappear.
-It has been months, Lorenzo. -So you're telling me just to give up?
Like you did with that girl that you loved all those years ago?
I would never presume to tell you what to do.
What is it you want, brother?
If I am to act against Albizzi, I need allies.
-What kind of allies? -A kind one finds in Rome.
What would you have the Pope do?
I want you to prevail on him to sue for peace.
I don't see why Albizzi would listen to the Pope.
Albizzi is a man of faith, and the Pope has certain...
spiritual tools at his disposal.
If you want to end this war, then you must fight Albizzi head on.
You know what Father taught us.
Yes, but, surely desperate times justify a direct exercise of power.
If peace were to be restored, people would soon forget
the suffering they endured in this war,
but would long remember I advocated for surrender, and hate me for it.
Is it not better they thank the Pope than blame our bank?
Our great cathedral was begun generations ago
by our grandfathers and their fathers before them.
And some say they dreamt too large.
That their ambition outstrips our abilities.
But you, signore, are here today
to complete the great work that began so long ago.
Why has no one solved the mystery of the dome?
It requires a great understanding of mathematics.
The weight alone would cause the entire structure
to come crashing down onto the parishioners below.
No scaffolding could possibly be erected high enough.
So how do I propose to complete the great Duomo?
We'll erect an enormous pillar...
A giant mountain! Dirt, mixed with coins, upon which...
- The roof, of course...
With all due respect to my colleagues...
-It is unquestionably... -...without doubt...
-...the only way. -The only solution.
- The only way.
Fools!
Charlatans. And impostors!
None of you is fit to call yourself an architect.
Messer Medici, apologies.
But I would not have come, had I known this man was invited.
I was not invited, but I came anyway.
Because not one of you knows how to complete this glorious edifice.
Filippo Brunelleschi, at your service.
The doors you designed for the baptistery are of incomparable beauty.
- Oh. - That was 20 years ago.
It was Ghiberti who won the commission.
And this man's a goldsmith, he's not an architect.
He is just a buffoon, a babbler.
I'm a genius, ahead of my time.
How do you propose to complete the dome, Mastro Brunelleschi?
The answer is quite simple.
And it requires no pillars, no sponge-stone,
and no mountain of dirt and coins.
- The artist sees what nature hides.
The question you were asked is how, "genius."
I heard the question. And here's the answer.
Your presentation was dramatic, mastro, but short on detail.
You expect me to share my secrets with those scoundrels?
They would only steal my genius, and claim it as their own.
Surely you can explain to me how you propose to complete the dome,
since I am the man who means to pay for it.
Hmm.
-You ever been to Rome? -Yes. Many years ago.
Then perhaps you observed the sublime beauty of the pantheon,
built so many centuries ago by the ancients.
I did indeed.
I spend countless hours contemplating it, studying it from all angles.
I determined the only way to complete our cathedral
is to do it without scaffolding.
In the air.
-How? -By building not one...
but two domes.
The inner dome will serve as support for the outer dome.
Ingenious.
The first 46 feet will be constructed in stone.
Then we will use lighter materials,
either brick or spugna, laid in a herringbone pattern.
So each brick supports the other.
A flying buttress imbedded in the dome itself.
Precisely.
-How do you know it will hold? -I don't.
No one can say for sure,
because no one has ever attempted to build a structure of this scale.
If you fund me, it will be an act of faith.
It's been a long time since the Medici have come to Rome.
What is this urgent business of yours?
As you're aware, Your Holiness,
Florence is locked in a ruinous war with Milan.
I am. That's why your bank has held back our tithes from the north.
It wasn't safe to transport them.
The people of Florence are suffering.
What can I do?
Persuade Rinaldo degli Albizzi to sue the Duke of Milan for peace.
I could write a letter for you to carry back.
Thank you, Your Holiness.
But I'm afraid that I will need more than a letter.
There must be consequences if Albizzi fails to heed your suasion.
-Such as? -Your Holiness...
has many tools at his disposal.
Spiritual tools.
How is your wife, Piero?
Sleeping. But no better.
The messenger reached you with news of the Pope's rejection?
-Yes. -Pius fool.
- Son, are you not eating? - No, I, uh..
stopped at an inn just outside Siena, where...
I heard the most remarkable rumor.
-What sort of rumor? -I heard that my...
brother intends to complete the dome in the cathedral.
Is this true?
No, it couldn't possibly be, Mother.
Even if someone were capable of completing such a dome,
which no one is, it would take years, and cost hundreds of thousands of florins.
Not even in the best of times did Father dare such an undertaking.
Cosimo, is it true?
-Of course it is. -Explain yourself.
We've known that he wanted to be an artist.
Although he's picking a very odd time to fulfill his childhood dreams--
Cosimo, we barely have enough money to feed ourselves.
The men of Florence are poor. Hungry.
They grow restless and resentful. And two of them came to our home
only days ago seeking to rob us of our gold, did they not?
The dome will put hundreds into work.
Paid by imaginary wages?
And hundreds more providing bricks and supplies.
They in turn will buy clothes, food and the thousand other services
on which the citizens rely on for a livelihood.
You're making work.
- Out of nothing. - Not out of nothing, son, no.
The Pope may refuse to end this war,
but his tithes will be used for a spiritual purpose.
Until we can repay him.
You sent me to Rome, knowing he would turn down my entreaty.
And give you more time to use his funds.
The people will be grateful, not to the Albizzi for waging war,
but to the Medici for feeding their families.
I wish I shared your optimism, Contessina.
But while these lovely new jobs drain our accounts,
their taxes fund Albizzi's war.
And as long as that continues, we're all doomed.
Welcome, everyone!
All the builders, carpenters, see the clerk here!
All ladies go to the gentleman in black.
-What's your trade, sir? -Apples.
--Medici?
What's going on here?
You have been too long at the battlefield.
My brother has decided to complete the dome.
Complete it? Now?
While you wreak destruction outside of the city walls,
the Medici create within.
- Next! - Keep moving! Up the hill!
Don't be concerned, son. This folly will only hasten their demise.
If you're already assigned a position, please move on! Thank you!
The bill of sale, Mastro Tancredi.
-What bill of sale? -For the hemlock I know you sold.
I need the name of your customer, and proof that he bought it.
I don't have it.
Find it.
Or loose the other eye.
I'll be back tonight!
...Matrimonium coniunctio
In nomine Patris
Et Filii et Spiritus Sancti
Whoop!
Are you always so quiet?
What if I am?
I am not.
Then that is something we will both have to get used to, Contessina.
Excuse me.
Give my son time.
Time for what?
To recover. He's still smarting from a failed affair in Rome.
Was he in love?
Perhaps he thought he was.
It was simply a laundress who caught his eye.
-Who ended the affair? He or she? -Neither.
I told his father to intervene.
For Cosimo's own good.
What's the matter?
You need to ask?
You are to lead the most powerful bank in all of Europe,
and have married into a noble family.
I don't see, uh, much you have to be upset about.
-You had no right. -I had no right?
-You sent her away! -Of course I did.
Father...
-this is my life to lead. -No, no, it is not. I gave you life.
And I will instruct you on what you do with it.
-I wanted to be an artist. -An artist?
Your folly was made possible because of the privilege I gave you.
To what end?
You give me an education, you expose me to great beauty,
then insist I spend my life devoted to money and politics.
Money and politics
are what make possible the beauty that you so worship.
I didn't climb out of the stink and mud of that mill,
and scrounge the capital to start this bank and raise this family,
all, so you could just throw it away on, on, on youthful passions.
Think with your brain.
A man must live his own life.
Well...
a foolish man lives for himself.
A wise man lives with a purpose.
And yours is to serve this family.
And you will or so help me,
I will take away the life that God gave you.
My father gave me this crucifix
to remind me of my duty.
It's yours now.
Here.
Ricciardo!
How's it going?
We've got off to a fast start, Messer Lorenzo.
Water down that wine! I won't have any drunks on this site!
If they say Mastro Brunelleschi is a genius, I'm sure he is.
- Stop that! - To me, he looks mad.
Get that food out of here!
No one is to stop working! Not even to eat!
Cosimo, I know you believe in the cathedral,
and it is not my place to question the wisdom of building it or the...
legality of using Rome's tithes to pay for it.
I appreciate that, loyal Ugo.
And I can see that men are back at work, and... and that there is
pride on the streets where before there was only despair.
But this war rages on.
And the Pope's tithes will not last indefinitely.
I am aware of that, and I intend to do something about it.
I know.
This is a dream your father took from you long ago.
And, perhaps, you sense... now is the time to seize it after all.
But some losses, once borne,
can never be undone.
Piero, saddle up.
We're taking a ride.
Where are we going?
To the war.
Cosimo de' Medici!
-Shouldn't you be on the Florentine side? -I came to see you, Francesco.
-This is my son, Piero. -Your father and I are old friends.
-But you're... enemies. -Hardly.
General Sforza is one of the finest soldiers of fortune in all of Italy.
I am a mere condottiere, to whom your father loaned money
many years ago, when no one else would.
I am not the kind of man to forget a favor.
I was hoping you'd say that.
This war with Milan has dragged on far too long.
We have the advantage, my friend. We must press it.
What is it that the Duke of Milan seeks from this victory?
-Why... the city of Lucca, of course. -Lucca is wealthy.
What he seeks is revenue.
Give this to the Duke.
Tell him his guild will confirm the contents.
Tancredi?
Victory is in hand!
.A victory that will bring glory to all of Florence!
But only... if we persevere.
Don't tell me that you're going to vote again to support this scoundrel?
Even as he means to destroy us?
I don't intend to vote at all.
We have to keep fighting and stay strong.
Then we will be victorious. This is our city!
This is our republic!
General Sforza.
I'm sorry to interrupt your speech, Signor Albizzi.
But there is no longer a need for it.
Arrest this man at once.
You may arrest me, but if you do, you'll be jailing a friend.
I have come to announce terms of a truce.
A truce?
The Duke of Milan has withdrawn from Lucca.
- The war is over.
-You paid Milan to withdraw? -I didn't.
Lucca's guilds did.
What's happened?
The apothecary's dead. I think he knew who killed your father.
I told you no more blood.
He was dead when I got there.
Killed with this.
-Whose initials are they? -I don't know.
Well, find out.
The war ended,
you might just have the resources to complete this, brother.
And the Pope will finally have his tithes.
It will honor God.
-Honor God or honor you? -Whatever I achieve honors God.
Father!
What is it, son?
Lucrezia's fever has broken.
-This is most welcome news. -Yes, but...
that's not the only news.
Her illness masked another more serious condition.
What condition?
She's with child.
I am to be a father.
And you are to be a grandfather.
Keep clear! Everybody keep clear!
What is it, Ricciardo? Was this man drunk?
Messer, he wasn't drinking.
It's the Black Death.