Topic: Medici Family

Florence is criticized as a "Disneyland" for tourists, where many outdoor statues are replicas while the originals are kept in museums. The history of the Medici family is discussed, framing their commissioned religious art as a form of self-deification and propaganda. A theory is proposed that the invention of gunpowder forced royal families to move away from overt violence toward "ceremonial" power to pacify the public.