of rusted crowns

Rinaldi degli Albizzi. An emperor to riches uncounted, titles unwritten and deeds unnameable.

[albizzir]

francescadelbzzi‌:

Dark eyes shot up from the parchment she held in her slender hands to study the man before them. Fingertips caressing the red seal that had once secured the writers words, before it had fallen into her hands. Often she pretended it to be letter from other ladies when anyone dare ask, pouring their hearts out about the latest gossip in Northern Italy, for a woman was rarely deemed fit to get herself involved in tax laws or shipments. She was to be a decoration in fine silk at her husband’s side, and a pawn in the play of great man in the time of negotiations. A pawn in a play of gentlemen, the street of Florence its board. 

Gently, her left hand caressed the top of her husband’s hand that clamped on to his chair for dear life. Exerting the virtue of patience with great care, as he suffered to the endless amount of men who demanded audience. “I believe he seeks what they all seek, dear husband. An investor.” she spoke close to his ear, her tone private and just loud enough to speak the words for his ears only. 

‘      -  HE DIDN’T nod in assent to her words, as that had long ceased from being necessary. Acknowledgement was only duly given to those who might doubt they’ve been heard - and as far as him and his wife were concerned, listening was something fundamental, axiomatic. The ruler brought his fingers into a steeple. His address towards to petitioner was tainted by skepticism, but not in enough nuances to make it entirely discouraging. Doubt and something else, something sharper, entertained his expression. “And what made you think the Albizzi would sponsor new endeavors? I thought our neighbors across the square held monopoly on that. Come to me in a fortnight, if nothing better had been dangled before you.”

The dismissive flick of the hand followed, the typical stance which surprised no one. Three quarters from his open-ended meetings ended in the same curt discharge. And when the petitioners came on days such as these, where doors were propped apart, free for everyone to enter and bring his cause to the conteggio, the flippancy was even more brutal. Rinaldi inched closer to his wife. Their shoulders brushed together as she took her seat near him, muslin against organdy, delicate blades shaded by rugged muscle. “So seek they may. The Medici will have him - they squander their money like lavandera girls their--”. The sentence was brusquely cut off. His head bowed forth for the briefest of moments. “I apologize, my dear. It was a much too vulgar line of thought.”

[albizzir]

deglialbizzi‌:

    -    “ I heartily seek your happiness above all things, padre. ” The Lord himself could have sent down one of his angels in a blinding light, wings spread wide to strike anyone whom glanced their way in complete awe, and yet they would still not have the ability to outshine the apparent innocence of Giulia degli Albizzi’s smile. Hands were tucked together behind her back in a stance contrasting her usual lady-like manner but making her the image of a young girl, standing before her father with clear intentions of wanting something from him. “ I wonder if the happiness of your beloved daughter might be something which would lift your spirits… In which case I would suggest that perhaps a brief jaunt inside of the Palazzo della Signoria might cure both of our ills?  ”

‘     -  RINALDI had forgone all attempts to preserve a serious mien, from the moment her proposal clinked in the air like a spoon against glass. He smiled with lips partly open, as if they still sought for words. But proper responses were always an onerous matter as far as Giulia was concerned - nothing but satisfaction appeased her, and he would rarely use anything more authoritative than a glance in order to curtail her pleas. Even to drip admonition into his expression cost him more self-possession than it did to simply give in. Besides, it was not as though she were yearning for anything out of place. Did her curiosity not add to the gilded borders which framed their name? Did her curiosity not always end in usefulness? “So fortunate our happiness is entwined then, no, mia cara? And convenient, too.”

[albizzir]

dcbardi‌:

      Words do not part her lips, for she remains as swift and silent as a creeping shadow. Obsidian irises narrow on the gentleman, a rival to her house - or rather, the house which holds the end of her noose. Isabella steps out from the shadows, making her presence known to the Albizzi. The manservant poorly explaining their plight to the banker is scrutinised by her, as she stands in front of him. “ I do not think that he is aware of what he seeks himself, My Lord. ” Isabella’s own apperance before the rival house is one of chance, opposed to a dilligently put together plan. She wonders if Francis de Medici will have her head, simply for being in attendance.

‘      -   A HALF-SMILE is spared for the other woman, not as rare as his detractors would have it believed, but still a sparse token. Across his mouth, only one corner is tugged up, as his head chucks backwards with a sigh. “They seldom do.” The ruler’s mind is quick to match her face to the raiment she embodied in society, different details piled and expanded across his thoughts. Holiness knows how he remembers all these tidbits - like lint sticking to your underclothes. “Mistress de Bardi, as if I’ve heard you prefer to be addressed by your maiden name - what claim may I help your gracefulness with?”

[albizzir]

‘     -  THE NOBLEMAN bit down on shapeless words, his eyes seizing the other like an impetus, willing them to speak. His hand curled over his own impatience and clamped down. From his chair on the rostrum, Rinaldi could all but spring up, matters yet undealt with pulling at him as if he had strings affixed to his joints. “You utter sense”, he yielded, though more out of clemency than any admission of mistake on his part, “but I still do not know what you seek.” 

[coeurhq]

hello lovelies! i’m robespierre (nina)#7149 on discord so PLEASE do message me over there for plots. I cannot deal with tumblr IM so I likely won’t respond over there. also, if there’s a discord group you want to make for the albizzi, I’m so in.  

[albizzir]

Have you heard RINALDI DEGLI ALBIZZI has arrived in Florence? The 41 year old head of House Albizzi is known for being both TACTICALand UNCOMPROMISING, but would not want anyone to know HE MADE A WORRISOME DEAL WITH A HIGH-PUT MEMBER OF THE CHURCH.

sooo, this is to be eternally under construction, but the baseline of rinaldi kinda goes like this: 

the frank underwood of renaissance italy, p much

ruthless and not misunderstood

inspired by BUT NOT IDENTICAL with the canon historical character

a mind bred into strategy, tinted with plenty illusions (or are they?) of grandeur, both about himself and his family’s ancestral history

super disdainful of those who recently came into means/into power - for him, the distinction between coinage and authority is very clear: only one can be grabbed from hazard, the other one is instilled in you with time, by a long line of succession which cannot be dismantled by earthly powers

totally into that status quo

cultured, but not very tolerant of everything the renaissance entails: think of him as a republican in both senses of the word lmao

has a ledger of mini-plots for all his family as if they were freaking tamagotchis and neopets

would sell a kidney and a kid for that street cred

even with all that, he still views his children as the best, regardless of any condition or circumstance, simply because they are albizzis

has gone very far with simony and nepotism and is now in the backpocket of a high-order clerical member, who can all but have him excommunicated if his private dealings with the curia are aired out

possible connections:

familial - he does already have daughters, a son, and a ward, but in such an illustrious, golden-lettered family there can be many more members: distant cousins he took under his wing, men whose potential he had glimpsed as a member of the signoria and wishes to mentor them as a consequence etc.

matters of the heart - depending on where my muse runs off to, as it’s completely known to do, I think I might headcanon him as loyal to his wife. why, you ask, when adultery is so much fun? well, bear with me: I got very tired of this trope that the moment a man is in a position of power, it’s half-assumed that he toys around with women, often indiscriminately so. I don’t think it’s true to boot at all, and can be actually very toxic to development if used without discernment! 

rivals: bloody medici vermin. i’ll say no more. even though is not a tyrant, and well aware it doesn’t pay to hold more grudges than you can appease, he would not look kindly on those who support/brush on the medici entourage. even artists and men of letters could gain his disapproval by putting on display the same loose, tactless behavior he sees as vulgarity without cause. maybe your muse could try to enlighten him?

allies turned liabilities: any member of the vatican or those who study theology/work for the pope/have business in the holy city are so so so welcome to plot. i really want to expand on this side of bribery and extortion and red-felted darkness that the vatican had with the richest duchies and republics of italy.