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Florence and its residents appear in late medieval popular culture across Europe, particularly in jokes at their expense. So why was everyone so obsessed with Florence? In this episode, Olivia and Aran take a look at how this Tuscan city grew to become a thriving centre of arts, banking, and trade by the 15th century, its resulting notoriety, and the conflicts that ensued between its different factions. Also discussed are Olivia's Italian heritage, why Master Splinter is a communist, and the Underwear Revolution.

For more on some of what we discuss, check out:

• Poggio Fiorentino's 1470 joke book "Facetiae"
  • https://elfinspell.com/PoggioSecondTitle.html
• The Economy of Renaissance Florence by Richard Goldthwaite
  • https://muse.jhu.edu/book/3422
• Plebeian Politics: Machiavelli and the Ciompi Uprising by Yves Winter
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/41703099
• The Patron's Payoff by Jonathan K. Nelson and Richard J. Zeckhauser
  • https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691161945/the-patrons-payoff