The Renaissance: Florence Needs A Dome

Florence Needs a Dome CAST Narrator 1_____________________ Narrator 2_____________________ Narrator 3_____________________ Narrator 4_____________________ Narrator 5_____________________ Giovanni de Medici_____________________ Cosimo de Medici_____________________ Gemma de Medici, wife of Giovanni _____________________ Lucia de Medici, wife of Cosimo_____________________ Lorenzo de Medici_____________________ Lorenzo Jr_____________________ Piero de Medici_____________________ Fernando de Medici_____________________ Mule belonging to Giovanni de Medici_____________________ Luigi, a friend of the Medici_____________________ Baldassare Cossa, a pirate who wants to become a Pope_____________________ Filippo Brunelleschi, a dreamer-designer-architect and perhaps a genius_____________________ Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, a sculptor-painter-architect​_____________________ Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ​_____________________ Raphaelo Sanzio da Urbino, a painter-architect_____________________ Donatello di Nicollo di Betto Bardi, a sculptor_____________________ Scholar 1_____________________ 1

Scholar 2_____________________ Scholar 3 _____________________ Milanese Milanese 1: Ludovico (man) OR Fiametta (woman) Milanese 2: Giuseppe (man) OR Ginevra (woman) Milanese 3: Galeazzo (man) OR Stella (woman) Milanese 4: Francesco (man) OR Francesca (woman)

Venetians Venetian 1: Marco (man) Venetian 2: Andrea (man) Venetian 3: Gasparo (man) Venetian 4: Jacopo (man)

OR OR OR OR

Veronica (woman) Vittoria (woman) Serena (woman) Flora (woman)

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Scene 1: Setting:

Florence Has an Image Problem A road outside of Florence

Narrator

1:

In the 1400s, Italy was not yet a country.

Narrator

2:

Rather, it was a collection of city-states,

Narrator

3:

The most powerful of which was Venice

Narrator

1:

the doorway to the silk road

Narrator

2:

and world-wide trade.

Narrator 4:

The second most powerful city-state was Milan, a thriving metropolis with great banking and learning.

Narrator 5:

But coming up fast was Florence, a center for money-lending and the wool trade.

Narrator 1:

One day, some Venetians met some Milanese on a road.

Milanese 1:

You must be from Venice.

Venetian 1:

How could you tell?

Milanese 2:

From your lavish clothing

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Milanese 3:

And worldly air.

Venetians 2:

And where might you be from?

Milanese 4:

We’re from Milan.

Venetian 3:

Respect.

Venetian 4:

Not too shabby, not too shabby.

Venetian 1:

But who are these country bumpkins approaching?

Milanese 1:

One of them even has a mule!

Mule:

hee haw!

Venetian 2:

How embarrassing!

Venetian 3:

Mules are so out of style!

Milanese 2:

I bet they’re from Florence.

Florentines:

Greetings, fellow travellers!

Mule:

hee haw!

Venetian 4:

Where do you come from, gentlemen?

Cosimo:

We hail from Florence.

(​Venetians and Milanese laugh.​) Milanese 1:

I told you!

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Venetian 1:

I knew it!

Giovanni:

Florence is a ​fine​ city, gentlemen.

Venetian 2: ​(mockingly)

Oh we’ve heard all about Florence.

Milanese 2:

Face it: Florence is a backwater.

Venetian 3:

Florence is a slum!

Venetian 4:

In Venice, we have palaces; one after the other

Milanese 3:

And in Milan, we have il Duomo, a magnificent cathedral.

Lucia:

We​ have a cathedral in Florence.

Venetian 1:

Oh we’ve heard ALL about your cathedral.

Milanese 1:

They tried to build a cathedral in Florence ….

Venetian 2:

but they couldn’t figure out how to make the roof

Milanese 3:

so they left it uncovered.

Venetian 3:

So when it rains in Florence, it rains ​inside the cathedral

Milanese 4:

This amazing cathedral, the grandest building of Florence 5

Venetian 4:

It doesn’t even have a roof!

Milanese 1:

So yeah, Florence is really classy

Venetian 2:

Guys we shouldn’t make fun of our friends from Florence. After all, there is a legend that the richest man in the world is a modest money lender who lives in Florence.

Milanese 2:

I’ve heard of that guy. His name is Medici.

Venetian 3:

His office is a little hole in the wall in an alley.

Milanese 3:

And he dresses like a peasant.

Venetian 4:

The richest man on Earth dresses like a peasant?

Giovanni:

He dresses like the peasant he was born.

Venetian 1:

And he even rides a mule.

Milanese 4:

Can you imagine? Traveling around on an old mule!

Mule:

Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Hee haw!

Giovanni:

(shrugging)

Venetian 2:

Yes, the richest man on Earth today is a former peasant named Giovanni de Medici

Milanese 1:

who hails from Florence

It’s a comfortable ride.

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Venetian 3:

dresses like a peasant

Milanese 4:

like this man right here ​(points to Giovanni)

Milanese 2:

and rides a mule.

Mule:

Hee haw.

Venetian 3:

like that mule...right there…

Mule:

Have you figured it out yet?

(there is an awkward pause) Cosimo:

May I present Giovanni de Medici, my father?

Giovanni:

Pleased to meet you

Mule:

Open Mouth. Insert Foot.

Gemma:

I’m Gemma, his wife.

Cosimo:

And I’m Cosimo, his son.

Venetian 2:

So you’re the Medici. Great to meet you.

Mule:

Hee-haw

Milanese 2:

What a cute mule!

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Milanese 3:

Hey I have a great business opportunity. I’d love to talk to you about. Maybe you’d like to give me a loan?

Venetian 3:

And I’m looking for a loan for ​my​ business !

Venetian 4:

It’s tied to the Silk Road.

Venetian 1:

Great profits.

Milanese 4:

I think you’d be interested.

Giovanni:

Not today, gentlemen!

Milanese and Venetians:

Why not?

Giovanni:

I only lend my money to people I know.

Cosimo:

His circle of trust

Fernando:

In order to get a loan from us, we have to know you

Piero:

and like you

Lorenzo:

and trust you

Giovanni:

Or we have to know

Piero:

And like

Cosimo:

And trust your ​friends.

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Venetians:

So get to know us!

Milanese:

To know us is to like us!

Giovanni:

It doesn’t work that way, fellow travellers.

Lorenzo Jr:

But Papa, ​why​ ​can’t we loan to strangers , like these? They look rich!

Venetians and Milanese:

We ​are​ ​rich!

Piero:

They probably have great businesses.

Venetians and Milanese:

We do!

Giovanni:

Cause we don’t ​know​ ​them

Cosimo:

And if we don’t ​know​ them, we can’t ​trust them.

Venetians: Giovanni:

Take a chance!

But with people we​ ​know and trust,​ they have​ to pay us back cause we know everyone they ​know.

Narrator 2:

In today’s world, that’s called credit.

Narrator 3:

Low credit means low trust

Narrator 4:

Which means you’re finished.

Scene 2:

A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed 9

Giovanni:

I didn’t get rich lending to just anyone.

I keep my circle tight. Let that be a lesson to all of you out there.

Be aggressive but be cautious.

Lorenzo Jr.:

Grandpa, who ​will​ you help?

(music from ​The Godfather​ swells as Luigi enters with Brunelleschi) Piero:

Here’s​ someone from our circle of trust.

All Medici:

Luigi! Benvenuto!

Giovanni:

What can I do for you Luigi?

Gemma:

Yeah, what do you want now?

Luigi:

This is my nephew Brunelleschi.

Gemma:

So?

Brunelleschi:

(dreamily) I’m an artist.

(the music scratches off) Gemma:

Oh boy. Here it comes. He needs a job.

Luigi:

He’s a very talented guy. He knows how to think outside of the box. He’s a genius.

Giulia:

Great. Then he won’t need our help.

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Luigi:

He’s unemployed. Do you have something for him?

Giovanni:

What is his skill?

Brunelleschi:

(dreamily) I like to draw. Basically, I like dreaming of a better world.

Gemma:

Great. A dreamer.

Brunelleschi:

A visionary, actually.

Luigi:

He draws beautifully. And he has a great understanding of buildings, classical buildings.

Giovanni:

Interesting. I’ll keep him in mind.

(Brunelleschi leaves.)

Luigi:

Thank you, Giovanni, thank you.

Gemma:

Why are you still here?

Luigi:

I have ​another​ friend.

Medicis:

Ugh!

Gemma:

Luigi, when is this going to end?

Giovanni:

Hush, wife! Silence! Luigi is in the circle of trust. Any friend of his is a friend of ours. Luigi, who have you got for me.

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(​The Godfather​ music swells again as Baldassare, the pirate enters) Luigi:

It’s my​ other​ nephew.

Mule:

Let me guess. He’s unemployed, too.

Luigi:

He is in a mid-life career change.

Cosimo:

What is his career now?

Luigi:

He’s a pirate.

Gemma and Mule:

A pirate?!

Giovanna:

What does he want to become?

Baldassare (Pirate):

I want to be the pope.

Mule:

but you’re not even a priest! Hee haw!

(​The Godfather​ music scratches off) Giovanni:

Let’s break this down. Normally, you have to go to seminary for years just to become a priest.

Piero:

Then if you’re a very good priest, you become a Parish priest

Lorenzo:

And then if you’re very good at that, you become a bishop 12

Cosimo:

And then if you’re very good at that, you become an Archbishop

Mule:

And then if you are very good at that, and incredibly fortunate you become a Pope.

Giovanni:

And you want to jump from pirate to pope in one step?

Cosimo:

This is crazy, Dad.

Giovanni:

It’s ambitious

Cosimo:

but it’s not cautious.

(​The Godfather​ music swells again) Giovanni:

Think of the upside. The Catholic Church is richer than all the kingdoms of Europe put together. And if the Pope is in our circle of trust….

Cosimo:

Then, ​we​ become the bankers of the Catholic Church.

Giovanni:

(like it’s a checklist)​ It’s aggressive. He’s in the circle of trust. It’s a deal!

Giovanni:

(handing over gold to Baldassare​) I will give you enough backing to become the Pope and when you become Pope...

Baldassare:

I’ll make you the banker for the entire Catholic Church.

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(Baldassare and Luigi exit.)

Giovanni:

A good day’s work! Gemma, more coffee!

Gemma:

Get it yourself! I’m going to hide what’s left of our money.

(she exits holding sacks of gold) Cosimo:

But our day’s work isn’t done, Papa.

Lorenzo Jr. :

We still have the problem of Florence’s image.

Lorenzo:

We can’t become the richest people in the world if our city is an embarrassment.

Giovanni:

(considers and then stands up)​ We’ll fix the roof on the church.

Piero:

Fix it? It doesn’t even exist!

Lorenzo:

No one built it because no one has figured out ​how to build it.

Giulia:

It can’t just be a roof. It has to be a dome. A massive dome.

Piero:

Who will we get to design it? Or build it?

(Brunelleschi enters.)

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Brunnelleschi:

Did anyone see my oil pastels?

Lorenzo Jr: ​(ignoring him) Cosimo:

It requires a visionary.

Someone who understands architecture.

Brunelleschi:

I left them behind. I was too busy dreaming of a better world.

Piero:

Someone who can think outside of the box.

Brunnelleschi:

Oil pastels. Anyone? Anyone?

Giovanni:

Ah, Brunnelleschi. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Brunnelleschi:

Oil pastels?

Giovanni:

You, my son, will create the dome.

Cosimo:

The dome that is impossible to build?

Giovanni:

Yes! Brunelleschi here will design it and build it.

Brunelleschi:

I just came back for my oil pastels.

Giovanni:

Brunnelleschi will create a breathtaking skyline for Florence.

Brunelleschi:

I will?

Piero:

And Florence will never be the same because of his dome.

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Brunelleschi:

I was just looking for a part-time job.

Cosimo:

His dome will usher in a new phase of history; a rebirth!

Brunelleschi:

This is starting to feel like a lot of pressure. Maybe I could just start with a box?

Giovanni:

The dome will fix ​everything. I​ t will give Florence new life.

(The music from Les Miserables’ One Day More swells. Use the instrumental music ​here.​ Giovanni begins to sing to it. The sopranos in the Medici family sing the words in the parentheses) Giovanni: One dome more ​One dome more Florence is more than just a treasury A banking center for nobility Venetians can take all their pride!

Milanos---you can step aside!

One dome more!

(We need the church to have a roof.

How can we leave this church uncovered?)

One dome more (A roof will to all say! that Florence is just getting started) One more dome to show the world (One more dome to show the world) 16

Florence is a place of culture (We are just as good as you) What a city is our home! (All our dreams will come true!)

One more dome to make them ca-a-a-are!

Venetians: ​You’ll never make your silly dome!

Brunelleschi: (tortured with self-doubt) ​ If I quit, I’ll never know Milanese:​ You haven’t got the talent!

Brunelleschi: (finding his courage) ​Do I take that as a dare?

Venetians:​ Florence is a backwater!

Florentines:​ Our city is where The Renaissance will be born!

V and M:​ You ride a cow!

Mule:​ I AM a mule !

One dome more!

These Venetians are just school boys You Milanos are all thugs We will have a revolution Of invention, style and art Watch us as we rise To the very top We’re Florence And we’ll never sto-o-op (jump to final chorus) One dome more (We need the church to have a roof How can we leave this church uncovered?)

One dome more (A roof will to all say that Florence is just getting started) 17

Brunelleschi will discover What a dome is and what it’s for One more dome!

One more day!

One dome more!

Brunelleschi, it’s up to you!

Brunelleschi:

But how will I do it?

Cosimo:

I will connect you with other people in my circle of trust: scholars.

(Scholars enter.)

Brunelleschi:

I have to build a dome; a larger dome than has ever been built. What advice do you have for me?

(​The music from Sound of Music’s Climb Every Mountain swells. Use the instrumental beginning at 0:41 ​here​.)​ Scholars: Study the Classics Learn their techniques Study Rome and Athens That’s what Renaissance means Learn from the classics See what they saw Every single breakthrough Leaving you in awe 18

All: A dome that will give Our dear Florence new life Giovanni: (handing over a sack of gold to Brunelleschi) I will love it so much Even more than my wife!

Gemma (angry):​ hey!

(Medici shrugs) All: Study the Classics Know their techniques Make it come alive now That’s what Renaissance means!

Scholars Just take from the old And you make it brand new Many centuries hence, They’ll be studying you!

ALL: Learn from the Classics Brilliance evergreen Bring it to today’s world That’s what Renaissance means!

Narrator 1:

Brunelleschi really did learn from the Classics.

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Narrator 2:

And he designed and built the dome

Narrator 3:

That even today is the center of the glorious Florentine skyline

Narrator 4:

The signature of Florence.

Narrator 5:

Florence really did become the center of the Renaissance; ushering in the dawn of the modern age.

Narrator 1:

And the Medici really did become the bankers who bankrolled the great artists of the Renaissance,

Piero de Medici:

Let’s meet a few of them now:

Michelangelo:

Michelangelo

Leonardo:

Leonardo

Rafael:

Rafael

Donatello:

Donatello

Narrator 2:

And the Medici did become bankers of the Catholic Church

Pirate:

Because I became the Pope!

Narrator 3:

And richer than anyone else in any of the lands that are now Italy.

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(Each artist will either hold up a picture of what they created or a slide above them will show it) Narrator 4:

And invested in the great arts of a new world.

Narrator 5:

And it was all based in the Classics.

(The music from ​Climb Every Mountain​ swells again and the artists sing to it) Raphael My name’s Raphael And I came here to say Learn from the greats!

They will show you the way!

Donatello: Donatello’s my name And sculpture’s my game When you learn from the greats You are never the same!

Michelangelo: Michelangelo My dear friends, that is me: I learned from the best Now you all study me!

Leonardo da Vinci: Greatest genius of all You can most clearly see I’m a quadruple threat And my name’s da Vinci!

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ALL: Study the Classics!

Learn their techniques Learn from Rome and Athens That’s what Renaissance means!

Giovanni and Cosimo de Medici: Lest we forget how this all came to be We paid for it all And our name’s Medici Narrator 1:

And so from our school to you!

ALL: (big finish) Study the Classics!

Learn their techniques Learn from Rome and Athens That’s what Renaissance means!

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