immortal person

On November 65, [-] of the Holy Calendar, Pitty to his fiancée

Dear Julia, master of my love:

You said in your last letter that you wanted to come to us, and my officer told me to advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible, and I don't approve of your coming here either.Our team returned to the Tronto River, where we were stationed only two hundred miles away from Genoa. This is not a good place, the trees and shrubs are very sparse, and there are even scary howls of wolves in the wasteland in the evening.I beg you to stay in the palace, even now, it is still the safest place in all of Tuscany - His Highness the Duke told me so.Before enlisting in the army, people said that there would be many scoundrels and villains in the mercenary army, but in fact, under the supervision of His Highness, the brothers were very friendly and no one dared to do any idiots.Food and water were plentiful, though it was almost winter; new arms and armor had been sent to the army, from the armories of the masters at Augsburg, according to the magistrate—every day. One piece is all good carbon steel!I'm fine, don't worry about me.

How are you?Why do you want to come to me?Is that fat helper in the kitchen bullying you again?If so, please tell Mr. Buonarroti these things, and he will take care of you.Please write me more, as always I am eager to hear how you are doing.How are your parents?In the summer you mentioned that your mother had a stomachache, and the brothers in Ferrara said they had a miraculous herb, and I have sent a messenger to bring it back to you with this letter.Before the expedition, I ordered a new winter dress for you at the tailor shop in the west of the city. You can go and take it away, just treat it as a Christmas gift I prepared for you.

The following content is addressed to Mr. Buonarroti, please deliver the letter to him.

Dear Sir:

First of all congratulations.Julia told me that people have started calling you "city-state architect" now.If I remember correctly, the last person to bear this title was Giotto.

As you already know, the two counts of Venice have joined our camp with troops.All was well: we had reached the gates of Genoa in the last battle, and the Genoese besieging Florence had to rush back to defend their territory.Even a little soldier like me knows that they've started to back off.Pazzi's slander did them a lot of harm. Who would have thought that the Duke still has such a great appeal both inside and outside the city?I heard that they are already preparing to send envoys to negotiate a peace treaty with the Duke, and the lost lands in Tuscany will soon be returned to their original owners.There is also good news in the city of Rome. You must know the famous Colonesi family. These families with the blood of Romulus have always looked down on the Pope’s background. [1] It is said——I heard from Pico , His Highness has reached an agreement with the leader of their family, and several other cardinals have also started to make trouble because of successive faux pas.If all goes well, maybe we can have the next pope.

The duke has seen me twice in private, and he forbids me to write to you in secret.So I thought of a way to write what I wanted to say to you in a letter to Julia, and let her take it to you, so that it will be safe and secure.In fact, there is nothing I cannot tell you. Your Highness is fine, this is the truth.As the situation improved, he seemed to be growing calmer.A few months earlier, some soldiers had said in private that the Duke would never fight unprepared, because Cosimo had been exiled for this before, and since then all the Medici have become the most cautious people in the world.In the past period of time, he met with the envoys of Milan. I don't know what agreement they reached, but these Lombards should not try to fall to Rome again.Do you know what the war in the South is like now?I'm not really sure, but I keep hearing that the barbarians are coming.Is it not enough for them to occupy a Rome, but also covet our Rome? [2] These ignorant Marsyas! [3] But in any case, they are in our favor at the moment.I also heard that because of this incident, the monarchs of those countries in the east are becoming more and more concerned about our war, and envoys from Hungary and Castile are on their way to meet His Royal Highness—I don’t know if it’s true or not .

Please return it to Julia when you have read it, she says she will keep every one of my letters as a treasure.Please don't laugh at her.

Finally, dear Julia, my angel.If God doesn't get us back on Epiphany, God forbid, I'll be back to you before St. Joseph's Day when the irises are in bloom.Then, I will never leave you again.The duke assured the soldiers that we would live in peace for the rest of our lives.

My regards to your parents and Mr. Buonarroti.

A million kisses.

Petey, under the candles in the barracks.

The author has something to say:

[1] Romulus: The legendary builder of the city of Rome, the son of the god of war Mars and the priest of Vesta.Here it is described as ancient and noble.

[2] In real history, Ottoman Turkey captured Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (called "New Rome" at the time) in 1453.

[3] Marsyas: Legend has it that he challenged Apollo to music skills. (It is generally believed that Apollo was originally the god of music and poetry)

Surely no one remembers Julia, the little kitchen maid mentioned by Pitty in Chapter 24 who once wanted to marry Lorenzo.