Firenzopoli

THE KEYS TO FLORENCE

Why produce a game for Florence? Simply because Florence is unique and famous all over the world. You must see it at least once in your life. It is unique for its magnificent works of art. Unique for its cooking. Unique because it is the birthplace of some of the greatest minds in the world, past and the present. Unique because it has welcomed famous visitors who have been inspired by the beauty they find at every turn.

This game is a way to make Florentines rediscover that they are Lords of their own city as they come across sayings, traditions and customs while they play the game. The banknotes feature 6 famous Florentines: Dante, the great poet; Niccolò Machiavelli, one of the most astute and resourceful public figures of Renaissance Florence; Luciano Artusi, director of the Corteo Storico della Repubblica Fiorentina (Historical Parade of the Florentine Republic); Zia Caterina (Auntie Caterina), the flamboyant taxi driver and “guardian angel” of the young patients at the Meyer Children’s Hospital; Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, the prescient Princess who protected her family’s art collections; and Leonardo Pieraccioni, the Florentine comic actor and director. The tokens are typical Florentine symbols: a lampredotto sandwich; a flask of wine; the heraldic lion Marzocco, the symbol of Florence; Pinocchio; the football shirt of Gabriel Batistuta; and the Medici family coat of arms.

The English translations have been added to help international visitors get to know the city and its inhabitants a little better. The “A Ufo” (Something for Nothing) and “Senza Lilleri ’un si làllera” (No Money, No Party) cards have been simplified but they still reference the Florentine dialect so as to go some way to explaining the humour. aims to revive the Florentines’ love for Florence and to introduce the city’s inhabitants to the rest of the world.

So let the games and fun begin! The cards have been written by the brothers Michele and Lorenzo Baglioni, two young guys from the new generation of Florentine comedians who have brought together their fellow citizens’ virtues and vices, sayings, customs and traditions amidst louder and louder laughter.