This Book To My Mom With Her Everlasting Support And Care.

Thank You!

My name is Piero Cellini. When I was young, my parents moved to Milan from a small town in hope to start a spice trade that would bring in more money since the main trades routes went through the city. When my mother died soon after moving, I had to learn how to run the business alongside my father. My father was self-taught, so he was able to teach me how to count money, read, and write. He also showed me tricks on how to persuade customers.

When I was done training, he would tell me to clean the house because it normally smelled. We didn't have as much money as the nobles, but weren't as poor as the farmers so our house was small and cramped since we only had one room.

Piero Cellini

Problems began to arise for us when the last Visconti ruler died in 1447 and another duke by the name of Francesco Sforza took over. Everything was fine at first when he made Milan a strong centralized state. It was when he started to tax us hard to raise huge revenues for the government that caused the problem. The townspeople couldn't keep up with the taxes and were put in jail and business were failing one by one.

Unfortunately, my family was effected as well. People had no money to purchase our spices and we were on the verge of being poor. My father decided that the only thing to do to save the business was to set up an arranged marriage, use the dowry we received to buy a ship and small crew and then sail along the sea trade routes.

Francesco Sforza

Francesco Sforza

We set out the next day and one of the sea routes we took went into the western Mediterranean. Along the way, we were able to double what we made in Milan in just a couple of weeks. It was like a dream come true! No more ale, black bread and stew for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With this money, we could finally pay back the taxes we owe and live right. My father decided to celebrate with a small feast. Together, we all ate the night away.

When we woke up the next morning, we discovered that our crew was gone along with all of our spices, equipment, and newly earned money.

Disappointed, my father and I sat on the docks and looked at our wrecked ship. Sails slashed, goods and money stolen, and all the equipment. I asked my father what were we going to do and he told me for the first time in my life, "I don't know".

My father stood up and went back to the sleeping quarters. I gazed at the sky and thought about what I could do to get the money back. That's when a thought came to mind. I could try painting and selling them for salt. Once we got the salt, we could sell it and use the money to buy everything need and the spices.