It's OT, but since el presidente calls...
The Medici were the Lords of Florence (neither merchants nor warriors) in the XV century, but in later times Florence was absorbed by the Pontifex State.
Giovanni dalle Bande Nere was a XVI century de' Medici who did the Condottiero job (il mestiere delle armi) for Pope Alexander VI Borgia (or his predecessor or his successor, I'm not sure). A son of Alexander VI (yes, this pope had sons and daughters, Lucretia Borgia is one) was Cesare Borgia, nicknamed the Valentino, whose acts as a Lord and as a Condottiero inspired Machiavelli for his works.
Ciao,
Gian
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