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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Catherine de Medici by Honore de Balzac: to which Alessandro likewise contributed his share.
On arriving at Livorno, Catherine, still so young, must have been
flattered by the extreme magnificence displayed by Pope Clement ("her
uncle in Notre-Dame," then head of the house of the Medici), in order
to outdo the court of France. He had already arrived at Livorno in one
of his galleys, which was lined with crimson satin fringed with gold,
and covered with a tent-like awning in cloth of gold. This galley, the
decoration of which cost twenty thousand ducats, contained several
apartments destined for the bride of Henri of France, all of which
were furnished with the richest treasures of art the Medici could
collect. The rowers, magnificently apparelled, and the crew were under
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