florence

The new secret box of our Leonardo Collection is inspired by the famous Medici family, central to the Florence of the Renaissance period.
In fact, on our puzzle appear elegant and refined inlays that could have to do with that historical and artistic period.

Florence, in honor of the Medici, has strewn its streets with the family crest: a shield with red balls on a golden field.
The curiosity lies in the fact that the shields are not exactly equal to each other ... the number of balls, in bisanti heraldry, can vary.

If at first, in fact, the spheres in the coat of arms were equal to eleven, Giovanni di Bicci brought it to nine, his son Cosimo to eight, and the latter's son, Piero il Gottoso, came to reduce it to seven. The last decrease occurred with Lorenzo the Magnificent, who brought the spheres to 6, with the top one loaded with the insignia of the Royals of France.

As to why, then, there are balls in the center of the Medici coat of arms, suppositions

A brainteaser from our Leonardo da Vinci collection is emblazoned on the imposing and famous basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.

Our wooden 3D puzzle consists of 6 pieces with an ingenious interlocking system and is part of the mini puzzle series ... great fun in a small format.

The homonymous Basilica, on the other hand, is anything but small. Indeed, it is the largest Franciscan church in the world, famous above all for its 16 chapels decorated by great artists of the Italian Renaissance and the presence of several tombs and cenotaphs belonging to famous people buried there.
So famous that it gave Santa Croce the name of Florentine Pantheon or our local Westminster Abbey. A temple of Italian Glories.
Some names? Michelangelo, Vittorio Alfieri, Ugo Foscolo.

The remains of Galileo Galilei were brought to the basilica 95 years after his death.

Few people know that even the square in front of the Basilica takes its name from it.