The Most Serene Republic (OOC, Open)

[Order of the Snow Lion]

The Most Serene Republic OOC

IC

The year is 1438 and the Republic of Venice is at the height of its power. With its victory over Genoa in the War of Chioggia half a century before, the Republic stands as the dominant commercial power in the Mediterranean and Europe. Venetian traders sell their goods in regions as far west as Spain and as far east as Arabia. The very economic balance of Europe rests upon the shoulders of this Most Serene Republic, the families that run it, and the Doge that guides it all. The politics of the Republic are bloody and full of betrayal, but strong alliances and longstanding friendships can also be found. A delicate peace hangs over the city, there to be broken by any family strong enough to topple the powers that be.

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Welcome to the sign-up thread for The Most Serene Republic RP. This is an RP set in Renaissance Venice, if the introduction wasn't clear enough about that, and you take the role of a wealthy patrician in one of the noble families of the Republic. As such, you are considered an influential citizen and member of the Great Council of Venice with the power to elect the Doge. For the purposes of this RP, many of the government positions, such as the Council of Ten, will be filled by NPCs, nominally controlled by me as OP. This fits into their role in Venetian government as supervisors. In this role, I will call an election for Doge once every 2 RP weeks and tally the votes from all participants. The winner will become Doge and his family and their supporters will become the new rulers.

That being said, this RP isn't only about the Doge. You may also RP with other players as members of the same family and fight amongst yourselves for power (think of each family as more of a political party or Mafia family than an actual family) or as the sole member of your family and make alliances with other families. You should also RP the actual merchant side of things by conducting business with the other families or historical NPC governments, such as the Byzantines or the various other Italian city states. These kinds of posts are required to participate in the elections due to the post count requirement (see rules).

Doge electoral process:

1. A patrician must be nominated by at least one other patrician before they can be considered a candidate for Doge. The nomination period lasts 48 hours from when the OP says it begins.
2. All participants of the thread post their vote for 1 candidate in character. Please put an OOC comment (preferably in red) containing just your vote at the bottom of your post to make it easy on me. Votes not containing this will not be counted. The voting period will last 24 hours from when the OP announces it, not the immediate end of the nomination period.
3. The OP, as the Council of Ten, tallies the votes and announces the winner. Players may telegram the OP to dispute the results and appeal for a recount or redo of the election, but it is ultimately up to the OP whether or not to change anything.

• The OP has absolute power and his word goes. If he says a rule was broken, it was broken.
• Being Doge does not give you the right or power to swing your power around at every other participant. It simply gives you a degree of authority IC and adds an extra layer to the play.
• Maintain your character of a high-born, arrogant aristocrat, but don't be an outright dick to the other players.
• In order to nominate someone for Doge, stand in an election as a candidate, or vote in an election, you must have posted at least twice before in the thread, once elsewhere and your nation must be at least a week old. This is to avoid puppet spamming and/or calling in friends for hit and run votes. This isn't to say that you can't call your friends into the RP to support you or your interests, but they must actively participate.
• The OP reserves the right to declare any vote null and void and warn the player responsible, if he believes it to be a puppet or hit and run vote. Two infractions will result in a ban from the RP.
• The OP cannot be elected as Doge, to avoid conflicts of interest and accusations of corruption. I also probably do not know anybody participating and will maintain as little bias as humanly possible in my decision making. For IC purposes, the OP will be the incumbent Doge at the beginning.
• You technically have an unlimited supply of ducats, but be reasonable. If the OP feels that you are getting out of hand, he will step in and correct the situation. I know its hard to determine what is considered outrageous with a currency you know virtually nothing about, so I will be lenient with this. For perspective, Venice bought Dalmatia for around 100,000 ducats. So, if someone starts swinging around purses filled with 3 million ducats, I will step in.
• Yes, you can send assassins after yours rivals, order your guards to ambush them in the streets, hire pirates to attack their galleys, etc BUT ONLY IF THEY GIVE THE OKAY. Anything else will be considered godmodding and punished as so.
• You may only have one character and one family. If you decide you want to change your character and/or family, you must privately inform the OP and will have to start over, including posting a new app and deleting your previous one.

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Applications

Code: Select all

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Family:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Position in family:[/b] (Patriarch, heir, etc.)
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Detailed Bio:[/b] (At least two paragraphs)


Code: Select all

[b]Family Name:[/b]
[b]Coat of Arms:[/b] (Image required or a very detailed description)
[b]Main geographic region of operation:[/b]
[b]Number of core members:[/b] (Patriarch, his spouse, his children, his grandchildren, and his siblings and their kids)
[b]Main goods traded:[/b] (Cotton, slaves, lumber, salt, gold, marble, etc.)
[b]Relations with other families:[/b] (List your rival and allied families here, if you have any of either)
[b]History of the House (At least two detailed paragraphs):[/b]
[b]Open to other players joining:[/b] (Yes/No)

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List of Families:

Playable characters:

• Salvatore Albizzi (Patriarch) - Order of the Snow Lion (OP)

Open to other players: Yes

Playable characters:

• Giovanni Montefeltro (Patriarch) - The Clockwork Cities

Open to other players: Yes

Playable characters:

• - Skappola

Open to other players: Yes

Playable characters:

• Attilio di Dax (Patriarch) - Ruskland-Preuben

Open to other players: Yes

Playable characters:

• Ignazio Folatelli (Heir) - House Dragonstone

Open to other players: Yes

Playable characters:

• - Great Confederacy Of Commonwealth States
• María Luisa Cavaliere (Sister of Patriarch)- Vivida Vis Animi

Open to other players: Yes

[The Clockwork Cities]

Now this is interesting, I'll give it a tag

[The Frozen Forest]

Tag, expect an app later today.

[Order of the Snow Lion]

Family Name: Albizzi
Coat of Arms:
Main geographic region of operation: The eastern coast of the Black Sea and Caucasus
Number of core members: Around 40 members
Main goods traded: Minerals and metal from the mountains, wine from Georgia, and slaves from Circassia and Crimea.
Relations with other families: None as of posting.
History of the House (At least two detailed paragraphs): The Albizzi family has a long and storied history, including two Doges and several other key members of government throughout history. They led forces in the War of Chioggia and were a key component in the Venetian victory. This gave them much prestige and popularity among the people. This resulted in the election of Salvatore Albizzi, the current Doge, as Doge of the Republic in 1429.

With Salvatore's health beginning to decline, eyes have turned towards a successor outside of his family to prevent a dynasty being formed. His family already controls most of the Council of Ten and is quite influential in the workings of the government. Albizzi gold and silver from the mountains of the east can be found across Europe and the Mediterranean while their slaves work everywhere from Spain to England to the Far Eastern lands of Persia.
Open to other players joining: Yes

[The Clockwork Cities]

Family Name: Montefeltro
Coat of Arms:

Main geographic region of operation: Albania, Greece, turkey
Number of core members: 6 members
Main goods traded: Greek and Albanian, Turkish Wines, Turkish teas
Relations with other families: None as of yet
History of the House (At least two detailed paragraphs): The Figiovanni's are an oddity as far as Venician houses are concerned, Germanic in origin the family came to Italy during the first crusade and originally settled in the Principality of Taranto. Originally they lacked a family name at all, later adopting the Italian name of Montefeltro as the family name, this was around the time they moved to Gennoa in 1090 in which their early trading ambitions begun.
Originally the family traded with Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. They began to become prominent for their trading of Muslim made carpets and goods such as dates and wines. This carried on until further crusades impacted their trading abilities and the family moved to Milan to carry on trading but with the other Italian and German states.
By 1338 the family moved to Venice, and this allowed them to return their trading routes and begin to trade in their old goods again, but also allowed them to become dominate in wine trading. This gave them the nickname 'Winery of Venice' and this made them noticeable by the other nobles, merchants and the council of ten. Thus given them their power and they have kept onto it ever since.
The decline of Byzantium took away one of their key markets, Byzantine wine. This economically impacted the family, which at first refused to trade with the Turks. Come the Barbary Crusade and the Crusade of Nicopolis the family send several members off to serve in the battles, this however resulted in the 50+ members of the household being cut down.
The young Giovanni Montefeltro took the leadership role only aged 18 in 1408 following the decline of his family even further. Now he is faced with rebuilding the family alongside his wife, sister and three children. He has already expanded into the Turkish wine market, to fill the declining gap left behind by the collapsing Byzantine Wine market. He has also sworn to keep the family out of conflict until it has been rebuilt to size.
Open to other players joining: Yes

I'll work on a character app for Giovanni later.

[United Kolumbia]

Tagging this.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Bongiorno principessa!

[South Vict]

Tag

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Family Name: Cavaliere
Coat of Arms:

Main geographic region of operation: Northern Italy, the Low Countries, Northern Germany
Number of core members: 1 Patriarch, no spouse, three brothers (all abroad), two sisters (one in Venice, one in Salzburg), three sons (two in Venice, one in Byzantium), four daugters (two in Venice, one in Barcalona, one in Antwerp)
Main goods traded: Gold, silver, currency (banking)
Relations with other families:
History of the House: The history of House Cavaliere starts a long, long time ago. They trace their mystical and legendary origins back to a patrician family in the Roman Republic, an offshoot of the Brutii family. According to this myth, these patricians were the first to oppose Caesar, and one of the first to accept Christianity when it came to Rome. The real history is a lot less majestic, however. The Cavaliere name began with a minor offshoot of a relatively minor family in the 13th Century, in Milan. This minor offshoot was relegated to knighthood, fulfilling service for various noble houses throughout the land. Eventually, the heir of the title managed to cross into the Holy Land, fighting in the Crusades, and joining the Knights Templar in 1286. He wasn't much of a brave fighter, despite what the family would have you believe, and he mostly dealt with the Order's financial arm, traveling around Europe to get all kinds of rulers to either pay their debt or make a deposit with the Knights.

It was in 1308 when this knight broke with the Order, selling them out to a few hungry monarchs in Northern Italy. The Templar Order was falling, and this man had no desire to be on that sinking ship. With a host of 'proof' towards the Templar's unchristian behaviour, he was one of the chief witnesses in the case against the Order. Eventually, under orders of the French king, the Order was divied up and destroyed. As a sign of thanks, some of the banking infrastructure was relegated to this Cavaliere, whom was happy to provide to the Italian rulers.

The banking business appeared quite lucrative. Still possessing the title of knight, the Cavaliere family was quickly trusted in foreign courts. They were not of higher nobility, so merchants could get along, but they were not commoners either, so the nobility trusted them too. The Cavaliere family made a lot of money banking in Antwerp and the Hansa, providing new merchants with just the right amount of cash for a new voyage, with their assets as collateral. If a company failed, the family would sell their ships and goods to the highest bidder. If they made money, a large chunk of that went to the banking clan.

Eventually, in the late 14th century, the main office of the family moved to Venice. There the true centre of commerce for the area was found, a perfect place to fund merchantile expeditions. Of course, also a place where such expeditions could go awry, and the family made just as much money with their normal banking exploits as with selling the assets of formerly-eminent families. They spent the next quarter of a century nestling themselves in the Venitian political sphere, with August Cavaliere taking over the family helm in 1413. Since then, the banking clan has stayed in the background, doing their work not from the limelight, but from the back stage, not taking too much attention. However, in the forseeable future, this might all come to change...
Open to other players joining: Yes

[PLESSUR]

Tag... Most fascinating. I'll probably go as an individual hoping to become Doge. Which years is this set in and when's the PoD?

[Skappola]

Family Name: Montenuovo
Coat of Arms:
Main geographic region of operation: Naples, Spain, Ports of Southhampton & Brunges in the North
Number of core members: Patriarch Giorgio Montenuovo and his wife currently residing in Venice; 3 sons directing trade from Naples, Lisbon, and Bruges (Flanders) respectively; one daughter married to a high-ranking merchant within the Hanseatic League (Currently residing in Bruges); 12 grandchildren of the sons.
Main goods traded: Wool, Cloth, Salt, Tin, Naval Stores
Relations with other families: None currently
History of the House (At least two detailed paragraphs): Despite the family's extensive attempts and handsome bribes paid to cover it up, Montenuovo is not a native Venetian family, but rather, disgraced exiles from the Duchy of Styria. Originally of the highest nobility within the Austrian duchy, the Montenuovan patriarch Sigfried had taken his place as King of Arms and Keeper of the Seal, using his pervasive influence to further install his youngest son as Seneschal and his oldest as the prestigious Lord Constable. Possessing wealthier estates and greater prestige than even the Duke himself, Sigfried sought to overthrow the Duke using his own claim through his ostensibly Carolingian family bloodline. Sigfried was soon caught, however, the bloodlines revealed to be a fabrication, forcing him and his family to flee west. With what little wealth they could grab from the castle, the family ended their flight in the city of Venice.

In Venice, the family reinvented themselves. The death of Sigfried allowed for the young Venetian-speaking Prince Endres, now taking the name Antonio, to assert his position as patriarch of the family. He quickly lead his family in learning Venetian and Italian, removed the "von" from von Montenuovo, and began to spread the rumor that Montenuovo was not Austrian-descended, but instead a reference to the village of Monte Nuovo in Naples. He sunk what remained in his family's coffers into the burgeoning Venetian trade routes of the Atlantic, building the family up bit by bit through hard work and toil to becoming a respectable Venetian house. By the third generation, few knew that the Montenuovans were anything but Venetian.

The family hit it big with the near-destruction of both the Venetian and Genoese fleets during their war of 1294–99, leaving numerous families on both sides broke and hundreds of ships destroyed. Through less-than-savory methods, Montenuovo had profited heavily on both sides of this conflict, and now used the emerging power vacuum to reinvest their earnings and take their position as the dominant Venetian trading family of the west.

Today the Montenuovans yield tremendous power in the Atlantic, having moved their focus further west in response to rising Aragonese dominance in the Western Mediterranean. The competition along the Atlantic Coast is brutal- the Castillian and Genoese trade fleets are an ever-present threat, and even Aragon is today extending their reach over these western Venetian routes. But, for those few who risk it, the profits can prove to be endless. The Montenuovans have been called many things through their history- scrappy, untrustworthy, foolhardy, ignoble. One thing they've never been called, however, is poor.
Open to other players joining: Yes

[Ermiopa]

Tag

[Order of the Snow Lion]

Tag... Most fascinating. I'll probably go as an individual hoping to become Doge. Which years is this set in and when's the PoD?

The year is 1438...

[Ruskland-Preuben]

Family Name: di Dax
Coat of Arms: Black cross on white backdrop, cross is like the Scottish cross. Then a gray lion's head in the middle.
Main geographic region of operation: the Portuguese coast, the Northern Spanish Coast, the Aquitanian Coast, Bretagne, and Verona
Number of core members:
Patriarch Attilio di Dax(25), married to Annabella di Orvieto(26)(came from Orvieto)

Sons

• Aurelio(7)
• Baldassare(5)
• Arnaut(2)(has twin)
  Daughters
• Arianna(2)(has twin)

Main goods traded: Aquitaine's wine, some lumber, sometimes ships from that lumber, goods from Iberia... Olives, and their oil... And they even got into the medicinal business.
Relations with other families: N/A
History of the House: The story of the family of di Dax goes back all the way to the beginning of the Norman Invasion, in the lands of Gascony, in Dax. Lop-Arnaut had two sons before death, the first inherited as usual, and the second? The obvious, he became the founder as Pons de Dax(as it was called back then), became a merchant. They actually began in Genoa, where he got off the western Mediterranean trade, becoming a somewhat rich man. He already had began a sizable family and business when he got into a scuffle with a major Genoese family, and before his assets were frozen, he fled with all of his things, his business, and his family, to the Po river valley in 1179. Here they would start more businesses, and one son even married his way to a barony by the Veronan coast, and one branch was able to hold on to power for quite some time in a city as mayors and powerful courtiers. Pons' great grandson, Callisto, would then leave for Venice with his son Janus in the 1250s.

Here, using funds from his family, as well as some given assets, was he able to quickly gain money in the city, and power as well. The di Dax family became a player in Venetian politics when Baldassare "the Clever" inherited his grandfather Callisto's business from his father Janus in 1278. From there he strategically grew his business as well as becoming the steward(CK2 term/thing) of the Doge at the year 1280, from that position, he grew his business, his coffers, and his power. Remember that city and its di Dax mayors? Well, Baldassare was able to scheme his way to becoming mayor, and he eventually vassalized that city, expanding Venice and furthering the Clever's power. Baldassare "the Clever" died early in the year of 1330, aged 61, and outliving his sonless successor, and his power was transferred to his 34 year old, equally shrewd son named Antonio.

Antonio was the one who truly began expansion in the Atlantic, setting up trading posts in the Veronan coast, as well as a few not so successful in Dalmatia. He lived long like his father, dying on the year 1381, October 8. Succeed by his weak son, who somehow was able to live long even if the odds were stacked against him, he was called Callisto "the Old", and he died in 1435. He was succeeded by his son, who we are playing right now, Attilio di Dax...
Open to other players joining: Yee, more fun I guess.

[Pasong Tirad]

Tagging this.

[Order of the Snow Lion]

-snip-

Accepted

[Order of the Snow Lion]

-snip-

Accepted

[Order of the Snow Lion]

-snip-

Accepted

[The Clockwork Cities]

Name: Giovanni
Family: Montefeltro
Age: 48
Position in family: Patriarch
Personality: He is often seen as an overoptimistic businessman at heart, more pacifistic than his family traditionally has see's himself as an Italian not as a man of German decent.
Detailed Bio: Born in Venice in 1390 Giovanni would have responsibility thrust upon him from a young age. His family's constant obsession with going on crusades into the Arabic world resulted in a major decline of his family, being forced to fill in lost roles. By the age of 15 he was heir and by 18 he was head of the family, and only recently married. Yet he had been expecting this.
His first move was to lift his family's ban on trading with the middle east and Islamic nations. Managing to secure a safe trade route for his merchants he allowed them to travel to Ottoman lands to obtain their wines to fill in the declining Byzantine wine market. Although unpopular with some of his buyers, the idea of oriental wines later aided the families economic recovery.
The birth of this three sons as unexpected triplets resulted in him knowing his legacy can still carry on. 20 years later he now seeks to marry them off to other families and with a bit of luck, gain more heir's to the family's fortune.

[House Dragonstone]

Family Name: Folatelli

Coat of Arms:

Main geographic region of operation: Venice, Istria, Dalmatia, Corfu, Crete, Naxos, Alexandria, Constantinople, Napoli

Number of core members:
Patriarch: Maurizio Folatelli, 65 years old, merchant in Venice
Spouse: Countess Anna von Oldenburg, 64 years old, of House Oldenburg
Children:
-Ignazio Folatelli, 45, merchant on Dalmatia
his wife Maria, 42, a trader's daughter
his son Enrico, 20, a student of the University of Padua Venice
-Mario Folatelli, 42, merchant on Napoli
his wife Catherine de Orléans, 42, in France with his brother
his son Alessandro, 20, being an assistant merchant in Constantinople
his son Gian, 18, a student of the University of Padua Venice
his daughter Anna,
-Maurizio Folatelli, 40, a merchant at Naxos
his wife Juana of House Foix, in Navarra
his son Henri, 22, second the heir of House Foix, in Navarra
his son Giulliano, 21, a merchant in Dalmatia
his son Cristoforo, 20, a merchant in Crete
his daughter Elena, 18, at Navarra with her mother
-Lucia Folatelli, 40, married to Andrea de Savoy, a Savoyan prince
-Henrietta Folatelli, 39, at Oldenburg with her uncle
-Andrea Folatelli, 39, Henrietta's twin, a merchant in Istria Venice
his wife Anne of Tudor, daughter of a rich Welsh nobleman
his son Marco, 21, a merchant in Dalmatia with his uncle
his son Pietro, 19, a merchant in Alexandria
his son Giuseppe, 25, a captain of the Venetian Navy
his son Giovanni, 20, a merchant in Constantinople

Main goods traded:
In Venice:
-Oils from Naxos, Crete and Corfu
-Silks and Ceramics from Alexandria
-Statues, Marbles from Constantinople
-Wools from Dalmatia, Crete, Constantinople
-Wine from Greece (Crete, Corfu, Naxos, Dalmatia)
-Linen and Cloth from Istria
In Alexandria:
-Cloth and Linen from Venice and Istria
-Wine from Greece
-Statue from Constantinople
In Constantinople:
-Oils from Greece
-Wine from Greece
-Silks and Ceramics from Alexandria
-Cloth and Linen from Venice and Istria
In Greece:
-Silks and Ceramics from Alexandria
-Statues and Marbles from Constantinople
-Cloth and Linen from Venice and Istria
In Dalmatia:
-Silks and Ceramics from Alexandria
-Statues and Marbles from Constantinople
-Cloth and Linen from Venice and Istria
-Oils and Wine from Greece
Other Bussiness include:
-Sending merchant agents along the silk road to Baghdad and Baluchistan
-Traded Opium with Persia
-Traded stones with Najd, Mamluk and Ottoman
-Traded Cloth and Silk with Bosnia, Tunisia and Mamluk
-Traded Golds and Jewelleries with England and Germany
-Traded Ships with Genoa, Napoli and the Papal State
-Medical services in Venice, Greece, Alexandria and Constantinople
-Being a political supporter to the Mamluks of Egypt, and neutrally keeps trading with the Ottoman

Relations with other families:
Was married into the House of Tudor
Was married into the House of Oldenburg
Was former Prince-Elector in the Holy Roman Empire, with connection to House Wittelsbach of Bavaria and Palatinates
(Maurizio Folatelli's mother was a Wittelsbach)
Because of this connection, sometimes became a rival to the House of Habsburg
A rival to House Doukas of Byzantium
Was close trade partner of House Palaialogos of Byzantium

History of the House (At least two detailed paragraphs):
Started as a branch of the House of Julii in the Roman Empire, and is rumoured to be the descendants of the Emperor Augustus of Rome. Centuries of centuries the ancestors of House Folatelli has seen the rises and falls of several kingdoms and great empire, most notably the fall of the Western Roman Empire in Ravenna and Rome. As one of the powerful Houses at the time, the patriarch, Maximus Follatellus, did not want his House crumbles to the hands of the barbaric Visigoth; he married one of his daughter to the Visigoth leader, and influenced them with Roman culture and traditions, thus setting the power for the Visigoths to rule in Iberia and Gallia (France). After the fall of the Visigoths and Ostrogoths in the hancs of Charlemagne in the North and Abbasiah in the South, the Folatellis have no idea where their House will go.

As the patriarch at the time, Henri Folatelli, considers that if they joined the Caliphate at the South, then they have to turn Moslem, leaving all their wealth and powers in Europe to seek anew in the Arabian lands. Henri did not dare the high risks, so he seeks the protection of the Frank Empire in the North with all it risks, including when one of his castles in Normandy was attacked repeatedly by the Vikings led by a warlord called Ragnar Lothbrok. Henri's descendant Louis then watch the split of the Frank Empire into the three states, and decided to go into his homeland Italy by joining the power of the Middle Frank Kingdom or Lotharingia. It is this time that the crusades begin, and Venice sends troops to answer to Pope Innocentius's call, notably the Folatellis.

Enrico Folatelli was one of the lords who did join the crusade. As a Venetian he joined one of the most famous organizations of the crusaders at the time: the Knights Templar. He and 2.000 Folatelli men joined the Templar's attacks to Crete, Naxos, Cyprus and Rhodes, and off to Jerusalem, and Enrico sees this as an opportunity to expand his House's holdings: he bulid castles and forts along the Aegean, Crete and even Jerusalem, all in the name of Knights Templar. And when the Third Crusade finally failed in the hands of Saladin, Andrea, Enrico son, did not want to take the risk. He signed out off the Templars, let the castle in Jerusalem be sacked by Moslems, and left his troops to defend the castle his father builded on Aegean, Crete and Corfu. This proves useful because soon the Templars are persecuted by the Pope and King Phillip IV of France. Soon he announces, that he will use the rest of his power to make the Folatelli a merchant family with all the family's holding across the Mediterannean, until now.

Open to other players joining: Yes, always

[Order of the Snow Lion]

-snip-

Accepted

[Order of the Snow Lion]

-snip-

Accepted

[Order of the Snow Lion]

-snip-

Character app accepted

[Order of the Snow Lion]

Alright, so I'm caught up on the apps so far. Let's start getting some character apps going now.

[Skappola]

Family Name: di Dax
Coat of Arms: Black cross on white backdrop, cross is like the Scottish cross. Then a gray lion's head in the middle.
Main geographic region of operation: the Portuguese coast, the Northern Spanish Coast, the Aquitanian Coast, Bretagne, and Verona
Number of core members:
Patriarch Attilio di Dax(25), married to Annabella di Orvieto(26)(came from Orvieto)

Sons

• Aurelio(7)
• Baldassare(5)
• Arnaut(2)(has twin)
  Daughters
• Arianna(2)(has twin)

Main goods traded: Aquitaine's wine, some lumber, sometimes ships from that lumber, goods from Iberia... Olives, and their oil... And they even got into the medicinal business.
Relations with other families: N/A
History of the House: The story of the family of di Dax goes back all the way to the beginning of the Norman Invasion, in the lands of Gascony, in Dax. Lop-Arnaut had two sons before death, the first inherited as usual, and the second? The obvious, he became the founder as Pons de Dax(as it was called back then), became a merchant. They actually began in Genoa, where he got off the western Mediterranean trade, becoming a somewhat rich man. He already had began a sizable family and business when he got into a scuffle with a major Genoese family, and before his assets were frozen, he fled with all of his things, his business, and his family, to the Po river valley in 1179. Here they would start more businesses, and one son even married his way to a barony by the Veronan coast, and one branch was able to hold on to power for quite some time in a city as mayors and powerful courtiers. Pons' great grandson, Callisto, would then leave for Venice with his son Janus in the 1250s.

Here, using funds from his family, as well as some given assets, was he able to quickly gain money in the city, and power as well. The di Dax family became a player in Venetian politics when Baldassare "the Clever" inherited his grandfather Callisto's business from his father Janus in 1278. From there he strategically grew his business as well as becoming the steward(CK2 term/thing) of the Doge at the year 1280, from that position, he grew his business, his coffers, and his power. Remember that city and its di Dax mayors? Well, Baldassare was able to scheme his way to becoming mayor, and he eventually vassalized that city, expanding Venice and furthering the Clever's power. Baldassare "the Clever" died early in the year of 1330, aged 61, and outliving his sonless successor, and his power was transferred to his 34 year old, equally shrewd son named Antonio.

Antonio was the one who truly began expansion in the Atlantic, setting up trading posts in the Veronan coast, as well as a few not so successful in Dalmatia. He lived long like his father, dying on the year 1381, October 8. Succeed by his weak son, who somehow was able to live long even if the odds were stacked against him, he was called Callisto "the Old", and he died in 1435. He was succeeded by his son, who we are playing right now, Attilio di Dax...
Open to other players joining: Yee, more fun I guess.

Created a quick mockup of your coat of arms, but using the scottish lion: