Ercole, 1566: The Cop

Ercole has seen it all as a birro or cop under the Medici dukes. He’ll show you a darker side of urban life, the enforcement regime that stood behind the marble facades and statue-filled squares. Along the way, he reveals how he found his calling as a servant of law and order.

With Ercole, you will see where a lawbreaker was interrogated, imprisoned, and even marched to the scaffold. But you will also discover the complex, often surprising, nature of justice in a Christian society. Learn how the malcontenti, condemned criminals, could be both reviled and pitied, and how the city jail was also an important site of charity.

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