Now on to the Duchy of Florence. The Duchy's most powerful ruling family was the Medici. The family, patrons of the arts, included princes and bankers, cardinals, and popes at one time or another. The family stemma is six palle (or balls) where the palle are either in high or low relief. The stemma appears everywhere in Florence and Rome and, thereby, tells us something about the buildings they affix themselves to. You will find the Medici stemma in most Tuscan towns as they were under Medici rule. The palla (singular) at the top is picked out in blue paint. Two great Renaissance popes were Leone X Medici (1513–1521) and Clemente VII Medici (1523–1534). Therefore, any church, palazzo, or villa you see in Rome and elsewhere, with the Medici stemma attached, means that it was built or renovated during their cardinalate or papacy depending on hats, tassels, and keys!

Deciphering this family stemma is relatively straightforward: Always six balls or spheres, five red and one blue. The blue ball at the top is colored in blue which is the background color of the seal of the kings of France, and the palla is inscribed with three golden lilies—fleurs-de-lis—that, again, represent the kings of France.

And how is it that the crest of the kings of France, appears here as transformed into a sphere and combined with the five other spheres? Memorizing the visual story is easy, but again curiosity digs deeper: it’s said that the French King Louis XI had a debt with the Medici family and in order to reduce his debts, he allowed the bank to use his symbol, giving the Medici bank more clout among the people and within Italy, after all the blue ball and lilies signify royal ‘lineage’ and connections. I might also be noted Catherine de' Medici was the queen consort of Henry II of France (1547–59) and regent of France. Thus, by the mid-16th century the ‘lineage’ became legitimate.

Others say the balls had less exalted origins: some say they were pawnbrokers' coins or medicinal pills (or cupping glasses) that recalled the family's origins as doctors (medici) or apothecaries. Others say they are bezants, Byzantine coins.

With the Kings of France and the three golden lilies in mind, we could now turn to a family crest for the noble Spada family. There were no popes in the family, but, prior to their purchasing and renovating the palazzo it was built and lived in by one Cardinal Capodiferro. There is no evidence on the cardinal’s family crest above the main entrance or a lingering wide brimmed hat, but instead the family crest of the Spada family, which interestingly is emboldened with a crown and three lilies above three swords; spada translates to sword!