Chapter 4 Expansion, Passing of Heroes, Criticisms
1467 - 2015
In the summer of 1467, the commune of Cellinara was operational even though the improvements continued to be completed. Also in that year, upon occupying the temporary banking facility, the Banking Council had employed the brightest investment people in Italy to assist in the decisions that were made regarding the investment of funds that were entrusted to it through many interested investors. In a truly short time, highly profitable investments were secured in many areas of Florence, Milan, Genoa, and other major commercial trading centers across Italy, and even into some areas of neighboring France, Switzerland, and Austria.
Bright, talented people from many locations began to take advantage of the patronage being offered by Cellinara. New hopeful residents were required to go through a series of interviews and informative classes, which introduced them to the new kind of system under which Cellinara was operating.
The system of patronage would assist with living and educational expenses by providing financial help for whatever the resident needed, but only if that person satisfied the strict requirements for residency and membership set forth by The High Council. Most candidates for membership into Cellinara could provide some level of self-support, but most required at least some financial assistance, whether for housing, educational, medical assistance, transportation, relocation expenses, and many other reasonable expenses.
The High Council set exacting standards that had to be met by all candidates for residency. If accepted, the candidate was given a conditional membership in the commune for a stipulated period. Full membership would be given upon review and approval of the candidate's fulfillment of all specified requirements as discussed in the initial interview process.
Each member was expected to serve on a District Council or a higher-level position, if qualified, in a capacity determined by The High Council or the Judges Advisory Panel. The hours and days served were to be determined according to the member's schedule and abilities. No resident would be forced into a position they did not find to their liking.
This mandatory civic service by each member would be compensated by a fair system of payment. The member could also work at another occupation unrelated to the governing authority of the commune if they desired to do so. The commune offered assistance in securing suitable employment in the local workforce. Those who chose to work permanently for the commune were welcome to do so.
All educational training and medical assistance would be provided at little to no cost to the member. Housing expense assistance would be determined on a case-by-case basis. Because only bright minds and exceptionally talented people were accepted as members of the commune, every member was expected to choose a field of educational endeavor according to their liking and aptitude. They would be educated in the areas of their choice to the highest level of their abilities. Each member would also take part in a mandatory program of study in the Humanities and other relevant civic-related responsibilities to fulfill the goal of becoming well-educated, moral, and responsible servants of the Just Society.
Each full member of the commune would be provided with attractive incentives to make Cellinara their permanent home, while being encouraged to devote their talents to the further growth of the commune.
If the candidate for membership found this system of governance to be reasonable and acceptable, they would be given conditional membership in the Commune of Cellinara with all accompanying benefits and responsibilities. Most of the candidates did find the system favorable.
The number of residents in Cellinara grew quickly in a genuinely brief time. Small commercial shops of every type continued to grow in number to serve the everyday needs of the residents. The lofty ideals in the minds of some very bright and forward-looking visionary members of the Platonic Academy, some five years earlier, had become a flourishing reality.
In the year 1469, the commune improvements were near completion. Sadness had come over the residents that year when news was received of the death of Piero di Cosimo de Medici, resulting from severe health conditions. Services were prepared, and all residents showed deep respect for the man whose influence had provided vast resources to help make Cellinara a reality.
Lorenzo de Medici, the now twenty-year-old son of Piero, assumed complete control of the vast resources of the Medici Bank. Lorenzo gave his promise of full support to the leadership of the commune of Cellinara, as his education as a young man had centered on the ideals of Humanism.
Lorenzo had participated in the discussions of the Academy under Andrea Cellini and afterwards had watched eagerly as the preparations for the development of the commune unfolded. He had also taken part in some of the design aspects in the planning stages, as did his father, Piero.
The years from 1469 to 1478 were expansion years for Cellinara. Additional parcels of land and the construction of new facilities were added to the commune. The planning included hospitals, museums, public libraries, theaters, and other cultural attractions. The new locations would also be the homes for facilities used for higher levels of education, training, and research in various fields of science, medicine, and mathematics. The buildings would be equipped with the most advanced equipment and the most extensive technical libraries to be found anywhere. Lorenzo insisted that Cellinara would be recognized as the pinnacle of culture and learning, second to none.
During this period, the Banking Council had attracted more investors and delivered to them returns on their investments that were utterly amazing. The Banking Council had initiated projects all over Italy and southern Europe that were providing immense profits. The Banking Council employed the brightest minds in the world of investment banking, offering them huge incentives to produce excellent results, which they did.
By 1492, Cellinara had also grown in size and influence. The economy in central Italy was flourishing, and the influence of the spirit of the Renaissance was in full bloom. Artists and other creative people were finding a friendly reception in Florence and Cellinara. This was an exciting time. Everyone felt the energy.
Also, in the year 1492, Lorenzo de Medici left this life and passed into the history of the ages at the youthful age of forty-three, as a result of ill health. Lorenzo de Medici had put his heart into the ideals he had been passionate about. He had helped many and initiated much positive change. Historians would name him Lorenzo the Magnificent. His legacy was his love for the Arts and the Humanities and the betterment of humankind.
1499 saw the death of Marsilio Ficino, the director of the Platonic Academy, the physician to the Medici family, the teacher of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and the brilliant translator and inspired humanist who was fascinated by the genius of the ancient philosophers.
In 1513, at the age of eighty-three, Andrea Cellini passed from this life into the history of the ages. Andrea Cellini would be remembered as the revered and honored man who had the vision of a great future for humanity; a man who honorably served the great Cosimo di Giovanni de Medici, Piero di Cosimo de Medici and the great Lorenzo the Magnificent; the patrons of the Arts and Sciences and the students of Humanism who guided Florence out of the shadows of The Middle Ages into the new era of the rising intellectual and cultural spirit of humanity.
In 1513, the commune of Cellinara had seen the passing of forty-six years of development, expansion, and progress. It had become a major intellectual and cultural center and a significant economic force. The ideals upon which Cellinara had been founded had proven to be the basis for a successful social structure. After 1513, the Cellini family line and the Medici family line continued to be represented in the various governing councils and panels, exerting much influence through the dynamic leadership abilities of the family members.
Italy had gone through a period of tumult between the years of 1495 and 1560, during the period of what is called The Italian Wars. Spain and France had attempted several times to secure territory on the Italian peninsula. The Florentines and their allies managed to keep the belligerents from permanently disrupting the Tuscan region. After 1560, a period of relative peace followed.
The rulers of Florence and Cellinara had managed to maintain a hold on the power structure and the economic reins of the region. Throughout this time, the descendants of the Medici and Cellini families had strong representation in the governing authority of Cellinara and wielded the authority skillfully, helping to guide the commune through the rough times it had endured.
In 1737, Gian Gastone, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the last Medici to rule, had passed without leaving an heir. His sister, Anna Maria Luisa de Medici, died 6 years later. She was the last lineal descendant of the Medici dynasty. The era of the Medici had ended. Anna Maria Luisa, before her death, had bequeathed an enormous sum to the Banking Council as a tribute to the Medicis, who had initiated and supported the commune of Cellinara.
Cellinara survived intact through the period of rule by the Habsburg-Lorraine and the brief period of rule by Napoleon. The periods of the Risorgimento and Mussolini's Fascism also brought little to no change to Cellinara. The commune focused unwaveringly on its intended path toward excellence in education and the development of values that serve the elevation of the human spirit and the fulfillment of human potential.
The ideology and structure of the governing authority of Cellinara had survived mostly intact during its 560-year journey through time from the nascent Italian Renaissance to the twenty-first century. The Original Councils and Panels had added some administrative subdivisions to reflect the specific needs of the time. The ideology that had birthed Cellinara continued to reflect the ideals of Humanism.
The policy of providing support to only the best and brightest minds had persisted. The patronage of the Arts had continued. With a growing population that rivalled that of its sister city, Florence, Cellinara had become an established face on the map of Italy and had defined itself as the center of high culture and intellectual activity.
Cellinara, over those many years, had produced many of the world's top scientists, researchers, engineers, physicists, mathematicians, and the best minds of investment banking. It had provided a home for the performing arts and other cultural activities. Many research facilities and additional curriculum offerings had been added over the years.
The significant wealth of the commune's resident population had indeed become staggering, resulting from the international commercial activity from which the Banking Council had drawn vast profits. Those profits were distributed to the residents of Cellinara as dividends to stimulate economic growth in the region; a re-investment strategy that was initiated by the philanthropic financial geniuses of the Banking Council.
During the late nineteenth century, the Medici presence on the governing Councils of Cellinara had all but vanished as the political influence of the Medici family had faded away. However, the Cellini family continued to show its influence over the commune of Cellinara, having members of the Cellini family lineage participating in the governing authority in every generation since the inception of the commune.
The Cellini name had become indelibly embedded in the minds of the residents. The name evoked respect, admiration, and a keen sense of pride in being part of a significant point in history, the memory of which would live for an exceptionally long time as the birth of The New Social Order.
Criticisms
The success story that was Cellinara had also spawned its critics; those kinds of people who, by some quirk of personality, must find blemishes in the most successful and well-designed systems; those kinds of critics who usually contribute little but seem always to find much to complain about. They observed the workings of the commune from a vantage point outside the commune, as spectators from afar, not as participants from within.
The critics mentioned concerns about the restrictions regarding residency and membership, which favored only the brightest and most motivated. Some thought it immoral that such a wealthy commune would deny a less fortunate person the opportunity to live within the commune and enjoy the benefits of the system of patronage and financial subsidy that was shown to those who were favored for residency.
Others saw the restrictions as contradictory to the values of Humanism. Still others criticized the process of selecting leaders and administrators as being nepotistic and biased, as the review process could eliminate a candidate for capricious reasons; they argued it was not a fair and democratic way to select candidates. Such was the essence of the criticisms.
And so, the slings and arrows of the voices of would-be reformers were being hurled in a predictably regular way from the throngs of those who were outside the commune looking in. The governing authority had addressed such criticism over the years by issuing public statements to explain the justification of Cellinara's social and political structure, which was founded on a specific and clearly articulated set of values and principles from its inception.
The public statements clarified the position of the commune by pointing out a few misunderstood facts: The immorality issue is based on subjective perceptions, a figment in the imagination of the critic, not something intrinsic to the values and principles of Cellinara. Regarding the review of candidates for office, the founders did not specify that a democratic process would be used in selecting officials. Democratic processes were not protected in the foundational principles of the governing authority of Cellinara.
The public statements clarified this point of contention. The review and selection process serves as a fundamentally sound principle in that it prohibits a simple majority from selecting leaders who must demonstrate certain specific qualities to perform the duties required of them. The governing authority is not intended to be a protector of democratic values by ensuring majority rule. Instead, it is designed to be a body that protects and nurtures the ideals upon which it was founded. Only a review process that pre-qualifies a candidate can serve to assure that the candidate will uphold the ideals of the founders.
As for those regarded as less fortunate or average, they do not possess any right to live in a particular place, nor do they have any right to receive favorable treatment which, for rational and obvious reasons, may be conferred upon a specifically defined class. Nor is it incumbent upon any community to accept into that community any person it deems, for whatever reason, to be not qualified for acceptance. Any community will place restrictions on acceptance. To not do so would prevent that community from having a unique identity, which would defeat the purpose of forming a community.
Such public statements served to clarify those points and to refute the baseless criticisms made against the commune of Cellinara. Most of the critical attacks occurred in the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, a period when activism and reform groups were at their peak due to the radical leftist university environments, which instigated many such kinds of misdirected social reform fervor. The criticisms had to be countered to clarify and publicly defend the position of the governing authority. Still, only a very few people had paid much serious attention to the weak arguments of the annoying reform activists.
The year 2016 brings us into the near present. The 553-year adolescence of Cellinara has produced an evolved, morally healthy, resilient, intelligent, politically experienced, and visionary group of individuals bonded together by an inspired purpose: to re-imagine the potential greatness of humanity. That purpose would survive all efforts to thwart it.