It had been nearly four days since the Venetian banking sector had replied to Doge Leonardo Loredan's request for a 1.5 million florin loan, and it was still in an uproar. Discussion as to the purpose of such a funding request was running rampant, fueled by baseless speculation:

"I heard that Loredan wants a nice new house in Modena, and most of that money is being used to build him a golden dining room table."

"Well I heard that we are going back to war - probably with the goddamn Turks; this fund will help us free Greece!"

"No you dolt, if we are going to war it will be with the perfidious Milanese, gotta kick 'em while they are down and grab Milan for the Republic!"

"You are all idiots - if we were going to war we would be putting out word for mercenaries and building ships - if the money is being spent anywhere, it will be on something new and exciting - maybe Venice is going to get into the colonization business, and try to conquer the New World!"

This last man was immediately laughed out of the town square, pelted with rotten foodstuffs, and mocked for making such a comment for the rest of his life. But speculation in general continued, until finally, Doge Loredan himself made an appearance in Piazza San Marco to give a rare speech on the initiative he had spent the last six months concocting.

To the most Venerated Citizens of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, I bid you welcome.

For the last five years, it seems as if we have experienced naught but War.

War with the Turk. War with the Milanese. War with the Aragonese. War with the d'Estes.

But today I can stand before you and say with conviction that our time of conflict has passed, and that Peace is now here to stay!

Now, in the monarchies and tyrannies of Germany, the lands of Islam, and the East, such conflicts are fought by the people, for the leaders. But we do NOT live in a monarchy, or a tyranny, we live in a Republic! And in our republic, when we win on the battlefield, each and every one of us wins too!

It is with this in mind that I, alongside a group of fantastic individuals serving on my Economic Council, have drafted, redrafted, and finalized a plan to overhaul the Republic to the benefit of all its citizens. A series of long-term investments in infrastructure, trade, and quality of life so that each and every one of you can feel the glory in our victories. This is Our plan, for Our Republic. This, is Nóvo Serenı̀sima!!!

Over the coming days, weeks, and months, we will be releasing detailed plans as to the intentions of each phase of this development, explaining exactly what, where, and why we will be spending you money. But you did not all gather here today to hear ambiguities, or promises of my plan, you came to learn where your hard-earned money is going. So without further ado, let me introduce my good friend Francesco Donato, who has worked with me every step of the way making this plan a reality!​

Loredan then stepped aside to introduce the much younger Francesco Donato, who took to the stage like a fish to water.

Hello my fellow Venetians! Wow, there are so many of you here today! That is fantastic!

So as you have just all heard, we have been hard at work for, what is it, six months now? Yeah, six months planning this project. Nóvo Serenìsima, or NóvoSer for short, is nothing short of an overhaul of infrastructure from Carrara in the west, to Dalmatia in the East, to Cyprus in the South, and Brescia in the North.

It will be split into a number of different projects that we will undertake over the next five years, and possibly longer if need be. As Doge Loredan mentioned, we will be releasing specific plan details over the coming months, but I am here to give you an overview of all the different works we have planned for you!

 

Our first project will be the Mar a Mar initiative, which will endeavor to build 572 kilometers of roads across our Italian territories. These will come in three major sections - one spanning from Carrara to Ravenna and passing through Modena, Cento, and Ferrara; another spanning from Ferrara to Venice that bridges the Po and passes through Padua; and a third stretching from Padua to Brescia, passing through Verona and creating a beautiful journey along the coast of the Lago di Garda. These main roads will be accompanied with the building of watchtowers, guard-posts, and other security measures to dissuade robberies along what we hope will become one of the major trading routes in Italy. We estimate that this will cost around 225,000 florins over the next five years.

 

Our second project builds off of the first - the Scudo di Venezia, a new series of forts along our Italian borders. With Ercole d'Este still finding support amongst the nobility of Europe, it has become imperative to solidify our control over the territories we have fought so hard for. To this end, we will be building two new fortresses in our new Italian territories - one near Modena, which will be co-funded by their ruling council, and one along the Po River. In addition, the walls and garrisons of Ravenna, Ferrara, and Modena will be repaired and upgraded to bring a new level of siege defense to the cities. Their citizens will never have felt safer! We expect each of the forts to cost 135,000 florins, for a total cost of 200,750 florins to the Republic when accounting for Modenan input. The city improvements should cost a total of 205,572 florins for effective upgrades and repairs. The entire project is expected to take four years to complete.

 

Our third project, Il Nostro Mare, intends to build upon the trading agreements, arrangements, and expansions we have put together through diplomatic overtures in the last year and a half. Specifically, we will be investing money in the construction and expansion of trade districts in the cities of Sevilla, Melilla, and Alexandria. These districts will be walled off, the dockyards expanded, warehouses built, counting-houses established, and provided with the other supplies and infrastructure they need. we expect the price for the Seville district to come to 58,736 florins, the Melilla district to come to 72,690 florins, and the Alexandria district to come to 89,574 florins, for a total of 221,000 florins over three years of construction.

 

Our fourth project, the Fiume di Soldi initiative, is an attempt to consolidate and bolster our ability to conduct trade in our already existing trade centers. This is done through dockyard refurbishment and expansion, the modernization of counting-houses and warehouses in these cities, the subsidization of the purchase of merchant vessels, and a dredging of popular harbors to remove debris and silt. While some of these investments will reach smaller trading ports around the Republic, the focus of these improvements will be on the harbors of Carrara, Ravenna, Corfu, Kotor, Chania, Naxos, Larnaca, and of course Venice herself. All together, these investments are expected to total 417,260 florins over four years.

 

And finally, our fifth project, the Arsenale di Canea, looks to build a second major arsenal for the Republic on the island of Candia, specifically in the soon-to-be-expanded port of Chania. Having an arsenal of this capacity in the Aegean bolsters Venice's naval abilities in the Aegean, allows for easier access to cheaper merchant vessels to citizens of the Republic in the area, and should lower the cost of ship maintenance significantly. It will be built with a similar setup to the Arsenale di Venezia, and is expected to cost 287,562 florins over its three-year construction period.

 

I am sure that all of you have many questions, and I will be sticking around at the end of this event, alongside my good friend Doge Loredan, to answer as many as possible before our next meeting. But be on the lookout for the project specifics set to be released over the coming days, weeks, and months. Thank you all, this has been fantastic. God bless you all, and have an amazing rest or your day!

And with that, the crowd burst into what can best be described as a muted applause, as they struggled to comprehend the amount of work and money that was just listed off in less time than it takes a man to finish his business at a Venetian brothel. A number of them stuck around to try and listen to the answers being given to the large number of questions being asked, but just as many hurried off to let their friends know the biggest takeaway from that spectacle.

A lot of jobs were about to be created.