Chapter 9: Ferrante
As the heart of the Holy Faith, Florence has a large number of churches. Excluding the Great Prayer Hall, the Holy Thorn Cathedral and the White Crown Chapel which are exclusively used by the Pope, there are countless other churches of varying sizes and purposes. Some are as large as the Cathedral of the Holy Thorn, occupying half of Miracle Square, while others are as small as half a house. These churches were densely scattered like stars across Florence, welcoming countless believers.
Like any other city in the world, Florence has a chaotic lower city. The poor live here like ants and every inch of land has already been divided. Those who couldn’t rely on farming for income and couldn’t find enough work can only resort to thievery and fraud. Therefore, prostitution runs rampant throughout the city, with at least two out of every ten women either currently involved or having been involved in the industry.
Rafael had once tried hard to change this situation. He demanded that Florence provide certain jobs for women, that every registered business must hire a female employee who is not a family member, and that it was allowed to employ girls under the age of seven to provide laundry services—this greatly reduced the occurrence of child prostitution, as the original doctrine held that children were incapable of working and that employing children was a cruel act.
—— The previous policy of not ‘hiring’ child labor didn’t mean merchants would stop using child labor; they simply used this as an excuse to pay child laborers extremely low wages.
Raphael felt that he had done a good job, but the adult men whose jobs had been taken away were dissatisfied. However, since he died soon after, he didn’t hear how they cursed him.
Despite being the City of Cities and the land where gods have trodden, Florence’s slums was not so “pure”. Sewage flowed everywhere, garbage was littered all over the place, animal feces was everywhere, and the stench was overwhelming. As soon as it rained, the streets would be covered in muddy yellow water. Beggars ran barefoot through the streets, and all passersby avoided them cautiously.
All the children who lived here belonged to a certain faction and followed criminal gangs in stealing, robbing, or defrauding. What they specifically did depended on what their leader did.
However unlike the slums in other cities, the people living in the slums of Florence were more devout. They had grown up listening to hymns of the Lord and instinctively regarded their life’s hardships and disappointments as tests from the Lord. They struggled, hoped, and walk towards death in their piety day after day.
The churches in the lower town certainly wouldn’t be very ornate. This Holy Grail Church stood on the main road leading up to the upper city. It was a complete building with side wings and a small courtyard. Although it was small in size, it had everything: a chapel, a small library, and a prayer room.