General Information:

Name: Lorenzo Barbari

Nickname: While he doesn't have any nicknames several phrases might be used to describe his sudden rise to wealth and 'nobility' such as the old Roman Novus Homo (or new man), or the newer Signore delle Monete della Grondaia (or Lord of the Gutter Coin).  He prefers another phrase, Scrittore con una Penna d'Oro (or Writer with a Golden Pen).

Level in Society: Nobile though its surely questioned exactly how his family's name was written into the Libro d'Oro, with some suggesting that it is because it is one of his publishing houses that prints the most commonly found copy of said book.  Further digging might provide further information as to whether the title was purchased (for the paltry sum of 500 ducats) or obtained through documentation of noble heritage and which of the Senatus approved of the addition and which did not.  This would help determine if Lorenzo was some Barnabotti from a fallen house or something new that has risen.

Sexual Orientation:  Questionable and broad if some of his more salacious publications are any indication.

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Physical information:

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Hair Color: Ashen Black

Eye Color: Earth Brown

Distinguishing Marks:  He has a few old and fading scars from a rough and tumble youth though none of which would be visible without intimate contact.

Description of General Appearance:  Lorenzo is tall with the body of a workman more than a noble as though he's spent long hours hauling in lines on a fishing boat, toting crates from warehouse to hold, holding back unruly draft horses turning up a field.  That said, his hands are not a workman's hands, his nails trimmed and clean, his fingers and palms soft with their touch.  True, he has a person who tends to his hands, who comes once a week (more in the past) to polish them like one might polish silver.  He has others who similarly come to him, to trim his hair and beard which grow like he's some beast, like one of the Neuri written about by Herodotus or the Arcadians Pliny the Elder wrote about who would strip themselves naked, swim across a marsh and transform into a wolf for nine years and if in that nine years they tasted human flesh they would be forever animal but if the refrained they could return to the form of man.

He, however, had tasted human flesh, raw and unadulterated, and so he depended upon barbers, manicurists, tailors, and others to civilize him.

His warm eyes were pierced with a darkness at their heart, a darkness that seemed to see more clearly than most, or at least sought to see more clearly, and yet, like the night sky, through them it was easier to see the brightness of the moon and stars.

He held his bearing with more pride than vanity, though he held both, as well as the other five sins to varying degrees, as well as some of their more virtuous brethren, though only diligence among them would affect his appearance, which was always well-considered and pristine, even when nude.

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Society Information:

Family: Lorenzo's father is a disappointment, both to his estranged wife and to his son.  His background is muddied with lack of distinction and perhaps a bit of burying by his son but some might hear tale of his various schemes and ventures, none of which ever amounted to anything but failure and debt.  Lately, he's taken to a life of leisure, funded through an allowance granted to him by his son and the occasional loan from a less forgiving lender (of which Lorenzo often resolved, not out of filial duty but rather social convenience and a means of avoiding obligation to less reputable citizens of the Republic).

Lorenzo's mother lives with him in the Palazzo di Barbari on the Grand Canal in San Polo.  Mensa et thoro (lit. table and bed but technically spousal separation), since Lorenzo was a young man and capable of supporting her himself, she provides her own social inconveniences as her lovers have gotten younger and younger over the years.

Occupation: Printer, Publisher, Patron of the Arts

Political Goals:  To write and therefore control history.

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Personality Details:

Personality:  Lorenzo is self-educated and remains a ravenous reader, consuming the written word as a glutton might sweets and hoarding them like a miser might gold.  In fact, his Palazzo has one of the largest private libraries in all of Venice making it a frequent stop for visitor scholars, philosophers, and other great thinkers, all of whom Lorenzo both admires and mines for content, either to publish their works or steal their thoughts and ideas.

He is also an admirer of the arts, all arts, and collects illustrations, paintings, and sculptures, as well as musical compositions, of which he plays, though not with any virtuoso ability.  He is also a great fan of the performing arts, perhaps more than any other, but such arts are not something that can be captured, only purchased briefly as an experience and he has been known to bring troupes, dancers, and soloists into his home for special and/or private performances.

Lorenzo is also driven, not necessarily looking for 'more' so much as 'next'.  His current next is social /political power and influence, though his views on what power and influence look like are somewhat novel, or at least different from the typical Venetian mind.  It does not end with him taking a seat on the Council or the Palace of the Doge but rather, owning those who do.

Background/History:  Lorenzo's early years are a mystery for someone to uncover should they be so interested but it must have been without distinction since it remains mostly unknown.  He is Venetian though his family was not always, as indicated by their name. Still, their point of origin is unclear, most likely northern in some regard.

He likely grew up poor, given his familiarity with the common man and the Sestire of Santa Croce, which he still frequents regularly as though it provides him with some sort of comfort in its dark alleyways and dangerous denizens.

His father could best be described as a failure in most things, or at least never amounted to anything.  If his current behavior is any indication, he was a heavy drinker.  He was violent as well, which has affected Lorenzo in subtle ways that only those closest to him might understand, though Lorenzo himself is careful not to succumb to that vice in the same manner and has found ways to indulge it in less destructive and more pleasurable ways.

His mother was a well-known beauty and the subject of several artistic renderings in her youth, something which both supported her husband's ventures and enraged his temper, which was perhaps why they separated as soon as she and Lorenzo could support themselves.

Lorenzo was a budding young man when he purchased his first printing press.  He had seen a demonstration from a visiting merchant and immediately saw the potential.  While many still couldn't read (Lorenzo himself having a poor grasp of it), there was a burgeoning market for books among scholars and philosophers and Lorenzo knew many sailors and merchants who could scour distant lands for works that could be replicated and reproduced though he knew, one press alone would not a business make, and so he came up with a plan.

Going to one of his mother's artist friends, he commissioned a series of illustrations and with his single printing press produced The Book of Genesis, translated into Italian and illustrated with several pictorial plates.  This he took to Lady Guilliana Tarabotti, an elderly woman who was known for two things, her virginity and her wealth.  He presented her with the book and sought her help in funding the remaining books with the promise that with her help he would get it into the hands of every Venetian deserving of being touched by the Word of God.  Of course, most Venetians couldn't read, certainly among the masses, but he promised to begin with the nobility who certainly she could agree, were most in need of spiritual enlightenment.  Then though, he promised to produce a pictorial guide for those who could not read the words, so they might learn their virtues and vices.

Now well funded, he purchased several more presses and commissions several more illustrations and though the Bible itself was a moderate success (both with Venice and more so the broader world, especially when translated to French and English), it was the picture book that was a hit for how did you portray a man's lust without a woman's body, or chastity without the temptations that might thwart it?  And yes, the model for Pride is not dissimilar to Lorenzo himself, though if you looked closely, a similar figure appeared in most of the illustrations in some form or another.

After the success of his first project, Lorenzo invested in both more presses and more content, both scholarly and salacious and with the profits from those projects, he invested in more.  He now has over a dozen printing houses spread across the city, each specializing in different markets from classics of antiquity, musical compositions, new works, and illustrated picture books, both artistic and scandalous.

In the space of a few years, he amassed an enormous fortune, though he spent almost all of it immediately with his most ostentatious purchase being the recent acquisition of the Palazzo Coccina, one of the largest palazzo in San Polo, built one hundred years prior to rival the Ducal palace, including a Salone delle Quattro Porte, a heavily decorated chamber with four doors to different wings of the building and serving as a grand entrance.

The construction of the palazzo nearly bankrupted the Coccina family and they never fully recovered making Lorenzo's purchase both a steal and charity, and most likely hubris as he then began to redecorate the entire estate (some of which still remains empty), though he did keep their four devotional family portraits by Paolo Veronese, The Adoration of the Virgin Mary by the Coccina Family, The Wedding at Cana, The Adoration of the Magi, and The Road to Calvary).  He also kept most of the frescoes, including The Charlatan and The Minuette by Giambattista Tiepolo and his son Giandomenico.

This purchase came shortly after his addition to the ranks of Venetian nobility, and just before his latest venture, Avvisi and  Foglie di Notizie.  Like most of his ventures, the Foglie di Notizie (lit. Leaves of News) was not a new invention, rather he simply took various techniques and ideas from others and presented them in new ways.  For instance, Foglie di Notizie were typically handwritten and passed around whereas he had a method of rapid printing that allowed him to produce ten times the number of papers of his competition, essentially flooding the streets with the stories he wanted to be told.  Secondly, he 'invented' a technique of rapid printing of illustrations.  Typically, illustrations were painstakingly difficult to print and involved carving into wood or etching onto metal, both of which took time.  Lorenzo (or perhaps one of his printers) had managed to combine a number of techniques to speed up that process such that they could print illustrations in hours rather than days (or weeks), at least, they could print rather simple ones, simple illustrations printed rather crudely but both rapid enough and recognizable enough that they could reach those who had neither the time nor the education to read a more lengthy Foglie di Notizie.

The process itself was a rather closely guarded secret involving large amounts of clay and tin if his import records are any indication.  His sources of information are just as closely guarded, though they must be vast as he obtained descriptions of all eight murder scenes, including that of Caposestire Giada Bragadin of San Mara who according to his morning's double-length avvisi, was found drowned in a canal next to an empty gondola and was perhaps the most tasteful of all the depictions (with some others showing a clear bias for or against various victims).  The written foglie was more detailed and included a notation that Giada's gondolier and ring were both missing (again, the most tasteful of the reports).

He was reading both, side by side, as he sat on his veranda that morning, taking in his breakfast, and wanted to frown.  The whole ordeal would put a crimp in his plans to have a party to celebrate the re-opening of his ballroom, now that the redecorating was done.  Then again, most of the people he knew wouldn't be shedding any tears at the losses, so perhaps a party was in order.  He scratched at a little itch deep within his beard.

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Skills and Abilities:   Lorenzo is a keen observer of human nature, and a student of motivation.  He also has an eye for talent, whatever that talent might be, and if he can't spot it outright, he can dig for it, or at the very least imagine.  He has a vivid imagination, which often makes it into his commissions of art.

He has a knack for gambling, odds, and opportunity.  He has a natural talent for mathematics which translates to a fairly decent musical ability (if not a particularly artistic one).  He can read several languages and speak a few to varying degrees of ability, with Greek and Latin being solid in both, French and Turkish being passable.

Education:  With the exception of languages, Lorenzo is entirely self-taught.  His mother taught him to read Italian and Latin (having been taught by her own mother) and he found a scholar to teach him Greek so that he could read the classics.  He learned Turkish from a trader he routinely buys from and French from a Courtesan in Cannaregio.