Piero de Luca is a man of ambition. He was born into a modestly successful merchant family, but such a small life was not for Piero. From an early age, he was a veritable force of personality, winning friends through his nearly unmatched social grace, and directing them against those who would oppose him. For Piero, manipulation was as natural as breathing. It is lucky for those close to him that his intentions, while grand (and frankly, above his station) were for the most part benign.
When Piero was fourteen, his father, Dante, put him in charge of a trading charter with nearby Pisa. Piero sensed more opportunity than the simple matter warranted, and was quick to make friends with Alberto Visconti, a nobleman about Piero's age and the next in line in his family to become a patrician of Pisa. Alberto introduced Piero to the current patrician of the Visconti, Rodrigo, and through hours of talk, Piero won the family's trust. They were poised to make political moves to, in the next few decades, assure control of Pisa for the Visconti family.
Piero ensured that all of their trade would be handled through the De Luca Trading Company.
As the years passed, and Piero grew to manhood, his family's business flourished. Dante began entrusting Piero with more and more, and by the time he was nineteen, Piero was running the De Luca Trading Company in all but name. His fortune was vast, and it was now that Piero found true ambition.
Piero had always known he had too much. He could walk down three streets from his family's opulent home and find beggars, or people dying of a disease that they were too poor to see a doctor for. Piero had always felt that this was wrong, and quietly donated money to the church or local doctors to help the commonfolk. Most especially, Piero felt aggrieved at the plight of women. His own mother, Lucrezia, was the most cunning person that Piero has ever known, and Piero's father, while no slouch himself, had only done so well because of his wife's advice. Because of the law of the land, however, Lucrezia is much restricted in her options. Women of lower birth or less financial means suffered even more greatly.
Piero resolved to change this. He has bought several brothels, and uses them as, essentially, training centers. Yes, there are always commoners that want to use women simply for their bodies. There are, however, many highborn and wealthy men that want a woman not only for her looks or her family name; some men desire true companions, those that can speak eloquently and share a fierce intellect as well as offer carnal pleasures. Such women make far more money, and are generally far better treated, than common whores.
Piero has taken to training such courtesans. Not himself, of course, but he has hired instructors to do so. Very little sex takes place at Piero's "brothels"; they are, instead, homes for the courtesans in his employ and places where they may be interviewed and contracted.
This is not entirely altruistic. Many men's tongues become lose when they are comfortable and satiated, and his girls have learned many a secret that Piero has used to further his wealth and station.
Piero has decided that it is time for him to become truly involved in shaping the future of his world. He has been playing upon his connection with the Viscontis, as well as his vast fortune and sterling reputation to be granted a minor noble title. From there, who knows how far Piero's social acumen can take him...
