Matteo da Empoli, a man in his forties who had become president of the Rosenheim Road Corporation, was ambitious. He had once been a city planner and architect for the Medici family of Florence. He was also a pragmatist.
He had been the only architect pushing to adopt concrete construction methods, which could drastically cut building costs. But the Medici family refused to accept them.
Their stubborn insistence on sticking to traditional methods left Matteo deeply disappointed, and after losing out to a rival, he even suffered the humiliation of being dismissed by the Medici. It was right around then that he heard the news about Leonardo.
"It may be a small village, but I never imagined they'd build a plaza named after that guy."
"If you successfully complete the work I've assigned you, I'll name a road after you."
"Oh, Lord! Just as he said, Christos truly walks this earth!"
