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In thirteenth-century Florence, Italy, the pro-Papacy Guelphs have re-established supremacy and expelled the pro-imperial Ghibellines following the death of the Ghibelline Manfred, King of Sicily. The triumphant Guelphs await their champion, the French Charles d'Anjou, while their opponents await the arrival of young Corradino from Germany with troops sufficient to restore their power. During the victory festival that follows the Ghibelline return, Monna Gegia de' Becari, a Guelph partisan, and her husband Cincolo, a Ghibelline, receive a visit from an androgynous Ghibelline named Ricciardo de' Rossini, who declares his intention to leave Florence at dusk on a secret mission ... (courtesy of mary-shelley-wikia.com)