"On the morning of 20 March, 1394, Florence work to the sound of bells tolling. The Florentines knew exactly what those bells meant and little by little began moving en masse towards Piazza della Signoria.On the death of John Hawkwood-the English mercenary who was renamed Giovanni Acuto-the city rendered the honours of a full state funeral. The man who had been the greatest and most feared condottiere of the Florentines, who had cost a fortune when alive, did not come cheap in death either."