Area: 392 square miles

Ethnic groups: Caurenzan 90%, Lupins (Glantrian Mountaineer) 5%, others 5%

Languages: Thyatian (Caurenzan dialect, also Glantrian dialect among cultured people)

Ruler: Viscount Griseo Fulvina (born 951) (OD&D: Mage 16^th, Al C) (AD&D: Transmuter 13^th, Spy Kit*, Al NE).

Military: 10 Kerendan Lancers (an informal Knightly Order), 40 Crossbowmen.

There are three armed corps in Verazzano. The weaker is the militia, composed by all residents who are rich enough to afford a suit of studded leather armour, a shield, and a short sword. The militia exists only in emergency times.

The two remaining corps are the remains of the army led by Lord Cesare Fulvina during the first years in the Highlands. The Kerendan Lancers are still the elite of Verazzano's fighters, heavy cavalry with field plate armour and a retinue of one squire and one sergeant. Since they are not paid and must cope with their expenses only through their own funds, there are only a few (10 or even less) of these knight at every time, mostly Fulvina warriors or minor nobles of Verazzano. Historically, the Kerendan Lancers were the mainstay of Caurenzan cavalry during the wars against the Flaems.

The Guard of Verazzano functions both as police in the fief and as guard for the ruling family. It is composed by 40 men, equipped with heavy crossbows, gladii, daggers and scale mail armour. This crossbowmen claim to be the heirs of the defenders of the Thyatian forts in western Dythestenia, and of the men, led by Giovanni Verazzano, who defended the Tower of Verazzano against the Flaems.

History:

Verazzano comes from "verres" and "zona", Thyatian for "male boar" and "zone", meaning, "land of male boars". It was created by the Fulvina family before the foundation of the Principalities, and it has been ruled by the family since then. Da Verazzano is the other prominent family of the region, descended from the great hero, Giovanni Verazzano; they were Seneschals of the Fulvinas, in charge of La Vedetta Tower. After the Light of Rad, Ghiaio da Verazzano, known as "il Chiatto", planned to betray Viscount Luigi Fulvina II to his brother, Ugone. However, he was discovered and his family was forced to retreat East, first, and finally caught by masnadieri (brigands) in the service of Fulvinas. Survivors escaped to Thyatis. Other members, who remained loyal to Fulvinas, were granted important charges in the territories East, and their descendants actually live in the Two Volcanoes Free Province.

Food: Deficit.

Trails A fair trail connects the mines with the main trail, stretching along the River Arnus towards Caurenze. Poor trails connect other minor villages.

Economics: This very old fief lies in a favourable position, the start of Arnus River Valley, thus having an higher population rate than other hilly fiefs. Almost all of the inhabitants of Verazzano are ethnic Caurenzans, most of them descendants of the first colonists who came from Nicostenia and Dythestenia following Lord Cesare Fulvina.

The Village of Verazzano is the largest settlement in the Viscounty, with nearly one thousand inhabitants. The only other village housing more than one hundred people is Vico Rufo, at the south-western frontier, on the path leading to Oreggiano. Other settlements are those of the miners and a small hamlet around the Tower of Verazzano, the residence of the Viscount.
The hills near the Village of Verazzano, at the center of the Viscounty, are covered with vineyards (producing a characteristic red wine), while the lowest foothills of the Kurish Massif are too irregular to be tamed, and are home to small woods and patches of heavy brush.
The people of Verazzano raise some sheep and goats, but most resources are devoted to the mines of white marble and iron. There are some 400 miners, and 1/6 of populations is employed in metalworking (tools, weapons and armours), or marble-related jobs. Another 1/6 is full time employed in agriculture. Vineyards on the hills are the 3^rd resource. All trading is done with Caurenze and the Two Volcanoes Free Province.

Notable sites: Tor Verazzano (Castle Verazzano) stands on a hilly spur, which dominates Valgrave, a Valley run across by the Rio Grave. The oldest edifice is a square-based stone tower built by Lord Cesare Fulvina as part of a Thyatian-style castrum set on the top of a high hill. At that time, the tower was built with wood and earth, but it was magically transmuted to stone by Cesare's son, Lord Luigi, after the castrum was destroyed by Flaemish battlemages, who had attacked the Fulvinas while Ezzelino, Luigi's brother and captain of the cavalry, was away with his troops, raiding some Flaemish settlements. Luigi survived the attack thanks to the valour of his captain of the guard, Giovanni Verazzano, a priest of Protius who countered the effects of the Flaems' fire magics with his own spells, holding the tower while the Flaems were destroying the rest of the castrum, until Ezzelino arrived with his lancers.

The captain died of the wounds received during the last charge of the Flaems, when he was finally out of defensive spells, and Luigi decided to name in his honour the tower he had defended. Then, to ensure better protection for the tower, he ordered his geomancers to transmute the entire building from wood to stone.

Since Luigi's age, the Tower has been constantly fortified and augmented by his descendants, who also delved deep dungeons under the main building, and added a walls and a moat to the keep.
It is connected by a subterranean passage with another Tower, La Vedetta, built in a higher position, which actually works as look-out Tower over the Valley and the trade. The Castle controls the vineyards, which extends, in a fan-shaped disposition, until the Southwestern woods, and Fulvina’s hunting reserve. The vineyards produce high quality wine, the Gioviale, thanks to the peculiarity of the terrain, and to the altitude. The vineyards have a low yield, something that increases the quality of the wine even more.

The Village of Verazzano and Palazzo Fulvina.

This village was founded by Viscount Luigi II, as a capital for his Viscounty. Most of those who lived near the Tower moved to the new village, and only those who staffed the Tower were allowed to dwell in its proximity. When the marble mine was opened in AC 845, the need for materials for the majestic buildings of the Great School and Circus Lizzieni was a boost for Verazzano’s economy, and for the Viscounts' treasury. Fifty years later, Viscount Ferruccio Fulvina decided to build a great mansion for his family in the village, since the Tower was already too crowded, hampering his magical researches and experiments.

In ten years, Palazzo Fulvina was completed, with its ashlarwork façade and its frescoes, representing the family history, and the portraits of Ferruccio's ancestor, all painted by the greatest Caurenzan masters of his time.

Currently, most of Griseo's relatives live in Palazzo Fulvina, while Griseo himself lives in the Tower with his wife, his brother, and some of their grandchildren. Griseo's oldest son, Lord Cesare, is the Priore (mayor) of Verazzano.

Personalities: Viscount Griseo Fulvina (born 951) (OD&D: Mage 16^th, Al C) (AD&D: Transmuter 13^th, Spy Kit*, Al NE).

Rosabianca (born 951) (OD&D: Thug 10 HD, Al C) (AD&D: 10^th, Assassin Kit, Al NE), wife.

Lamberto il Giovane (born 953) (OD&D: Mage 11^th, Al L) (AD&D: Wizard11th, Al LN), brother.

Cesare (born 975, Alchemist of the 1^st Circle) (OD&D: Mage 9^th, Al L) (AD&D: Transmuter 9^th, Al LN), son, and Priore of Verazzano.

Giulio (born 978) (OD&D: Mage 8^th, Al N) (AD&D: Transmuter 8^th, Al N), son.

Coat of Arms: Gules fox on azure background.

Thibault Sarlat, Giovanni Porpora, Agathokles.

January 2001, All rights reserved.