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If one walks the city of Florence, one can still feel the vibe of the Renaissance epicenter of the 15^th century. It was the rivalry of powerful families like the Albizzi, the Strozzi, the Pazzi or the Brancacci that created astounding progress in the fields of art, astronomy, mathematics, banking, commerce and warfare. But above them all was one single family that finally ruled them all: the Medici.

It was Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici who would begin the great dynasty by making a fortune in the wool industry, establishing the Medici bank in Florence with branches in Geneva, Venice, Naples and eventually becoming the trusted banker of the pope in Rome. While everybody knows Lorenzo, called “the Magnificent”, for his outstanding ability to spot artistic talent, it was his grandfather Cosimo, son of Giovanni di Bicci, who positioned the Medici as the dominating family in the capital of the “Rinascimento”.

“Cosimo the Elder”, as he was known, obtained the title of “Gran Maestro” of Florence in 1434 after returning from exile (forced by rivaling Florentine families) and expanded the Medici bank all over Europe with branches in Pisa, Milan, London, Avignon, Bruges and Lübeck. In a clever way, the same branches served also as wholesale trading hubs for spices, textiles and other valuable goods magnifying the Medici banking fortune. But the Medici weren’t just shrewd businessman and politicians, they also had a deep interest in art, architecture and science backing illuminati such as Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and even Galileo Galilei.

The Uffizi, the Boboli gardens, the Medici chapels of the Basilica of San Lorenzo are all testimony to the artistic greatness and vision of the House of Medici. Even the Palazzo Vecchio, build much earlier in 1299, prospered greatly when the young Medici Duke Cosimo I made it his residence in 1540. One of the most ambitious projects for the renovation of the palazzo was the “Sala delle Carte Geografiche” (the so-called hall of geographical maps), where Cosimo I wanted to showcase his deep interest in geography and manifest his grip on the entire world. At the end it was completed only in part.

Even today one can admire the 53 maps conceived by Giorgio Vasari and painted by Stefano Bonsignori and Egnazio Danti, the Dominican friar that created also the beautiful big globe at the center of the “Sala delle Carte Geografiche”: the “map mundi”. Head to Florence if you want to experience the Medici’s version of “Google Maps”.

If Sam Walton wasn’t diagnosed with bone cancer in 1989, his autobiography “Made in America” would probably not exist today. The media-shy founder of Wal-Mart would have been busy flying his Cessna twin-engine-plane around the country, chasing new business, and opening new stores. Writing his life story with John Huey from Fortune Magazine would have been probably dismissed as a complete waste of time. But his sickness made the 1992 book possible.

Walton was a true maverick, a man who enjoyed shaking things up and create a “little anarchy” from time to time. His early Saturday morning manager group meetings were legendary, and the main idea was to “let everybody know what was going on and let everybody be aware of the mistakes we made”. If he wasn’t out there taking care of his staff and customers, you could see him walking around stores (often those of his competitors) scribbling notes on his coffee-stained yellow legal pad. He wasn’t much of a stock market CEO either and often complained about the short-termism of analysts and investors: “I feel like our time is better spent with our own people in the stores, rather than off selling the company to outsiders. I don’t think any amount of public relations experts or speeches in New York or Boston means a darn thing to the value of the stock over the long haul. I think you get what you’re worth.”

Sam was also truly great at picking the right people and giving them responsibility before they even were ready: “If you take someone who lacks the experience and the know-how but has the real desire and the willingness to work his tail off to get the job done, he’ll make up for what he lacks.” He obviously took pride in Wal-Mart’s associates (that’s how he called his employees), made them share into the profits and was big on corporate culture promoting a “whistle while you work” philosophy.

Walton even welcomed competition: “Kmart’s attack on us was probably the best single external event in Wal-Mart’s history”. Almost 30 years later Sam’s work and life ethos still lives on at Wal-Mart and if he was around today, he would certainly face today’s ecommerce giants as always: head on!