Glossary of Terms and Proper Names
(NB: This list contains spoilers)
ALLEGRA—Fifteenth-century woman and lover of the Prince.
AMBROGIO—William York’s servant.
ANGELO—Homeless man and friend of Raven Wood.
AOIBHE—Pronounced “A-vuh.” An Irish member of the Consilium.
ISPETTOR BATELLI—Police inspector in Florence.
THE CONSILIUM—The ruling council of the principality of Florence. It consists of six members: Lorenzo, Niccolò, Aoibhe, Ibarra, Maximilian, and Pierre. The Prince is an ex officio member.
THE CURIA—Enemy of the supernatural beings.
GABRIEL EMERSON—The professor is a Dante specialist who teaches at Boston University. He is the owner of a famed set of Botticelli illustrations of Dante’s Divine Comedy, which he lent to the Uffizi Gallery in 2011. His story is told in the Gabriel’s Inferno trilogy: Gabriel’s Inferno, Gabriel’s Rapture, and Gabriel’s Redemption.
JULIA EMERSON—Doctoral student at Harvard University. She is married to Gabriel and the co-owner of the Botticelli illustrations.
FEEDERS—Derogatory term for human beings who offer themselves up as a food source to supernatural beings.
FERALS—Supernatural beings who live and hunt alone. They display brutal, animalistic behavior.
GREGOR—Personal assistant to the Prince.
HUMAN INTELLIGENCE NETWORK—Human beings who are contracted to provide information to the supernatural beings. They also provide security and perform specific tasks.
THE HUNTERS—Humans who hunt and kill supernatural beings for commercial purposes.
IBARRA—A Basque member of the Consilium and head of security for the principality of Florence.
FATHER KAVANAUGH—Former director of Covenant House in Orlando, Florida, and friend of Raven Wood.
LORENZO—A member of the Medici family and second in command in the principality of Florence. Also a member of the Consilium.
LUCIA—Ambrogio’s wife and servant to William York.
LUKA—Servant to William York.
MARCO—Servant to William York.
MARCUS—Also known as the Prince of Venice. Former ruler of the underworld principality of Venice, now deceased.
MARIA—A young girl with special needs who lives at the Franciscan orphanage in Florence. She is introduced in Gabriel’s Redemption.
MAXIMILIAN—A Prussian member of the Consilium.
THE MEDICI—Famous ruling family of Florence during the Renaissance.
GINA MOLINARI—Friend of Raven Wood, employed in the archives of the Uffizi Gallery.
NICCOLò—Famous Florentine and member of the Consilium. Head of intelligence for the principality of Florence.
OLD ONES—A special class of supernatural beings who, by virtue of having attained seven hundred years in their supernatural state, enjoy tremendous power and special abilities.
GIUSEPPE PACCIANI—A professor of Dante at the University of Florence. His backstory is given in the Gabriel’s Inferno series.
KATHERINE PICTON—Retired Dante specialist and former professor at the University of Toronto. Her backstory is described in the Gabriel’s Inferno series. Friend of the Emersons.
PIERRE—A French member of the Consilium. Oversees security and liaises with the human intelligence network as well as the police services.
THE PRINCE—Ruler of the principality of Florence, the underworld society of supernatural beings.
RECRUITS—New supernatural beings, formerly human.
THE ROMAN—Ruler of the principality of Rome and also the head of the kingdom of Italy, which includes all the Italian principalities.
AGENT SAVOLA—Interpol agent assigned to Florence.
SIMONETTA—Th e Princess of Umbria.
STEFAN—A supernatural physician of French-Canadian origin.
PROFESSOR URBANO—Director of the restoration project working on the Birth of Venus. Raven Wood’s supervisor.
THE VENETIANS—Supernatural beings living in the principality of Venice.
DOTTOR VITALI—Director of the Uffizi Gallery. He appears in the Gabriel’s Inferno trilogy.
PATRICK WONG—Canadian citizen and friend of Raven Wood. Works in the archives at the Uffizi Gallery.
CAROLYN (CARA) WOOD—Raven’s younger sister. Carolyn is a real estate agent in Miami, Florida.
RAVEN WOOD—American citizen and postdoctoral restoration worker at the Uffizi Gallery.
WILLIAM YORK—A wealthy Florentine and patron of the Uffizi Gallery. He appears briefly in Gabriel’s Redemption.
YOUNGLINGS—Supernatural beings who have yet to attain one hundred years in their supernatural state.
Acknowledgments
I am indebted to Sandro Botticelli and the incomparable space that is the Uffizi Gallery. I’m also indebted to the citizens of Florence, who gifted me with hospitality and inspiration.
I’ve used poetic license in locating Raven’s restoration lab at the Uffizi, since it would have been undertaken at one of the labs operated by the Opificio instead.
Quotations from Lucius Apuleius’s “The Golden Ass” are from William Adlington’s translation, as presented in Project Gutenberg.
I am grateful to Kris, who read an early draft and offered invaluable constructive criticism. I am also thankful to Jennifer and to Nina for their feedback and support.
I’ve been very pleased to work with Cindy Hwang, my editor. Thanks are also due to Tom Guida for his wisdom and energy. And thanks to the copyediting, art, and design teams who worked on the book and its cover at various stages.
My publicist, Nina Bocci, works tirelessly to promote my writing and to help me with social media, which enables me to stay in touch with readers. I’m honored to be part of her team.
Elizabeth de Vos, Bee W., Elena, Becca, Ellie, Heidi, Tiffany, and Chris all contributed in their areas of expertise. Thank you.
I would also like to thank those who have offered support, especially the Muses, Erika, Argyle Empire, and the readers from around the world who operate the SRFans social media accounts.
Finally, I would like to thank my readers and my family. Your continued support is inestimable, especially as we return to Florence for a new adventure.