Twenty, The (Hist.)

Twenty chief men of Florence, appointed after the departure of Charles VIII, with "dictatorial authority given them, by force of which they should for one year choose all magistrates, and set the frame of government in order." These were the twenty Accoppiatori, called the Venti, appointed in December, 1494. They served as the government of Florence for a short time, until after the formation of the Grand Council provided by the new constitution of 1494.

<em>Romola</em>

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