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for printing| Piero della Francesca, who came from a family of
fairly prosperous merchants, is recognised as one of the most
important painters of the Renaissance. Although today he is
always known as Piero della Francesca, he would have been known
in his lifetime as Piero di Benedetto de' Franceschi. His
father, Benedetto de' Franceschi, was a leather and wool
merchant, while his mother Romana was the daughter of the wool
merchant, Renzo di Carlo da Monterchi, from the nearby village
of Monterchi. It is thought that Benedetto and Romana married
around 1416 for, although no marriage certificate has been
found, they exchanged the dowry in that year. However, Benedetto
inherited some money and a share of a house in 1410 and there is
some evidence to suggest that he married shortly after this, but
if this is true it is hard to believe that the dowry would only
be exchanged s