The Six Families is a term referring to the six merchant dynasties that have dominated the politics of La Rossa since the times before the nation's birth. Each having established significant dominance over their own native city-provinces, they have become inseparable from the greater image of rule over the island, having clashed many times before (and after) the nation's unification. Until the Spirit Revolution of 106 TT, Family members alone elected the Dux, and were the sole arbiters of who could claim the rule over of the island. Although their power has diminished greatly since the period of La Denunzia, the still exercise significant influence over the island. Vincenzo Barozzo di Tolia, the current reigning Dux, is a member of the Families.
Buonestrotti di Buglio
Owing to Buglio's large open plains, the largest such expanse on the island, the Buglian city-state established itself as an early agricultural force that led to large population growth, the centralization of land into the hands of local lords, and the establishment of a monarchical state ruling over all. Overthrown by a lord-led rebellion, the power vacuum left by overthrow of the local monarch led to the opportunity being seized by the Buonestrotti Family. Consolidating power amidst the chaos, they would eventually come to exercise far greater control over the city's farmlands than any king prior, for centuries establishing themselves as the singular legitimate rulers of the land. Even while faring through times of crises which forced them to sell off their land, control usually was reasserted during the following generation. Though they had little luck in exploiting the Silver Rush of 1296 TT, the grip on food production gave the family both security and leverage in negotiating with other Families, ensuring their continued existence.
Mario Buonestrotti di Buglio ruled at the height of the Silver Crisis, with his unpopular leadership during the period credited to the overthrow of the Families during La Denunzia.
Morelio di Lorma
Basing themselves in the small city of Lorma, the Morelio family is the coming together of the internal politics of the town's many affluent families, which had eventually collapsed under a single name through centuries of intermarriage. Holding themselves greatly neutral over the centuries, the families of Lorma saw their role not as conquering front-runners, but as middlemen too costly to fight or replace. Ensuring their eternal place in the Republic following the Unification of La Rossa, their role changed little. Remaining pragmatic and out of view, they had long reaped the benefits of their strategic position, an unavoidable port on the voyage from west to east.
Patrizio Morelio di Lorma saw the establishment of centralized market regulations to ensure cooperation between the Families for the benefit of the island, instead of an individual city-province, following a crisis born out of a banking run. His reforms served as a model for ensuring the island's economic stability, even as the focus shifted away from the Families and towards the citizenry after La Denunzia.
Minestrici di Mineria
The heritage of the Minestrici family of Mineria currently traces to some of the earliest days on the island, being among the leading settlers that split from the mountainous town of Averno in favor of the dangerous, Storm-riddled coast, defying (and then coming to define) Tempestry. Despite the risk, their decision would ultimately pay off once they had reached the coast overlooking an untouched bay, providing them with food and land to extents far greater than their previous home, over centuries compounding into explosive growth that served as the true beginning of Rossan civilization. The Minestrici family, having led the Minerians centuries prior like prophets, would only come to cement their rule, even as other city-states began to establish themselves and eventually outgrew them.
Mineria's favorable position has for many years given the Minestrici Family great control over great swathes of land, the only family to control two coasts. Becoming a great industrial node, Mineria remains a major hub for shipbuilding, a role it has held since the times of the Storm due to its relatively safe and secluded location. Leo Minestrici di Mineria was the first Dux to hail from the Families after La Denunzia, and led to the opening of the island to the archipelago.
Miglio di Padeno
The Miglio family, once the richest on the island, took residence in the city of Padeno, the largest on the island in both wealth and population. Making a majority of their wealth in their early years through banking, at first funded by the savings of Constanzo Miglio di Padeno (1362/3 TT - 1312 TT), an island-wide trader and salesman, the wealth amassed by the family allowed them to acquire a share in a vast array of industries, ranging from textiles to food, establishing a near monopoly across the city. After the Silver Crisis, most of their businesses have been seized and broken apart among private investors, however, the Family remains sizeably affluent. Although no longer under their control, the same companies that once belonged to them continue to hold significant sway over the local and national market.
The current Padeno headquarters of the Banca Rossa, the nation's central bank, are located in the Family's oldest and largest bank, seized after La Denunzia.
Giannone di Salino
The Giannone family hails from the city of Salino, and its earliest ancestors are believed to have been among the city's earliest settlers. The city's name refers to the salt deposits found in the lower Montesuvian mountains in the vicinity of the city, a discovery on which the Giannone family quickly capitalized on. Within a century, the family possessed exclusive rights over salt mining in the city, having bought out the last of their competitors. The possession of advanced mining facilities gave the family an immense advantage during the Silver Rush of 1296 TT, and allowed them to establish operations across significant swathes of territory. Nowadays, salt is mostly extracted from sea water, however, the biggest such facility on the island still belongs to the Giannone family.
Dux Giuseppe Giannone was the first to be crowned with such a position, as is often hailed as the unifier of the island's nation. His descendant, Dux Michelangelo Giannone, would later be responsible for the reforms after the Spirit Revolution.
Barozzo di Tolia
The history of the Barozzo family traces to the earliest days of Tolia, although its claim to power would not be fully grasped until several centuries later. Taking over leadership of the settlement by exploiting the weak proto-democratic institutions, Marcus Lucios Barozzo di Tolia would rise to become the starting figurehead of the Tolian dynasty. The Silver Rush of 1296 TT, started by the uncovering of deposits in the Tolian region, would serve to greatly enrich the Family, becoming one of the most prosperous on the island. For many years holding a stranglehold over the production of silver in the region, the Silver Crisis would serve to become the Family's undoing, overnight collapsing the local mining industry and eventually leading to the overthrow of the Families on the island. Since the Rossan Opening, the Barozzo Family has once yet emerged as a major industrial player on the island. Despite the poor state of industry in their home city, a number of beneficial government contracts would lead to their re-establishment as a major owner across industries.
Niccolò Barozzo di Tolia would reign over the invention, and subsequent nationalization of the printing press. Due to the island's relatively small size, rigid enforcement of the controlled use of mass print would persist for centuries.