Palatino 766 pipes, pools, cliffs, streams... (by Taccola)

[JustAnotherTheory]

So this may or may not be relevant, but I found a letter from March 1434:

Code:

Giacomo della Quercia, operaio del Duomo di Siena, volendosi asscntare da Siena sostituisce in suo luogo due consiglieri deW Opera. Anno domini MCCCCXXX1V-V ind: x die vero xxi Martii. Dominus Jacobus operarius — omni modo etc.  (...)  Actum Senis in apoteca domini Guidonis de Guidarellis et fratrum aromatariorum in Campo fori ad bucham Casati coramser Mariano Jacobi alias Taccola de Senis et Dominico Bartolopictore de Asciano, testibus, etc.

(You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., page 165, document 126)

A quick translation of the last sentence is the following:

Code:

Done at Siena, in the apothecary shop of Lord Guidonis de Guidarellis and the aromatarii brothers(?), in Campo Fori, at the mouth of the Casato, before Sir Mariano Jacobi, otherwise called Taccola, of Siena, and Domenico Bartolo, painter of Asciano, witnesses, etc.

This places Taccola in an apothecary's shop, owned by a certain Guidonis de Guidarellis and his "fratrum aromatariorum", as a witness to a deed in March 1434. A couple of things come to mind:

• The year 1434 is interesting. Book III-IV (Palatino 766), that seems to be relevant to the history of the VMS Quire 13, was finished on Jan. 13, 1433 and was subsequently "lost".
  
• They meet in an apothecary. In 1400s Siena, apothecaries are not just places where you can buy medicine for illness. According to the 1355 Breve Degli Speziali law, which regulates such places, apothecaries in Siena were allowed to sell (new and used) parchment, manuscripts, herbs (and herbals), ink, paint for illumination, alchemical supplies and other "strange" or non-common items. Why did Taccola and the high-ranking city official Giacomo della Quercia need to meet in such a place? 
  
• According to the text in the letter above, Giacomo was leaving on administrative business and was leaving two of his colleagues as representatives in his stead. Thus they needed witnesses to sign the document. But why do all this is a "shady" place like an apothecary's emporium?
  
• There is evidence that this shop contained several alchemical manuscripts, recent translations from Arabic originals. 
  
• Who were these "fratrum aromatariorum"? I don't know what the correct translation would be, but in my mind I can imagine "brotherhood of apothecaries", or some other closed circle of people. Unfortunately I have found no further information about the "fratri".
  

Could this apothecary have something to do with Palatino 766? Could it have been "lost" in one such apothecary? What is the reason for a meeting of such people in such a place? Could they not have done it in a more "official" setting, like the palace, or courthouse?

In any case, this gives evidence that Taccola was a guest in at least one "shady" apothecary.