The Greatest Princely Dynasty You’ve Never Heard Of

Imagine an imposing square castle, the biggest you’ve ever seen, rising up on a shining red column of rock from a valley hidden deep in a green mountain gorge.  From its parapets you can see rivers and mountains and the villages below. The land holdings of the estate are so much that it has been deemed a state unto itself, rivaling Monaco. This is only the main family castle, the headquarters of a family run by three Counts, and formerly by their prince fathers. The castle was born in 898 A.D. when its only admirers were abbots on pilgrimage and the peasants of the valley. In the 12^th century it becomes a fortress, a home for true power lords.

Castello Dei Landi, also known as Bardi Castle, is the crown of the village of Bardi in the valley of Ceno in Northern Italy.  Everything that has ever happened in a good medieval tale has also happened at this castle.

Knights, Counts, Princes, Princesses, Dynasties, dungeons, moats, romance, and religion have played, fought, died, and haunted here. The Maltese Falcon may be hiding within its walls. Buried treasure is for certain hidden here.

More than a century before Shakespeare penned Romeo and Juliet, a similar, but real story of that vein took place at the castle. The daughter of the count of the castle fell madly in love with the captain of the guard, but she had already been promised to one of her father’s friends. The maiden and the captain kept their love a secret, meeting in hidden places. When the knight was called away to battle, the maiden pined for him, watching the valley for his return. One day, she saw an approaching band of knights flying the enemy banner, and thinking this meant her lover had died, threw herself off the parapets to her death. But the knight was not dead, he was flying the enemy flag as a sign of victory. When he discovered her death, he too, killed himself.

The story of this castle, village, state, and the Landi family of Piacenza could fill volumes.

Are robots taking our jobs?

When I was a kid, my grandfather, a lifelong employee of Ford Motor Company, bemoaned the coming age of the robot. On many a before daybreak morning, as he was feeding us bran flakes, he would tell us how robots were going to change the world, pushing the working man into severe poverty and making the rich richer at the poor man’s expense.

I used to think he was exaggerating or that he was overly sensitive to the plight of the working man, but that day has come.

Wired magazine posted an article yesterday about a robot that does the job of hospital orderlies. It takes out the trash, picks up the linens, and delivers drugs and foods.

The Boston Consulting Group released a report that the use of automation and robots in manufacturing will rise from their current share of 10% to 25% in the next decade. They estimate that about 1.2 million robots will be deployed in domestic factories in that time.

Even off the factory floor, robots are rising. A hotel in Japan is now fully staffed by androids and robots, with jobs ranging from concierge to bellhop.

They may even be capable of collective thought, albeit on a primitive level. But any level of collective thought by androids is just short of creepy.