Unable to believe what they see, they rush forward, trying to grab me by the legs, but they fear they will upset my balance and knock me down. They now plead, in silent despair, but I have turned my back on them. I know what I must do.

Below me, at a dizzying distance, the red tiled roofs emerge like a fiery sea spreading out to meet the countryside… illuminating the beautiful place where giants once walked… Giotto, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Michelangelo.

Point by point, I bring my feet to the edge of the battlements. "Come down!" they shout. "There is still time!" Oh, deliberately ignorant! Don’t you see the future? Don’t you realize the greatness of my creation? Its necessity? I gladly proceed to the ultimate sacrifice… and through it I will erase your last hope of finding what you seek.

There is no chance you will locate it in time. Many dozens of meters below, the paved square seems to call me, like a peaceful oasis. How I long for a little more time… but time is the one and only good that my immense fortune cannot secure for me.

In those last seconds, I gaze at the square and behold a sight that unsettles me. I see your face. You watch me from among the shadows. Sadness weighs on your eyes, yet within them I discern a deep respect for what I have achieved. You understand that I have no other choice. In the name of Humanity, I have a duty to protect my masterpiece.