Florentine craftsmen, Tomb slab of Simona Ricci

Tomb slab of a floor burial, rectangular, in white marble carved with engraved black marble frame, by 14th century Florentine craftsmen and found in the last 14th century level of the floor of the ancient basilica of Santa Reparata during the archaeological excavation campaign of 1965 -1973. The inscription that crowns the white marble slab, in elegant Gothic characters, recalls the slab belongs to the tomb of the noble woman Simona, widow of Ardingo of the Ricci family, who died on 6 July 1363. In the center of the slab stands the Ricci coat of arms - a shield with six hedgehogs (“Ricci” means “hedgehogs”) alternating with eleven stars - inside a quatrefoil with a particular shape, which resembles a star (a reference to the stars of the coat of arms?).