My name is William, and I am 11 years old. I live in the city of Florence in Italy. Our streets are busy with people selling goods and artists making beautiful things. My father is a painter, and I help him mix colors for his paintings.

People talk about a man named Leonardo da Vinci. They say he is a great artist and inventor. Last year, in 1502, he started painting a picture called the Mona Lisa. Everyone is excited to see it when it's done. I hope to be as good an artist as him someday.

Our city is full of amazing buildings. There's a big dome on the cathedral, built by Brunelleschi. It was finished before I was born, in 1436, but it's still the tallest thing I've ever seen. The buildings here are made in a new way called Renaissance style. They have lots of columns and arches, like in the old Roman times.

There are new inventions too. Not long ago, in 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented a printing press with movable type. Now, books can be made faster and more people can read them. Father says knowledge is spreading everywhere.

Life here is full of music and art. Festivals happen often, with people dancing and singing in the streets. Traders come from faraway places, bringing spices and stories. They talk about Christopher Columbus, who sailed across the ocean in 1492 and found new lands.

If I could hide some things in a secret box for someone to find later, I would put in one of Father's small paintings, a printed page from a book, and a coin with the image of our city. Maybe someone in the future will find them and learn about our lives in this year of 1503.