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The Council of Florence was a council of bishops and other ecclesiastics of the Roman Catholic Church. It began in 1431 as the Council of Basel in Basel, Switzerland. It became known as the Council of Ferrara after its transfer to Ferrara was decreed by Pope Eugene IV to convene in 1438. The council transferred to Florence in 1439 because of the threat of plague. An additional inducement was the financial support of the Medici. The initial location at Basel reflected the desire among parties seeking reform to meet outside the territories of the Papacy, the Holy Roman Empire, or the kings of Aragon and France, whose influences the council hoped to avoid. Ambrogio Traversari attended the Council of Basel as legate of Pope Eugene IV.