The problem with Milan and Venice is... well, Venice and Milan, respectively .

Having started my first campaign with the Portuguese, I have to say they are a very, very powerful faction, better than the Spanish even. They really have it all : Jinettes of Doom, better pikemen, better riflemen, better footmen, better navy, excellent artillery, and of course, the Iberian peninsula itself which is almost up there with the British Isles on the strategical cheese scale. No wonder why they always seem to do so well in my other campaigns : the only thing they may lack is money, and a human player will make good use of Timbuktu to get that too. Scary faction