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Political conflict did not, however, prevent the city's rise to become one of the most powerful and prosperous in Europe, assisted by its own strong gold currency. The "fiorino d'oro" of the Republic of Florence , or florin , was introduced in 1252, the first European gold coin struck in sufficient quantities to play a significant commercial ...
The House of Medici (English: / ˈ m ɛ d ɪ tʃ i / MED-itch-ee, UK also / m ə ˈ d iː tʃ i / mə-DEE-chee; [4] Italian: [ˈmɛːditʃi]) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th century.
Beginning in the 3rd century CE, the Roman Empire began to decline, and so did the Italian territory and its cities. [5] During the early Middle Ages (7th–9th centuries), the economy was in a depressed, semi-subsistence state, gravitating around feudal centers. Beginning in the 10th century, the Italian population and economy began to grow ...
The Medici became the town's leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Florence organized the trade routes for commodities between England and the Netherlands, France, and Italy. By the middle of the century, the city had become the banking capital of Europe and thereby obtained vast riches. [32]
A factor was dispatched to Venice to seek out investment opportunities. He did well and on March 25, 1402, the third branch of the Medici bank was opened. It suffered from some initial mismanagement (by the factor who had previously done so well—he made the fatal mistake of violating the partnership agreement and loaning money to Germans; on a more humane note, he would eventually become a ...
Trade in the early Roman Empire allowed Rome to become as vast and great as it did. Emperor Augustus , despite his intense public and private spending, took control of trade from the government and expanded Roman influence by opening new trading markets in overseas areas such as Britain , Germany , and Africa . [ 53 ]
Cosimo de' Medici was born in Florence to Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici and his wife Piccarda Bueri on 27 September 1389. [6] At the time, it was customary to indicate the name of one's father in one's name for the purpose of distinguishing the identities of two like-named individuals; thus, Giovanni was the son of Bicci, and Cosimo's name was properly rendered Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici.
Florence (/ ˈ f l ɒr ən s / FLORR-ənss; Italian: Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] ⓘ) [a] is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany.It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 364,073 inhabitants in 2024, and 990,527 in its metropolitan area.