Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 ...
In 2013, Florence was listed as the second best world city by Condé Nast Traveler. [56] Manufacturing and commerce remain highly important. Florence is Italy's 17th richest city in terms of average workers' earnings, with the figure being €23,265 (the overall city's income is €6,531,204,473), coming after Mantua, yet surpassing Bolzano. [57]
A variant of the florin was the Rheingulden, minted by several German states encompassing the commercial centers of the Rhein River valley, under a series of monetary conventions starting in 1354, initially at a standard practically identical to the Florentine florin (98% gold, 3.54 grams). By 1419, the weight had been slightly reduced (to 3.51 ...
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.
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]
The House of Bardi was an influential Florentine family that started the powerful banking company Compagnia dei Bardi.In the 14th century the Bardis lent Edward III of England 900,000 gold florins, a debt which he failed to repay along with 600,000 florins borrowed from the Peruzzi family, leading to the collapse of both families' banks.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Florence became an influential centre, exporting its art and know-how to the other courts of Italy and Europe by sending its artists and scholars as ambascerie culturali ('cultural ambassadors'). The first decoration of the Sistine Chapel in Rome was the work of a group of Florentine artists, including Sandro Botticelli , Domenico Ghirlandaio ...