Dr. Fabrizio Ricciardelli

The merchant class that took power in Florence in August 1282 gained strength from the inexorable economic and demographic growth of the century’s early decades. The Florentine economy was based on three main activities, banking, industry, and trade. In spite of the fact that the city had no direct outlet to the sea, it still managed to become one of the most important markets in Italy and in Europe. Florentine merchants purchased wool in England, cloth in Flanders, and dye substances and alum, an essential mineral for fixing colors, in northern France and the East. Thanks to this huge network they processed, dyed and decorated textiles to sell as finished goods throughout the known world. The first half of the fourteenth century was the period of greatest splendor for the Wool Manufacturers Guild: it employed about three hundred men who produced approximately one hundred thousand bolts of cloth each year. Alongside the larger businesses, there were others that were more strictly local. Even if at different levels, all guilds in Florence were public patrons of art and provided funding for charity.