Florence during the Renaissance was precocious on several fronts, including commerce. American historian, Dr. Brian Brege, Assistant Professor, Syracuse University, joins the show to talk about what commerce was like in Florence during the Italian Renaissance period.
Some topics explored
- When the Renaissance period was (mid-14th to mid-17th centuries)
- What the governance structure was in Florence and Tuscany during this period
- The Republic of Florence and where its geographic demarcation was
- Textile products including wool, silk, and dyes
- Mining, wine production, and quarrying
- Imports and exports in Florence
- The role of families and small businesses in Florence during this period
- The banking industry in Florence during this period including bills of exchanges and lending
- Owners of companies expanding into various sectors in Tuscany
- What guilds were in Florence during this period and the role they played
- The papacy doing banking in Florence
- Banking and usury rules
- How much financial materials and records from this period exist today whether in analogue or digitized
- Comparing the end of the period to the beginning of the period
Listen to the episode
The episode is available on major podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Show Notes
- Professor Brege is author of the forthcoming monograph Tuscany in the Age of Empire (Harvard University Press, July 13, 2021)
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