Art Walks
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FLORENCECITYWALK4.11.pptxflorentine guilds
WALK IV
The emergence of the comune
Florence represents the typical Italian Commune.
Florence suffered from the collapse of the Roman Empire (476 AD) and the bloody wars between the invading forces of Byzantines , Goths and Lombards that pulled Italy into the Dark Ages;
The city of Florence became part of the kingdom of Lombardy which was overthrown by the Frankish king Charlemagne (Charlemagne was created Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in 800 AD);
Charlemagne and his successors claimed sovereignty over Northen Italy, so Florence was technically under imperial control;
Emperors were based far north of the Alps and the papacy exercised more immediate influence over the Italian cities;
For centuries rivalry between popes and emperors formed the backdrop to Italian politics;
Since the beginning of 11th c. there was a growing Mediterranean demand for cloth;
Florence nearby located to the waters of the Arno, showed an ideal position for washing and fulling wool;
This situation stimulated the rise of enterprising merchant companies who would travel as far as Flanders and England in search of the raw material and then sell the finished cloth in throughout the Mediterranean.
This is the time when Florentines developed a banking network, and the city’s gold currency, the florin, first coined in 1252 became the most stable and widespread currency in Europe;
By 1300 Florentine families such as those of Bardi and Peruzzi were the richest of the continent because they loaned their money creating prosperous banking activities;
The demand for labour was so powerful that the city’s population doubled from 1200 to 1300;
Matilda Countess of Tuscia gave the city its independence in 1115, so a communal government was established;
The city was to be ruled by a council of a hundred men;
Florence was repeatedly caught up in the rivalries between popes and emperors;
13th- century Florence was dominated by the rivalry between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines; Ghibellines were supporters of the Holy Roman Emperor (nobility), instead Guelphs were supporters of the Pope (merchant classes);
When the Guelphs finally triumphed, soon they split into White and Black Guelph factions, with the two sides largely reflecting family rivalries.
Medieval GUILDS IN FLORENCE
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
At the beginning, Florence was governed by two consuls, but in 1193 she substitute a “podestà” or a chief magistrate;
The legislative power was ruled by the chief guilds (Major Arts), to which were added 14 lesser guilds.
GUILDS
Every Florentine reaching the age of sixteen was forced to become a member of one of the guilds;
Failing to do so, he was called “loafer” and had no share in the government of the city;
In order to become a member of a guild, each Florentine had to demonstrate:
1. To be a native born Florentine 2. To be possessed of a property qualification 3. To pay a tax for enrolling 4. To pay an entrance fee to the guild
The members of the craft guilds were of three classes: Masters, Workmen, Apprentices;
The heads of the guilds were first known as consuls, but in time the use of the title “prior” was the custom.
“LE ARTI MAGGIORI” major guilds
Arte dei Giudici e Notai: Judges and Notaries
Arte dei Mercanti o di Calimala: Marchands or Cloth-Importers
Arte della Lana: Woolen-Manifacturers
Arte dei Cambiatori: Bankers and Money-Changers
Arte della Seta: Silk-Manufacturers
Arte de’Medici e Speziali: Doctors and Apothecaries
Arte dei Pellicciai: Furriers
Palace of judges and notaries VIA DEL PROCONSOLO
palace of MARCHANDS OR calimala VIA CALIMALUZZA (DETAIL)
PALACE OF THE WOOLEN-MANUFACTURERS VIA CALIMALA, VIA ARTE DELLA LANA
PALACE OF THE BANKERS AND MONEY-CHANGERS VIA VACCHERECCIA, AT THE CORNER OF SIGNORIA SQUARE
PALACE OF THE DOCTORS AND APOTHECARIES VIA DEI CAVALIERI
GLOSSARY
GUILD
FLORENTINE GUILDS (MAJOR AND MINOR GUILDS)
PRIOR OR CONSUL
STATUTE
FLORIN
