Abstract

The image on this page is a Renaissance map of Florence. One can recognize the dome of the Duomo and the bell towers of its oldest churches, as well as the beautiful bridges spread over the Arno. So much of the fifteenth-century Florence is still there: the churches, the palaces, the monasteries, the artworks embellishing the walls of those buildings... Who does Florence owe so many of these marvels of art and architecture? What were the underlying motives behind their commission? It is the mission of this project to figure out exactly that. 

The motherland of the florin, the currency that circled all around the Christendom, Florence is indebted to bankers for many of its artistic and architectural treasures. Why were the bankers so invested in art and architecture and what exactly was their impact on the cityscape of Renaissance Florence cannot be explained in a single exhibit, which is why I am writing a thesis directed at examining those questions in depth. However, with an interactive map of Florence highlighting the bankers' contributions to the city and telling short stories about each commission and patron, I invite you to see Florence as it was in the fifteenth century and to take a closer look at the monumental legacy left by the bankers.