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The Medici Bank, founded in Florence in 1397, became one of the most powerful banks in fifteenth-century Europe, and its profits paid for the Medici family's political power and its patronage of artists such as Donatello and Botticelli.

Florence, 1397

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The story behind the card

Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici founded the bank, and much of its profit came from handling the finances of the popes. The Church banned charging interest, so the bank earned money through bills of exchange: a merchant paid in one city and was repaid in another currency elsewhere, and the exchange rate hid the bank's fee. Under Giovanni's son Cosimo it had branches in cities including Rome, Venice, Milan, Geneva, Avignon, Bruges and London. Later managers lent heavily to rulers who could not repay, such as Edward IV of England and Charles the Bold of Burgundy, and branches closed one by one. The bank finally collapsed in 1494, the year the Medici were driven out of Florence.

Türkçe oku
1397'de Floransa'da kurulan Medici Bankası, 15. yüzyıl Avrupa'sının en güçlü bankalarından biri oldu. Bankanın kârı, Medici ailesinin siyasi gücünü ve Donatello, Botticelli gibi sanatçılara yaptığı hamiliği finanse etti.
Floransa, 1397

Bankayı Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici kurdu; kârının büyük bölümü papaların mali işlerini yürütmekten geliyordu. Kilise faiz almayı yasakladığı için banka parasını poliçelerle kazanıyordu: Bir tüccar bir kentte ödeme yapıyor, parasını başka bir kentte başka bir para birimiyle geri alıyordu; bankanın payı da kurun içinde gizliydi. Giovanni'nin oğlu Cosimo döneminde bankanın Roma, Venedik, Milano, Cenevre, Avignon, Brugge ve Londra gibi kentlerde şubeleri vardı. Sonraki yöneticiler, İngiltere Kralı IV. Edward ve Burgonya Dükü Cesur Charles gibi borcunu ödeyemeyen hükümdarlara büyük krediler verdi; şubeler birer birer kapandı. Banka, Medicilerin Floransa'dan kovulduğu 1494'te tamamen çöktü.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Medici Bank
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