As Italy and much of Europe struggle with their finances, the city of Florence has staged an art exhibition looking at the critical — and controversial — role that financial institutions have played for centuries.
The recent Money and Beauty exhibit, held in the majestic 15th-century Palazzo Strozzi, illustrated how Florentine merchants got around the Catholic Church's ban on money-lending and bankrolled the Renaissance.
With the Bible explicitly condemning usury, the lending of money was relegated to Jews, one of the few professions they were allowed to practice.
Read more to see photos of pictures that are window into the commercial revolution that the Renaissance possible.
source:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please put your First Name and Initial when making comments. Anonymous comments will not be counted nor graded.