Merchants and bankers

Overview

The fortunes of Florence were certainly linked to the Medici, yet many other families built incredible patrimonies in the Cradle of the Renaissance: during this tour we will meet some of these families and better understand the life of a businessman in the 15th century.
Ferocious rivalries, intrigue, low blows and grandiose artistic commissions will serve as the background for admiring a series of masterpieces born from this enormous wealth, as we understand how no form of advertising could outdo art in the world of 15th century business.

Places

Church of San Lorenzo
Palazzo Strozzi
Palazzo Bartolini-Salimbeni
Church of Santa Trinita

Info

Tour duration: 3 hours

The tour consists of an outdoor walk with access to two churches and it runs from Monday to Saturday.

The tour is suitable for all visitors and is not particularly difficult.

We recommend dressing in an appropriate way as we will be visiting holy places.

Fees

Guided Tour starting from 150,00 € max 3 hours

The fees do not include museum tickets, transportation costs or the rental of radio systems.

Church of San Lorenzo e Laurentian Library
Regular Tickets: 9,50 €
Free Admission: Children under 11 years old

For groups, we recommend renting radio systems.
We can manage the rental, on request.

By booking this tour we can follow you step by step, helping you to plan the tour. If you are going to visit the monuments independently, we recommend reading our BLOG instead.

What to expect

Our tour starts by visiting the Church of San Lorenzo, the Medici church par excellence. Its construction began with the Old Sacristy, commissioned by Giovanni de’ Medici, the true initiator of the family’s economic fortune. Next, we shall admire the harmonious and linear construction designed by Brunelleschi, whose idea of architecture is perfectly exemplified in this building.
We will then follow the history of the family by focusing on the figure of Cosimo “the Elder”, a great patron and collector of art: it was he who commissioned the first nucleus of the Medici library which, following various historical events, would later develop into the splendid corridor designed by Michelangelo in the 16th century, which is the second stop of our tour.
We will then leave the Medici neighbourhood and walk to Palazzo Strozzi, the ancient house of one of the richest merchant families in Florence, which inevitably became a major rival of the Medici. Here, we will discover how the palace was born, the characteristics of the new model of home and how they adapted to the new needs of the major Renaissance families, as well as how business and architecture became deeply connected. While walking down via Tornabuoni we shall admire the houses of the main Florentine noble families, before reaching Piazza Santa Trinita.
Here, we will make a short stop in front of Palazzo Bartolini-Salimbeni and discover how luck and audacity led to another Florentine story of commercial success.
The last stop on this tour is the Church of Santa Trinita, where we will focus on the Sassetti Chapel, skilfully painted by Ghirlandaio, the artist who best depicted the rich Florence of merchants and bankers.