2.8: City-States of Northern Italy

In the fourteenth and the first half of the fifteenth centuries, the city-states of northern Italy were aggressive rivals. However, as the power of the French monarchy grew in the west and the Ottoman Turks became an active threat in the east, the most powerful cities signed the Peace of Lodi, in 1454, which committed each city to the defense of the existing political order. For the next forty years, Italy avoided major conflicts, a period that coincided with the height of the Renaissance.

Italy in 1453

Source: Timemaps

The great city-states were Milan, Venice, and Florence. Milan was the archetypal despot-controlled city-state, reaching its height under the Visconti family from 1277 – 1447. Milan controlled considerable trade from Italy to the north. Its wealth was dwarfed by that of Venice.

Venice

Venice was ruled by a merchant council headed by an elected official, the Doge. Its Mediterranean empire generated so much wealth that Venice minted more gold currency than England and France combined. As a result, its gold coins (ducats) were accepted across the Mediterranean. Further, the government had representation for all of the moneyed classes. However, no one represented the urban poor which made up more than half of the city’s population.

The source of Venice's prosperity was its control of the spice trade. Europeans had a limitless hunger for spices. Unlike other luxury goods that could be produced in Europe, spices could only be grown in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, meaning their transportation to European markets required voyages of many thousands of miles, vastly driving up costs.

In about 1300, 40% of all ships bearing spices offloaded in Venice. By 1500, it was up to 60%. The prices commanded by spices ensured that Venetian merchants could achieve incredible wealth. For example, nutmeg (grown in Indonesia and halfway around the world from Italy) was worth a full 60,000% of its original price once it reached Europe. Likewise, pepper, cloves, and cinnamon could only be imported rather than grown in Europe, and Venice controlled the majority of that hugely lucrative trade. Spices were, in so many words, worth far more than their weight in gold.

Based on that wealth, Venice was the first place to create true banks (named after the desks, banchi, where people met to exchange or borrow money in Venice). Furthermore, it was too risky to travel with chests full of gold, so Venetian banks created letters of credit between branches. A letter of credit could be issued from one bank branch at a certain amount to a person. Then, that individual could travel to any city with a Venetian bank branch and redeem the letter of credit, which could be spent on trade goods.

Venice needed a peaceful trade network for its continuing prosperity. So, it created formal diplomatic relations with neighboring states. By the late 1400s, practically every royal court in Europe and North Africa had a Venetian ambassador in residence.

Ultimately the rest of Europe adopted many of the Venetian methods, such as the political power of merchants, advanced banking and mercantile practices, and a sophisticated international diplomatic network.

Florence

Florence was a republic with longstanding traditions of civic governance. Citizens voted on laws and served in official posts for set terms, with powerful families dominating the system. By 1434, the real power was in the hand of the Medici family, who controlled the city government (the Signoria). Rising from obscurity and a non-noble background, the Medici eventually became the official bankers of the papacy, acquiring vast wealth as a result. The Medici spent huge sums, funding the creation of churches, orphanages, municipal buildings, and the completion of the great freestanding dome of the city’s cathedral. They also patronized most of the most famous Renaissance artists, including Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo.

Florence benefited from a strong culture of education. Florentines prided themselves on wealth, knowledge, and refinement. By the fifteenth century, there were 8,000 children in both church and civic schools out of a population of 100,000. They often boasted that even their laborers could quote the great poet, and native of Florence, Dante Alighieri (author of The Divine Comedy). By about 1500, the central position of scholarship diminished as foreign invasions undermined Florentine independence.

Rome

The city of Rome remained firmly in papal control despite the decline in the independence of the other major Italian cities. After the conclusion of the Great Schism, the popes re-asserted their control of the Papal States in central Italy. For example, Julius II (r. 1503 – 1513) personally lead troops against the armies of both foreign invaders and rival Italians. While the popes usually proved effective at secular rule, their spiritual leadership was undermined by their tendency to live like kings rather than priests. The most notorious, Alexander VI (r. 1492 – 1503), sponsored his children's attempts to seize territory all across northern Italy.

Regardless of their moral failings, the popes restored Rome to its importance as a city. Under the so-called "Renaissance popes," the Vatican became the gloriously decorated spectacle that it is today. Julius II paid Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. In addition, many of the other famous works of Renaissance artists are seen on the walls and facades of Vatican buildings today. In short, after the end of the Great Western Schism, popes were often much more focused on behaving like members of the popoli grossi, rather than worrying about the spiritual authority of the church to laypeople.