![Ambrogio Lorenzetti 014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Ambrogio_Lorenzetti_014.jpg)
During the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, the ''Gran Tavola'' (
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
for "''Great Table''") was the largest
Sienese
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
bank;
[de Roover, Raymond A., and Larson, Henrietta M. 1999. ''The Rise and Decline of the Medici Bank''. Beard Books. . p. 2.] it was one of the most powerful banks in Europe from 1255 to 1298. The ''Gran Tavola'' has been called "the greatest bank of the thirteenth century" as well as "one of the largest commercial and banking enterprises in Europe".
The main branches of the ''Gran Tavola'' during the mid-thirteenth century were in
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
,
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
,
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
,
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, and
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
Rise
The ''Gran Tavola'' has its roots in the ''
societas
Consensu or obligatio consensu or obligatio consensu contracta or obligations ex consensuGeorge Bowyer, ''Commentaries on the Modern Civil Law'' (London: V & R Stevens and G S Norton, 1848), chapter 26p 201 or contractus ex consensu or contracts co ...
'' of the Bonsignori, which began activity in the 1240s with the participation of the Malavolti family.
[Dolan, Claire. 1991. ''Travail et travailleurs en Europe au Moyen Âge et au début des temps''. Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. p. 307.]
The ''Gran Tavola'' was founded by
Orlando Bonsignori in 1255 and in the 1260s became the exclusive depository-general of the incomes of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
.
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.
Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...
's (1243-1254) conflicts with
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II (German language, German: ''Friedrich''; Italian language, Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Em ...
had demonstrated plainly to the
Roman Curia the importance of reliable and robust financial services relationships.
The first so-designated papal depository was the
Piccolomini
The House of Piccolomini (pronounced ) is the name of an Italian noble family, Patricians of Siena, who were prominent from the beginning of the 13th century until the 18th century. The family achieved the recognised titles of Pope of the Catholi ...
firm headed by Angeliero Solafico circa 1233 under
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...
; the ''Gran Tavola'' filled this role between 1250 and 1270.
[Hayden B. J. Maginnis, Gabriele Erasmi. 2003. ''The World of the Early Sienese Painter''. Penn State Press. . p. 19.]
The slightly larger Ricciardi bank of
Lucca
Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957.
Lucca is known as one o ...
was also intimately involved in church finances.
[Dotson, John E. 2004. "Banks and Banking" in ''Medieval Italy''. Routledge. . p. 92.] During the reign of
Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV ( la, Clemens IV; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois ( la, Guido Falcodius; french: Guy de Foulques or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; it, Guido il Grosso), was bishop of Le P ...
, the bank became responsible for the collection of all the ecclesiastical
tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...
s for the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
. Under
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV ( la, Urbanus IV; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death. He was not a cardinal; only a few popes since his time ha ...
(1265–68), all pontifical taxes were collected by the ''Gran Tavola''.
After the 1260s, popes
Nicholas III,
Honorius IV
Pope Honorius IV (c. 1210 – 3 April 1287), born Giacomo Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 April 1285 to his death in 1287. During his pontificate he largely continued to pursue the pro-French politi ...
, and
Nicholas IV continued to use Sienese banks for a small amount of transactions.
The bank also supported
Charles of Anjou
Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) i ...
in his conquest of the
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...
; through a network of "virtual banking syndicates" the bank secured a loan of 200,000 ''
livres tournois
The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France.
The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...
'' for the Angevin monarch. The ''Gran Tavola'' benefited greatly from Charles's victory over the
House of Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...
, having previously seen its commercial opportunities limited by Siena's political support of the Hohenstaufen.
The ''Gran Tavola'' was "at the center of financial operations in both
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
and
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
"; Guglielmo Leccacorvo served as the bank's representative in Genoa. Bonsignori made his institution one of the most influential in Western Europe by expanding its reach into
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Decline and failure
![Denaro siena](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Denaro_siena.jpg)
The bank declined after the death of Bonsignori in 1273, and went bankrupt in 1298.
The formality of bankruptcy may not have occurred until several years after 1298.
The ''
coup de grâce
A coup de grâce (; 'blow of mercy') is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of mortally wounded civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent.
...
'' for the ''Gran Tavola'' was the crunch caused by the confiscation of Sienese assets by
Philip IV of France
Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...
(as a result of debts he claimed to have been owed by the Bonsignori) and the loss of papal business under
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...
(a trend under way since the early 1290s).
The failure of the ''Gran Tavola'' was followed by a period of acute and sustained economic ruin in Siena,
systemically spreading to several other Sienese banks.
By 1320, Siena's international position had contracted almost entirely, following the additional failure of the Tolomei bank in 1313 and the decline of the
Champagne fairs
The Champagne fairs were an annual cycle of trade fairs which flourished in different towns of the County of Champagne in Northeastern France in the 12th and 13th centuries, originating in local agricultural and stock fairs. Each fair lasted about ...
, whose commercial activities were "umbilically linked" to Siena; for example, Sienese institutions were not present in the
Avignon Exchange
The Avignon Exchange was one of the first foreign exchange markets in history, established in the ''Comtat Venaissin'' during the Avignon Papacy. The Exchange was composed of the agents (''factores'') of the great Italian banking-houses, who acted ...
created during the
Avignon Papacy
The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon – at the time within the Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles, Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire; now part of France – rather than i ...
.
Pope Nicholas IV
Pope Nicholas IV ( la, Nicolaus IV; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292), born Girolamo Masci, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be ele ...
lost 80,000
florins
The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
as a result of the collapse of the ''Gran Tavola'' but the loss was mitigated by the overall weakening of Siena, at the time known for its anti-papal, though nominally
Ghibelline
The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...
, allegiances. Many years later, this loss served as one of the pretexts for the
papal interdict
In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...
of Siena. Furthermore, the failure of the ''Gran Tavola'' led to the rapid rise of Florentine banking institutions.
[Kohn, Meir. 1999.]
Merchant Banking in the Medieval and Early Modern Economy
. Dartmouth College, Department of Economics Working Paper No. 99-05. Under the leadership of
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...
, the papal finances were transferred to Florentine banking institutions as well.
See also
*
Cahorsins
The Cahorsins were merchants and financiers from the French city of Cahors and the surrounding region of Quercy during the High Middle Ages. During their 13th-century heyday, they were among the most prominent communities of Christian long-dista ...
*
Taula de canvi
The Taula de canvi ("Table of change" in Catalan), also Taula de cambi or simply Taula, was a type of municipal public bank that existed in the Crown of Aragon in the late Middle Ages and early modern period. The Taula de canvi of Barcelona, creat ...
Notes
References
*{{cite book, last=Cassandro, first=M., chapter=La banca senese nei secoli XIII e XIV, title=Banchieri e mercanti di Siena, location=Rome, publisher=De Luca, year=1987, language=it
1255 establishments in Europe
13th-century establishments in the Republic of Siena
Banks established in the 13th century
Organizations established in the 1250s
Banks disestablished in the 13th century
1298 disestablishments
Defunct banks of Italy
Economic history of the Holy See
Medieval banking
History of Siena