1.
Medici Bank
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The Medici Bank was a financial institution created by the Medici family in Italy during the 15th century. It was the largest and most respected bank in Europe during its prime, there are some estimates that the Medici family was, for a period of time, the wealthiest family in Europe. Estimating their wealth in money is difficult and imprecise, considering that they owned art, land. With this monetary wealth, the family acquired political power initially in Florence, the Medicis were not only bankers but innovators in financial accounting. At one point, the Medicis managed most of the fortunes in the European world. There was even a time when the currency issued by the Medicis, giovannis father Averardo was not a very successful businessman or banker. A distant cousin, Vieri di Cambio, however, was one of Florences more prominent bankers and his banking house trained and employed Giovanni and his elder brother Francesco, who eventually became partners in the firm. Vieri was long-lived, but his bank split into three separate banks sometime between 1391 and 1392, the second, managed by Francesco and later his son, survived until 1443, a little less than a decade after Averardos death. The third bank was controlled by Giovanni in partnership with Benedetto di Lippaccio de Bardi, the branch in Rome was entrusted to Benedetto, and Giovanni took on Gentile di Baldassare Buoni as a partner. They raised 10,000 gold florins and began operating in Florence, but the Alberti firm split over internecine quarrels, and the clan was banished from Florence in 1382, creating yet another void. Giovannis choice proved to be prescient, especially since what Florence was lacking was a port on the Mediterranean—which it would obtain in 1406 with the conquest of Pisa. A factor was dispatched to Venice to seek out investment opportunities and he did well and on March 25,1402, the third branch of the Medici bank was opened. It suffered from some initial mismanagement, but soon was prospering and it was this branch that established the practice of having a general managers remuneration be paid through shares in the branch that he purchased with his investment. Also in 1402, the first Medici factory was established for the production of woolen cloth, by this point, the Rome branch had established a branch in Naples and Gaeta. In 1420, Benedetto di Bardi died, and was succeeded by his younger brother Ilarione di Bardi and he dissolved one of the wool factories, along with other reorganizations occasioned by partnerships coming to their designated end. Two Portinaris were put in charge of the Florence and Venice branches, according to Lorenzo, his fortune upon his death was worth around 180,000 gold florins. His death did not greatly affect the operations, and the transition to Cosimo went smoothly, aided by Ilarione. At this time, the Medici bank was flourishing, besides the branches in Rome and Florence, Ilarione would not last long in his position, and is mentioned as dead in a letter written in February 1433
2.
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici
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Giovanni di Bicci de Medici was an Italian banker, a member of Medici family of Florence, and the founder of the Medici Bank. He was the father of Cosimo de Medici, grandfather of Piero di Cosimo de Medici, great-grandfather of Lorenzo de Medici and great-great-great-grandfather of Cosimo I de Medici, Giovanni di Bicci de Medici was born in Florence, the son of Averardo de Medici and Jacopa Spini. Though he is considered the founder of the rich Medici dynasty, the little money left by his father was divided between a widow and five sons, leaving Giovanni with little. Giovanni was somewhat uninterested in politics, unless the issues pertained to his family or bank, often, when his name was put forward to participate in the Florentine government, he chose to pay the fine rather than serve. That being said, he did serve as Priori in the Signoria in 1402,1408 and 1411 and as Gonfaloniere, for the statutory two-month period, in 1421. In 1402 he served as one of the judges on the panel that selected Lorenzo Ghibertis design for the bronzes on the doors to the Florence Baptistry. Giovanni owned two wool workshops in Florence and was a member of two guilds, the Arte della Lana and the Arte del Cambio. At the head of an early company, as the family bank, his main commercial interest, had branches throughout the northern Italian city-states. In 1414, Giovanni bet on the return of the papacy to Rome, rewarding Giovanni for his support, the Pope gave Giovannis general manager control of the Apostolic Chamber. Subsequent Popes made use of the Medici banks, Giovanni was also rewarded with tax-farming contracts and the rights to many alum mines. He set his family on the path to becoming one of the richest dynasties in Europe, one way in which he laid the groundwork for this was by marrying Piccarda Bueri, whose family was old and respectable and who brought a dowry. When he died, he was one of the richest men in Florence, in 1420, Giovanni had given the majority of control of the bank to his two sons, Cosimo and Lorenzo. He was buried in the Old Sacristy of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, Giovanni de Medici is portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the 2016 television series Medici, Masters of Florence. Allen, William R. Bowen, Margaret L. King, Stanford E. Lehmberg, Nelson H. Minnich, Sara T. Nalle, Robert J. Rodini, Ingrid D. Rowland, salmon, and William A. Wallace, O. P. eds. Charles Schribners Sons, New York, New York, cS1 maint, Uses authors parameter Hibbert, Christopher. The House of the Medici, Its Rise and Fall, Medici Money, Banking, Metaphysics, and Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence. Pernis, Maria Grazia and Adams, Laurie, lucrezia Tornabuoni de Medici and the Medici family in the fifteenth century. Peter Lang Publishing, Inc, New York
3.
Pope
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The pope is the Bishop of Rome and, therefore, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, the office of the pope is the papacy. The pope is considered one of the worlds most powerful people because of his diplomatic and he is also head of state of Vatican City, a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved within the Italian capital city of Rome. The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history, the popes in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity and the resolution of various doctrinal disputes. In the Middle Ages, they played a role of importance in Western Europe. Currently, in addition to the expansion of the Christian faith and doctrine, the popes are involved in ecumenism and interfaith dialogue, charitable work, Popes, who originally had no temporal powers, in some periods of history accrued wide powers similar to those of temporal rulers. In recent centuries, popes were gradually forced to give up temporal power, the word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning father. The earliest record of the use of title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria. Some historians have argued that the notion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, the writings of the Church Father Irenaeus who wrote around AD180 reflect a belief that Peter founded and organised the Church at Rome. Moreover, Irenaeus was not the first to write of Peters presence in the early Roman Church, Clement of Rome wrote in a letter to the Corinthians, c. 96, about the persecution of Christians in Rome as the struggles in our time and presented to the Corinthians its heroes, first, the greatest and most just columns, the good apostles Peter and Paul. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote shortly after Clement and in his letter from the city of Smyrna to the Romans he said he would not command them as Peter and Paul did. Given this and other evidence, many agree that Peter was martyred in Rome under Nero. Protestants contend that the New Testament offers no proof that Jesus established the papacy nor even that he established Peter as the first bishop of Rome, others, using Peters own words, argue that Christ intended himself as the foundation of the church and not Peter. First-century Christian communities would have had a group of presbyter-bishops functioning as leaders of their local churches, gradually, episcopacies were established in metropolitan areas. Antioch may have developed such a structure before Rome, some writers claim that the emergence of a single bishop in Rome probably did not occur until the middle of the 2nd century. In their view, Linus, Cletus and Clement were possibly prominent presbyter-bishops, documents of the 1st century and early 2nd century indicate that the Holy See had some kind of pre-eminence and prominence in the Church as a whole, though the detail of what this meant is unclear. It seems that at first the terms episcopos and presbyter were used interchangeably, the consensus among scholars has been that, at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries, local congregations were led by bishops and presbyters whose offices were overlapping or indistinguishable
4.
Pope Paul IV
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Pope Paul IV, C. R. born Gian Pietro Carafa, was Pope from 23 May 1555 to his death in 1559. Carafa was appointed bishop of Chieti, but resigned in 1524 in order to found with St. Cajetan the Congregation of Clerics Regular. Recalled to Rome, and made Archbishop of Naples, he was instrumental in setting up the Roman Inquisition, Carafa was elected pope in 1555 through the influence of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in the face of opposition from Emperor Charles V. His papacy was characterized by strong nationalism in reaction to the influence of Philip II of Spain and he compelled the Jews of Rome to wear distinctive clothing and confine themselves to a ghetto. The appointment of Carlo Carafa as Cardinal Nephew damaged the papacy further when Paul was forced to remove him from following a scandal. He curbed many clerical abuses in Rome but his methods were seen as harsh, Gian Pietro Carafa was born in Capriglia Irpina, near Avellino, into a prominent noble family of Naples. He was mentored by Cardinal Oliviero Carafa, his relative, who resigned the see of Chieti in his favour, following the sack of Rome in 1527, the order moved to Venice. In December 1536 he was made Cardinal-Priest of S. Pancrazio, in response, Carafa was able to persuade Pope Paul III to set up a Roman Inquisition, modelled on the Spanish Inquisition with himself as one of the Inquisitors-General. The Papal Bull was promulgated in 1542 and Carafa vowed, Even if my own father were a heretic and he accepted apparently because Emperor Charles V was opposed to his accession. As pope his nationalism was a force, he used the office to preserve some liberties in the face of fourfold foreign occupation. Like Pope Paul III, he was an enemy of the Colonna family and his treatment of Giovanna dAragona, who had married into that family, drew further negative comment from Venice. This because she had long been a patron of artists and writers, as Cardinal-nephew, Carlo Carafa became his uncles chief political adviser. Having accepted a pension from the French, Cardinal Caraffa worked to secure a French alliance, carlos older brother Giovanni was made commander of the papal forces and Duke of Paliano after the pro-Spanish Colonna were deprived of that town in 1556. Another nephew, Antonio, was given command of the Papal guard and their conduct became notorious in Rome. With the Protestant Reformation, the Papacy required all Roman Catholic rulers to consider Protestant rulers as heretics, Paul IV issued a papal bull in 1555, Ilius, per quem Reges regnant, recognising Philip and Mary as King and Queen of England and its dominions including Ireland. He also angered people in England by insisting on the restitution of property confiscated during the dissolution, Paul IV was violently opposed to the liberal Giovanni Cardinal Morone whom he strongly suspected of being a hidden Protestant, so much that he had him imprisoned. Paul IV was rigidly orthodox, austere in life, and authoritarian in manner and he affirmed the Catholic doctrine of extra ecclesiam nulla salus. He used the Holy Office to suppress the Spirituali, a Catholic group deemed heretical, on 17 July 1555, Paul IV issued one of the most famous papal bulls in Church history
5.
Pius V
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Pope Saint Pius V, born Antonio Ghislieri, was Pope from 8 January 1566 to his death in 1572. He is venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church and he is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman rite within the Latin Church. Pius V declared Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church, as a cardinal, Ghislieri gained a reputation for putting orthodoxy before personalities, prosecuting eight French bishops for heresy. By means of the bull of 1570, Regnans in Excelsis, Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth I of England for heresy. He also arranged the formation of the Holy League, an alliance of Catholic states, although outnumbered, the Holy League famously defeated the Ottoman Empire, which had threatened to overrun Europe, at the Battle of Lepanto. Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, biographers report that as the Battle of Lepanto ended, Pius rose and went over to a window, where he stood gazing toward the East. Then, turning around, he exclaimed The Christian fleet is victorious. Antonio Ghislieri was born 17 January 1504 in Bosco in the Duchy of Milan, Italy. At the age of fourteen he entered the Dominican Order, taking the name Michele, passing from the monastery of Voghera to that of Vigevano, ordained priest at Genoa in 1528, he was sent by his order to Pavia, where he lectured for sixteen years. At Parma he advanced thirty propositions in support of the papal chair and he became master of novices and was on several occasions elected prior of more than one Dominican priory. During a time of moral laxity, he insisted on discipline. He fasted, did penance, passed long hours of the night in meditation and prayer, traveled on foot without a cloak in deep silence, in 1556 he was made Bishop of Sutri by Pope Paul IV and was selected as inquisitor of the faith in Milan and Lombardy. In 1557 he was made a cardinal and named inquisitor general for all Christendom and his defense of the Archbishop of Toledo, who had been suspected of heresy by the Spanish Inquisition in earned him a rebuff from the Pope. Under Pope Pius IV he became bishop of Mondovi in Piedmont, frequently called to Rome, he displayed his unflinching zeal in all the affairs on which he was consulted. Thus he offered an insurmountable opposition to Pius IV when the latter wished to admit Ferdinand de Medici, then thirteen years old. His opposition to the pontiff procured his dismissal from the palace, before Michele Ghislieri could return to his episcopate, Pope Pius IV died. On 8 January 1566, Ghislieri, with the influential backing Charles Borromeo was elected to the papal throne and he was crowned ten days later, on his 62nd birthday by the protodeacon. His pontificate saw him dealing with reform of the Church, the spread of Protestant doctrines in the West. Three national synods were held during his pontificate at Naples under Alfonso Cardinal Caraffa, at Milan under Saint Charles Borromeo, accordingly, in order to implement a decision of that council, he standardised the Holy Mass by promulgating the 1570 edition of the Roman Missal
6.
Filippo Archinto
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Filipo Archinto, born in Milan, was an Italian theologian and diplomat. He also sent him to preside in his name at the Council of Trent and his theological works include De fide et sacramentis and Oratio de nova christiani orbis pace habita. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles
7.
Pope Paul III
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Pope Paul III, born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope from 13 October 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527. He convened the Council of Trent in 1545 and he was a significant patron of the arts and employed nepotism to advance the power and fortunes of his family. It is to Pope Paul III that Nicolaus Copernicus dedicated De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, alessandro’s humanist education was at the University of Pisa and the court of Lorenzo de Medici. Initially trained as a notary, he joined the Roman Curia in 1491. Farnese’s sister, Giulia was reputedly a mistress of Alexander VI, for this reason, he was sometimes mockingly referred to as the Borgia brother-in-law, just as Giulia was mocked as the Bride of Christ. More disparagingly he was referred to as Cardinal Fregnese, as Bishop of Parma, he came under the influence of his vicar general, Bartolomeo Guidiccioni. This led to the future pope breaking off the relationship with his mistress, under Pope Clement VII he became Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and dean of the College of Cardinals, and on the death of Clement VII in 1534, was elected as Pope Paul III. As a young cleric, Alessandro lived a dissolute life, taking for himself a mistress. By Silvia Ruffini, he fathered Pier Luigi Farnese, whom he created Duke of Parma, others included Ranuccio Farnese, the fourth pope during the period of the Protestant Reformation, Paul III became the first to take active reform measures in response to Protestantism. Paul III first deferred for a year and then discarded the whole project, in 1536, Paul III invited nine eminent prelates, distinguished by learning and piety alike, to act in committee and to report on the reformation and rebuilding of the Church. This report was printed not only at Rome, but at Strasburg, yet the Pope was in earnest when he took up the problem of reform. Yet it is clear that the Concilium bore no fruit in the situation. On the other hand, serious political complications resulted, in order to vest his grandson Ottavio Farnese with the dukedom of Camerino, Paul forcibly wrested the same from the duke of Urbino. He also incurred virtual war with his own subjects and vassals by the imposition of burdensome taxes, perugia, renouncing its obedience, was besieged by Pauls son, Pier Luigi, and forfeited its freedom entirely on its surrender. The burghers of Colonna were duly vanquished, and Ascanio was banished, after this the time seemed ripe for annihilating heresy. In 1540, the Church officially recognized the young society forming about Ignatius of Loyola, the second visible stage in the process becomes marked by the institution, or reorganization, in 1542, of the Congregation of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. On another side, the Emperor was insisting that Rome should forward his designs toward a recovery of the German Protestants
8.
Milan
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Milan is a city in Italy, capital of the Lombardy region, and the most populous metropolitan area and the second most populous comune in Italy. The population of the city proper is 1,351,000, Milan has a population of about 8,500,000 people. It is the industrial and financial centre of Italy and one of global significance. In terms of GDP, it has the largest economy among European non-capital cities, Milan is considered part of the Blue Banana and lies at the heart of one of the Four Motors for Europe. Milan is an Alpha leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts Italys Stock Exchange and the headquarters of the largest national and international banks, the city is a major world fashion and design capital, well known for several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair. The city hosts numerous cultural institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total enrolled students, Milans museums, theatres and landmarks attract over 9 million visitors annually. Milan – after Naples – is the second Italian city with the highest number of accredited stars from the Michelin Guide, the city hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. Milan is home to two of Europes major football teams, A. C. Milan and F. C. Internazionale, the etymology of Milan is uncertain. One theory holds that the Latin name Mediolanum comes from the Latin words medio, however, some scholars believe lanum comes from the Celtic root lan, meaning an enclosure or demarcated territory in which Celtic communities used to build shrines. Hence, Mediolanum could signify the central town or sanctuary of a Celtic tribe, indeed, the name Mediolanum is borne by about sixty Gallo-Roman sites in France, e. g. Saintes and Évreux. Alciato credits Ambrose for his account, around 400 BC, the Celtic Insubres settled Milan and the surrounding region. In 222 BC, the Romans conquered the settlement, renaming it Mediolanum, Milan was eventually declared the capital of the Western Roman Empire by Emperor Diocletian in 286 AD. Diocletian chose to stay in the Eastern Roman Empire and his colleague Maximianus ruled the Western one, immediately Maximian built several monuments, such as a large circus 470 m ×85 m, the Thermae Herculeae, a large complex of imperial palaces and several other buildings. With the Edict of Milan of 313, Emperor Constantine I guaranteed freedom of religion for Christians, after the city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. In 452, the Huns overran the city, in 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, a Teutonic tribe, the Lombards, conquered Milan, some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule. Milan surrendered to the Franks in 774 when Charlemagne took the title of King of the Lombards, the Iron Crown of Lombardy dates from this period
9.
Duchy of Milan
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The Duchy of Milan was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire in northern Italy. It was created in 1395, when it included twenty-six towns, during much of its existence, it was wedged between Savoy to the west, Venice to the east, the Swiss Confederacy to the north, and separated from the Mediterranean by Genoa to the south. The Duchy eventually fell to Habsburg Austria with the Treaty of Baden, after the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna of 1815 restored many other states which he had destroyed, but not the Duchy of Milan. Instead, its territory became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. In 1859, Lombardy was ceded to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, the House of Visconti had ruled Milan since 1277, in which year Ottone Visconti defeated Napoleone della Torre. The Duchy of Milan as a state of the Holy Roman Empire was created on 1 May 1395 and it was this diploma that installed Visconti as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia. At its foundation the duchy included 26 towns and spanned from the hills of Montferrat to the Lagoons of Venice, Milan thus became one of the five major states of the Italian peninsula in the 15th century. When the last Visconti Duke, Filippo Maria, died in 1447 without a heir, the Milanese declared the so-called Ambrosian Republic. In 1498, the Duke of Orleans became King of France as Louis XII and he invaded in 1499 and soon ousted Lodovico Sforza. The French ruled the duchy until 1512, when they were ousted by the Swiss, Massimiliano reign did not last very long. The French, now under Francis I, invaded the area in 1515, the French took Massimiliano as their prisoner. The French were again out in 1521, this time by the Austrians. In 1535, Francesco died without heirs, the question of succession again arose, with both the emperor and the King of France claiming the duchy, leading to more wars. The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from a part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul IIIs illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, the emperor held the duchy throughout, eventually investing it on his son Philip. The possession of the duchy by Spain was finally recognized by the French in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, the Duchy of Milan remained in Spanish hands until the War of the Spanish Succession, when the Austrians invaded it. The Treaty of Baden, which ended the war in 1714, the duchy remained in Austrian hands until it was overrun by the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796. The duchy was ceded by Austria in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797, after the defeat of Napoleon, based on the decisions of the Congress of Vienna on 9 June 1815, the Duchy of Milan was not restored. The Duchy instead became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a constituent of the Austrian Empire and this kingdom ceased to exist when the remaining portion of it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866
10.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
Loughlin, James Francis (1911). "Pope Pius IV". Catholic Encyclopedia. 12.
Loughlin, James Francis (1911). "
