Social Fabric of Fifteenth-Century Florence

<p>The<i> Arte dei rigattieri</i> (merchants of second-hand goods in Florence) has never been ​​the subject of a systematic study, even in scholarship devoted to the history of trades. Underpinned by a large collection of archival material, this book analyzes the social life and economic activity of <i>rigattieri</i> in fifteenth-century Florence. It offers invaluable information on issues such as the relationship between socio-political affiliations and economic interest as well as the structures of consumption and the spending power of different social groups. Furthermore, through the lens of the <i>Arte dei Rigattieri</i>, this work examines the connection between the development of the political bureaucracy, the establishment of Medicean power, and contemporaneous processes of identity construction and social mobility.</p> <p><strong>Part I: The Guild, Identity of <i>Artifices</i> and Economic Activities</strong> 1. Methods and Problems in the Study of the Guild of Second-Hand Dealers in Florence 2. The Structure of the Guild and Statutes 3. The <i>Rigattieri</i> in the Socio-Economic System of Fifteenth-Century Florence <b>Part II: Work, Investments and Social Mobility </b>4. Credit, Concurrent Activities and the Appraisal of Goods 5. Land Ownership, Investments and Profits 6. From Sellers of Old Rags to the Urban Elite. Conclusions</p>