Medici Banking of Florence

Timeline

1. 1397–1420Florence · FlorenceGiovanni di Bicci de' Medici founded the Medici Bank in Florence, operating exchange, lending, and cross-border remittance as a family partnership, laying the foundation of the Medici financial empire.
2. 1434–1464Florence · FlorenceAfter Cosimo de' Medici took power, the bank set up branches in Rome, Venice, Bruges, London, and elsewhere, serving popes, monarchs, and merchants through a bill-of-exchange network, with finance and city-state politics highly integrated.
3. 1469–1492Florence · FlorenceLorenzo de' Medici used bank profits to fund humanist scholarship and artistic creation; the Medici Bank became the financial pillar of power and culture in Renaissance Florence.
4. 1494–1499Florence · FlorenceThe French invasion and the family's exile led to the successive closure of branches; the Medici Bank went bankrupt due to bad debts, political risk, and overexpansion, marking a turning point in the transnational banking model of the Italian city-states.