Le monache, i ragionieri e le banche nella Firenze del tardo medioevo

Sergio Tognetti

First

2026-01-01

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Abstract

The essay examines the spread of administrative and accounting culture in Florentine female monasteries between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries through three case studies. At San Pier Maggiore in 1376, the abbess commissioned three ragionieri to conduct a systematic audit of the chaplain-administrator's accounts, attesting to already well-established auditing practices. The Vallombrosan monastery of Santa Verdiana, between 1407 and 1416, managed time deposits with merchant-banking companies at interest rates between 6 and 8%, demonstrating full familiarity with sophisticated financial instruments. Finally, the register of Santa Caterina at San Gaggio from the 1440s preserves cheques and collection orders in everyday use. The overall picture shows that, in late medieval Florence, accounting culture was widespread across social boundaries, reaching even enclosed female monastic communities.