Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics, and Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence by Parks, Tim - 2006

W. W. Norton & Company, 2006. Paperback. Good. A swift and brilliant synthesis of finance, politics, and history."â??Ben Sisario, New York Times Book Review Before they achieved renown as patrons of the arts and de facto rulers of Florence, the Medici family earned their fortune in banking. But even at the height of the Renaissance, charging in terest of any kind meant running afoul of the Catholic Church's ban on usur y. Tim Parks reveals how the legendary Medicisâ??Cosimo and Lorenzo "the Ma gnificent" in particularâ??used the diplomatic, military, and even metaphys ical tools at hand, along with a healthy dose of intrigue and wit, to furth er their fortunes as well as their family's standing.