the Magi "chapel" (in practice, a rather small room) is one of my favorite non-hyper-famous places in Firenze; Gozzoli did a stupendous work there. And I cannot help but smile glancing at his self-portait with a nearby hand gesture requiring his hard earned money :D
Just here to jump on the "I ❤ Smarthistory" bandwagon. 😋 I also love the rusticated masonry.. It feels cozy and inviting - rather than like a fortress - to me.
This seems to be a very fun place, I hope I can visit sometime in the future. Seeing and sharing places like this is why I love traveling and make videos so much!
Is this the first occasion since the classical period that you've got an immense concentration of private wealth (which is relatively unrelated to the wealth of the state itself)? Just thinking through how revolutionary this moment is, in which power (wealth) exists separate from sovereignty (and its religious justifications). Interesting that they used so much of their wealth to support religious structures in Florence.
This is a hard question to answer in part because the state was not always a secure entity in the way we understand it today (in the years since roughly the 17th century). Further, entities associated with the Church were important centers of power and wealth. Nevertheless, I think it is fair to say that (and as you note), leading families in Florence and Siena and other city states in Italy amassed wealth especially from the 14th century through manufacture, trade, and finance in ways that feel very familiar to us now and anticipate, in some limited respects, modern capitalism, though there are of course important distinctions as well.
Super glad I just found your channel, I've been binge watching all of your super digestible content. Your dynamic is so encapsulating for a viewer hearing the conversation between you both! Cheers from the Mississippi
