The Arte della Lana was the wool guild of Florence during the Late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

. It was one of the seven '' Arti Maggiori ''("greater trades") of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, separate from the ''

Arti Minori Arti may refer to: Companies and organizations * Arti et Amicitiae, a Dutch artist's society in Amsterdam * Arti Sacrum, a Dutch artists' society located in Rotterdam, Netherlands * ''Arti'', an alternative name for the Guilds of Florence * ART� ...

'' (the "lesser trades") and the ''

Arti Mediane Arti may refer to: Companies and organizations * Arti et Amicitiae, a Dutch artist's society in Amsterdam * Arti Sacrum, a Dutch artists' society located in Rotterdam, Netherlands * ''Arti'', an alternative name for the Guilds of Florence * ART� ...

''(the "middle trades"). The Arte della Lana dealt in woollen cloth and cooperated with the other corporations of bankers and merchants in administering the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

, both under the

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

and the Republic of Florence. The powerful

Albizzi The Albizzi family () was a Florentine family originally based in Arezzo, who were rivals of the Medici and Alberti families. They were at the centre of Florentine oligarchy from 1382, in the reaction that followed the Ciompi revolt, to the ris ...

family were prominent members of the guild.

History

At the height of the industry the Arte della Lana directly employed 30.000 workers and indirectly about a third of Florence's population, and produced 100,000 lengths of cloth annually. The Arte della Lana saw all the processes from the raw baled wool through the final cloth, woven at numerous looms scattered in domiciles throughout the city. Like other guilds, the ''Arte'' served only to coordinate the activities of its own members, who did not generally own the means of production or directly manage the processes. Its syndics ensured that quality standards were met and contracts were honored. The predecessor and, until the mid-14th century the rival of the Arte della Lana, was the powerful

Arte di Calimala The Arte di Calimala, the guild of the cloth finishers and merchants in foreign cloth, was one of the greater guilds of Florence, the ''Arti Maggiori'', who arrogated to themselves the civic power of the Republic of Florence during the Late Middle ...

, a corporation of importers of raw cloth, who dyed and finished it. The

guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

, the ''Palazzo dell’ Arte della Lana'', was completed in 1308, with an attached fortifiable tower-house. From its interior, where some 14th-century frescoes remain, a gallery designed by

Bernardo Buontalenti Bernardo Buontalenti (), byname of Bernardo Delle Girandole ( 1531 – June 1608), was an Italian stage designer, architect, theatrical designer, military engineer and artist and inventor of italian ice cream. Biography Buontalenti was born in ...

links the palazzo with the church of

Orsanmichele Orsanmichele (; "Kitchen Garden of St. Michael", from the Tuscan contraction of the Italian word ''orto'') is a church in the Italian city of Florence. The building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Mich ...

. The palazzo is now the seat of the ''Società Dantesca.''

Citations

Other references

* * *{{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191050/http://www.astonisher.com/archives/corporation/corporation_ch9.html , title=Bruce Brown, "History of the corporation": chapter 9 , date=2016-03-03

History

Citations

Other references

Further reading