The Noveschi or the IX were a mercantile-banking

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

that ruled the Italian city-state of Siena from 1287 to 1355 AD. They oversaw the period of Siena's greatest stability and prosperity in the

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

with numerous new construction sites opened such as the

Siena Cathedral Siena Cathedral () is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. Since the early 13th-century the Siena Cathedral has been an important pa ...

and the

Palazzo Pubblico The Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) is a historic palace in Siena, Tuscany, in central Italy. Located on the Piazza del Campo, it is one of the principal architectural landmarks of the city's historic center. Construction began in 1297 to serve ...

. A significant contributor to the instability that felled their regime was the 1348 outbreak of the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

References

Medieval bankers 13th-century Italian nobility 14th-century Italian nobility 13th century in the Republic of Siena 14th century in the Republic of Siena 14th-century Italian businesspeople {{Italy-hist-stub