The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)
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Re: The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)
#2Article is from 2016, and had extensive discussion last year
Re: The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)
#3This only feels surprising to me because in England, aristocratic houses tend to last only 100-200 years before losing their name by being subsumed into another, renaming due to politics, or vanishing in some other way.
The House of Windsor only formally dates back to 1910.
However if you trace it via the Mountbatten line, it'll rate as being as old as 1567, since it comes from a branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt in the Holy Roman Empire.
I think there's 3 things that might cause this:
- I am thinking that Florencian plutocratic houses simply never rename themselves. The Medici family for example continues to exist today, holding some minor titles.
- I think it also helps that Italian aristocrats were heavily involved in trade, and other mercantile professions so could continue to hold wealth and power after being deposed from statutory privilege. English aristocrats on the other hand, often only hold value in land.
- The English have historically allowed women to inherit, so family names are lost due to inheritance, enriching others with the same bloodline but different names.
Re: The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)
#4This only feels surprising to me because in England, aristocratic houses tend to last only 100-200 years before losing their name by being subsumed into another, renaming due to politics, or vanishing in some other way. The House of Windsor only formally dates back to 1910. However if you trace it via the Mountbatten line, it'll rate as being as old as 1567, since it comes from a branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstad…
Holding value in land typically means involvement in agriculture, though.
Re: The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)
#5"While it comes as little surprise that families pass on their wealth to their children, it’s still somewhat remarkable that these families were able to maintain their wealth through various sieges of Florence, Napoleon’s campaign in Italy, Benito Mussolini’s dictatorship, and two world wars."
When you are a part of the Illuminati, anything is possible!
Re: The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)
#6"While it comes as little surprise that families pass on their wealth to their children, it’s still somewhat remarkable that these families were able to maintain their wealth through various sieges of Florence, Napoleon’s campaign in Italy, Benito Mussolini’s dictatorship, and two world wars." When you are a part of the Illuminati, anything is possible!
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Re: The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)
#7This only feels surprising to me because in England, aristocratic houses tend to last only 100-200 years before losing their name by being subsumed into another, renaming due to politics, or vanishing in some other way. The House of Windsor only formally dates back to 1910. However if you trace it via the Mountbatten line, it'll rate as being as old as 1567, since it comes from a branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstad…
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Re: The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)
#8This only feels surprising to me because in England, aristocratic houses tend to last only 100-200 years before losing their name by being subsumed into another, renaming due to politics, or vanishing in some other way. The House of Windsor only formally dates back to 1910. However if you trace it via the Mountbatten line, it'll rate as being as old as 1567, since it comes from a branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstad…
Holding value in land typically means involvement in agriculture, though.
Yes, but agriculture became less a source of great wealth during the industrial revolution. Trade probably continued to be quite profitable, though.
Re: The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)
#9I wonder if at some point inheritance of the family wealth was dependent on having a viable offspring to pass the wealth onto. The article does not mention this, but in the 14 and 1500's, I can only assume at some point it was.
Re: The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)
#10This is purely anecdotal, but I live in Florence and know a couple of people from the "old-money" families and they are not rich by todays standard. They make a modest living renting out and managing the properties handed down through the generations and have to be frugal to make it work.
Also, you should be very sceptical of any study made using Italian tax records as a data source :D