The Guilds of Florence
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By the end of the 13th century the various trades and businesses in Florence were organised into guilds, which were known as arti.
There were seven major guilds (arti maggiori) and fourteen minor guilds (arti minori). The seven major guilds were (in order of status):
The guilds were very powerful institutions in medieval Florence, playing a prominent role in the life of the city, both in terms of their political influence and as wealthy patrons of the arts. The guilds governed the rules and regulations of the various trades and no one was allowed to practise a trade or profession without becoming a member of the relevant guild. Participation in the government of Florence was also not possible, if one was not a member of a guild. Each of the guilds had its own stemma (emblem), which one can still see throughout the city. The emblem of the Arte di Calimala (Guild of the Cloth Merchants), the oldest of the guilds, was an eagle holding a bale of cloth. The cloth merchants were the source of much of Florence’s early prosperity and the guild took its name from the street in which its businesses were located. The Arte di Calimala was responsible for the upkeep of the Baptistery as well as for the church of San Miniato al Monte. The largest guild, that of the Arte della Lana (Guild of the Wool Merchants), was nominally responsible for the building and decoration of the most important edifice in Florence, namely the cathedral. The city's painters belonged to the Arte dei Medici e Speziali, as they bought their pigments from the apothecaries All of the guilds, with the exception of the Arte dei Giudici e Notai, were abolished in 1770 and their functions were assigned to the Camera di Commercio, Arti e Manifatture). The Arte dei Giudici e Notai was finally abolished in 1777. |
The emblem of the Arte di Calimala
The emblem of the Arte della Lana
The emblem (stemma) of the Arte della Seta
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