The Papal Bankers Who Funded the Renaissance

The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History · Oct 25, 2026 · 6m · transcript

While we have covered the Medici bank and the Pazzi conspiracy, this episode shifts focus to the often-overlooked architects of papal finance: the Bardi and Peruzzi families. We explore how these Florentine houses managed the immense cash flows of the Avignon Papacy in the fourteenth century, creating the first international banking network. Lucas and Luna examine the mechanics of the *cambium* exchange contracts that allowed popes to move money across Europe without transporting gold. The conversation details the catastrophic collapse of these banks due to the English crown’s refusal to…