Merchant Families, Banking and Money in Medieval Lucca

This volume brings together a series of studies on the evolution of banking in Lucca from the 12th and 13th centuries, describing how the leading bankers operated, invested, and pursued their family interests. They trace the transformation of money changers, or campsores, into deposit and transfer bankers, who deployed their capital in trading ventures as well as in banking, and show how the Lucchese expanded their operations to the fairs of Champagne and all of Europe's major commercial centres.