12
SALVIATI PERIOD
After the Portinari, one of the most prominent families in Florentine history, the Salviati family, came into ownership of the Palazzo, ushering it into its golden age with the Salviati’s wealth and power in society. The Salviati family played an important role not only in Tuscany, but also in Italian and European history, both for their commercial and banking activities and for the political positions they held in the Florentine state. In 1386, the family entered Arte della Lana (the Florentine wool guild), marking the beginning of the Salviati’s flourishing fabric trade. They also established several banks in Florence and Pisa, later expanding to other European cities such as London and Bruges. The Salviati’s commercial activities paved the way for their political standings in Florence as well. Over the course of three centuries, the Salviati family provided a total of 63 priors, 21 gonfalonieri di giustizia (the prestigious Gonfaloniere of Justice), and many ambassadorships for the Florence Republic. The preeminence of the Salviati family was not based solely on economic and political perspectives but also its solid relations with the most prominent Tuscan families. Foremost of these relationships was with the Medicis, with whom the Salviatis shared extensive networks of trading companies, financial services and artists. The ties between the two families were reinforced by strategic marriages celebrated from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The most famous of these marriages was the union between
PORTRAIT OF COUNT ALAMANNO SALVIATI
16th century, oil on panel
