The Jews were least persecuted in the commercial cities of northern Italy. Florence, Genoa, and Venice in the thirteenth century were the money centers of Europe. The banking companies in these cities received deposits and then loaned the money to foreign governments and great nobles. It was the Florentine bankers, for instance, who provided the English king, Edward III, with the funds to carry on his wars against France. The Italian banking houses had branches in the principal cities of Europe. [19] It became possible, therefore, to introduce the use of bills of exchange as a means of balancing debts between countries, without the necessity of sending the actual money. This system of international credit was doubly important at a time when so many risks attended the transportation of the precious metals. Another Florentine invention was bookkeeping by double-entry. [20]
197. ITALIAN CITIES
THE CITY REPUBLICS
The cities of northern Italy owed their prosperity, as we have learned, to the commerce with the Orient. It was this which gave them the means and the strength to keep up a long struggle for freedom against the German emperors.[21] The end of the struggle, at the middle of the thirteenth century, saw all North Italy divided into the dominions of various independent cities. Among them were Milan, Pisa, Florence, Genoa, and Venice.
MILAN
Milan, a city of Roman origin, lay in the fertile valley of the Po, at a point where the trade routes through several Alpine passes converged. Milan early rose to importance, and it still remains the commercial metropolis of Italy. Manufacturing also flourished there. Milanese armor was once celebrated throughout Europe. The city is rich in works of art, the best known being the cathedral, which, after St. Peter's at Rome and the cathedral of Seville, is the largest church in Europe. Though the Milanese were able to throw off the imperial authority, their government fell into the hands of the local nobles, who ruled as despots. Almost all the Italian cities, except Venice, lost their freedom in this manner.
PISA
Pisa, like Milan, was an old Roman city which profited by the disorders of the barbarian invasions to assert its independence. The situation of Pisa on the Arno River, seven miles from the sea, made it a maritime state, and the Pisan navy gained distinction in warfare against the Moslems in the Mediterranean. The Pisans joined in the First Crusade and showed their valor at the capture of Jerusalem. They profited greatly by the crusading movement and soon possessed banks, warehouses, and trading privileges in every eastern port. But Pisa had bitter rivals in Florence and Genoa, and the conflicts with these two cities finally brought about the destruction of its power.
[Illustration: BAPTISTERY, CATHEDRAL, AND "LEANING TOWER" OF PISA These three buildings in the piazza of Pisa form one of the most interesting architectural groups in Italy. The baptistery, completed in 1278 A.D., is a circular structure, 100 feet in diameter and covered with a high dome. The cathedral was consecrated in 1118 A.D. The finest part of the building is the west front with its four open arcades. The campanile, or bell tower, reaches a height of 179 feet. Owing to the sinking of the foundations, it leans from the perpendicular to a striking extent (now about 161/2 feet).]