Casane and casanieri: Lombards’ activity and property in in the Burgundian Low Countries (14-15th Century)

Abstract

The first part of this contribution is dedicated to outline the different aspects of the credit granted by the Lombards in the Burgundian Low Countries (1384-1482). The second part of the article will deal with the localization of the buildings used by the piedmontese moneylenders in Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp both as private residences and as business edifices. This dual approach will follow the most recent historiography related to the Lombards, and more generally to the presence of foreigners in the late medieval urban society. It will be then possible to show how the Lombards modified their settlement and economic strategies after the progressive retirement of businessmen from Asti and their substitution in the running of the banchi by bankers from Chieri during the XV century. Secondly, it will be demonstrated that the Piedmont communities were not marginalized but, rather, an organic part of the economic, financial and social life of the hosting cities. Moreover, the settlement choices of the Piedmontese businessmen reflected evaluations aimed both to tackle the peculiarities of the different cities and to stay in the commercial hearth of the cities in order to maximize the visibility and the economic performance of their activities.