Statuto della Corte della Mercarantia della città di Fiorenza.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Author/Creator:

Florence (Italy). Corte della Mercanzia.

Contributor:

Tozzetti, Niccolao di Girolamo, former owner.

Ticciati, Giovanni Filippo, former owner.

Language:

Italian

Latin

Subjects (All):

Commercial courts--Italy--Florence.

Commercial courts.

Commercial law--Italy--Florence--Early works to 1800.

Commercial law.

Guilds--Italy--Florence.

Guilds.

Merchants--Italy.

Merchants.

Statutes--Italy--Florence.

Statutes.

Florence (Italy)--Commerce--History.

Florence (Italy).

Florence (Italy)--History--Sources.

Italy--Florence.

Italy.

Genre:

Codices.

Manuscripts, Italian.

Manuscripts, Renaissance.

Penn Provenance:

Formerly owned by Niccolao di Girolamo Tozzetti (autograph in ink, f. 2r) and Giovanni Filippo Ticciati (autograph in ink, f. 1r).

Physical Description:

177 leaves : paper, illustrations ; 341 x 227 (280 x 170) mm bound to 350 x 234 mm + 1 note (1 leaf, 4 pages)

Production:

[Florence], [before 1597]

Language Note:

Italian, with a note in Latin (laid between f. 135 and f. 136).

Biography/History:

The most important tribunal in Florence. Founded in 1296, it functioned both as court of justice and chamber of commerce. Composed of six senior judges, members of the guild of judges and notaries, under the presidency of a foreign juris consult or doctor of laws, referred to as ufficiale forestiere. Final court of appeal in cross-suits between members of the various guilds.

Summary:

Statute of the Corte della Mercanzia (referred to as Corte della Mercarantia in the manuscript), written in Florence in or after 1597. The volume is divided into three parts, or libri, each in turn divided into smaller sections, called rubriche. The first part (f. 19r-62r) describes the professional figures the court was composed of. These included judges, clerks, guards and various other attendants and underlings. For every position, there is a detailed description of the most important responsibilities and duties, as well as necessary qualifications, age and character requirements (for example, judges were required to hold a doctorate in law, be at least 35 years of age, be of good moral character, and not be born in Florence or in the nearby areas). Every professional role is also described in relation to its superiors and subordinates. Information concerning the payment of salary of the officers and special, additional compensation given during religious celebrations (such as Christmas, Easter, Saint John's Day, and All Saints' Day) is also present. The second part (f. 62v-134v) deals with the objectives and purposes of the court, which included ensuring that Florentine merchants and their merchandise could safely travel throughout the world; ensuring that the credit of the state was maintained under all circumstances; and providing that business relationships between Florentine businessmen and their foreign conterparts were peaceful and fair. The jurisdiction of the court was very large: it comprised both the greater and minor guilds of Florence, as well as their counterparts, regardless of whether they were Italian or foreign. An important power of the court was also to audit any merchant suspected of financial irregularities and, at any time, to requisition all merchants' and tradesmen's books for further investigation. The investigation process is described, as well as the courtroom practice and procedure, the way a verdict is reached and judicial decisions enforced. The third part (f. 135r-178r) mostly pertains to procedures put into act in the event of fraud-related offenses by merchants and tradesmen. There are also special policies for dealing with Florentine fugitive tax evaders, and non-compliant business counterparts of Florentine merchants who left the city without settling their debts. A detailed index of the names and procedures described in the statute can be found at the beginning of the volume (f. 7r-17r). A printed correction, dated 30 September, 1727, and written by Orazio Bassi, Head Clerk of the court, is pasted inside the upper cover.

Notes:

Ms. codex.

Title from label inserted in engraved leaf laid between f. 1 and f. 2.

Foliation: Paper, 177; [1], 2-5, 7-176, 178-179; contemporary foliation in ink, modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto.

Layout: Written in 30-31 long lines. Marginalia and other miscellaneous notations are also present.

Script: Written in a cursive script by multiple hands.

Decoration: Engraved title page (described in, A.F. Johnson, A catalogue of Italian engraved title-pages in the sixteenth century, 1936, p. 22, no. 38); decorated cross and flowers in red and black ink (f. 2r); decorative geometric motifs in red and black ink (f. 2r, f. 2v, f. 3r, f. 3v); decorated initials in first part; manicule (f. 38r).

Binding: Contemporary parchment.

Origin: Written in Florence, probably before 1597, with later corrections (f. 176r-178r).

Cited in:

Described in Zacour, Norman P. and Hirsch, Rudolf. Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Libraries of the University of Pennsylvania to 1800: Supplement A (5), Library Chronicle 37 (1971), no. 2, p. 96 (Ms. Lea 574).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1479

OCLC:

318650006