A Renaissance Instrument to Support Nonprofits: The Sale of Private Chapels in Florentine Churches / Jonathan Katz Nelson, Richard J. Zeckhauser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nelson, Jonathan Katz.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Zeckhauser, Richard J.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w9173.

NBER working paper series no. w9173

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

A Renaissance Instrument to Support Nonprofits

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2002.

Summary:

Catholic churches in Renaissance Florence supported themselves overwhelmingly from the contributions of wealthy citizens. The sale of private chapels within churches to individuals was a significant source of church funds, and facilitated a church construction boom. Chapel sales offered three benefits to churches: prices were usually far above cost; donor/purchasers purchased masses and other tie-in services; and they added to the magnificence of the church because donors were required to decorate chapels expensively. Donors purchased chapels for two primary reasons: to facilitate services for themselves and their families, such as masses and church burials, that would speed their departure from Purgatory; and to gain status in the community. Chapels were private property within churches, but were only occasionally used directly by their owners. The expense of chapels and their decorations made them an ideal signal for wealth, particularly since sumptuary laws limited most displays of wealth. To overcome the contributions free-rider problem, these churches sold private benefits not readily available elsewhere, namely status and salvation.

Notes:

Print version record

September 2002.