Trade and Commerce
After the Crusades, contacts between Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire strengthened; this spread trade to Renaissance Florence. Florence had two center markets in their city. The first one was called Mercato Vecchio (old market) where people bought items like vegetables, fruits, fish, meats, medicine, and bread. The Mercato Vecchio was very crowded, noisy, and smelly, but people from all over Europe still went there. The next market was called Mercato Nuovo (the new market), which was built in the 1500s and was the center for cloth and banking. In this new market they banned food and weapons to keep it clean. Their economy soon became a currency using economy, and craft people produced goods to sell in the market.
After the Crusades, contacts between Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire strengthened; this spread trade to Renaissance Florence. Florence had two center markets in their city. The first one was called Mercato Vecchio (old market) where people bought items like vegetables, fruits, fish, meats, medicine, and bread. The Mercato Vecchio was very crowded, noisy, and smelly, but people from all over Europe still went there. The next market was called Mercato Nuovo (the new market), which was built in the 1500s and was the center for cloth and banking. In this new market they banned food and weapons to keep it clean. Their economy soon became a currency using economy, and craft people produced goods to sell in the market.