Alessia Meneghin traces the business activity of a Florentine shoemaker, Francesco d’Aringo di Corso, in order to show the methods he deployed to sustain his social and political ascent in Quattrocento Florence. Whether motivated by a profound aspiration to promote his and his family’s interests, or simply driven by the intensely felt ambition of joining Florence’s political life, Francesco made use of his wealth in a rational way to achieve a respectable standing. The simple beginnings as a workshop’s apprentice, who would sit all day long, working, at the bischetto – the typical table where all the shoemaker’s tools were stored – were not very different from those of other trainees. Making money as a shoemaker weiterlesen