In the streets of Florence, the great 'open-air museum,' there is none of the calm one might expect of a museum; commerce buzzes around the Renaissance monuments, and the great 600-year-old Duomo designed by Brunelleschi looms over it all...

The not-always-holy alliance of money and piety--the origin of this city's incredible artistic riches. I got to thinking about this after I heard a news report mentioning current Italian financial woe, and going back to the birth of banking during the Renaissance. According to art historian Ludovica Sebregondi: "many bankers made donations for the salvation of their souls, devoting money to good works or art. It was said, 'great sinners, great cathedrals.'"

Great, indeed...

(The above quote from http://www.npr.org/2012/01/31/145731770/in-italy-art-as-a-window-into-modern-banking)