Orlando Bonsignori
Italian banker1
Orlando Bonsignori (died 1273) was an Italian banker from Siena.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Orlando Bonsignori (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born 1201, died 1273.1
About
He was the son of Bonsignore di Bernardo, a minor merchant, but Orlando, together with his brother Bonifazio, expanded the family fortunes until in the 1230 he was among the largest Sienese taxpayers. Friendship with Pope Innocent IV led to the Bonsignori acting as his agents and bankers.
In 1255, after Bonifazio's death, Orlando formed a consortium called the Gran Tavola ("Great Table"), which soon became the most powerful bank in Europe. It became the exclusive banker for the deposits of the income of the Papal States and, under Pope Clement IV, the ecclesiastical tithes for the Holy Land. The Gran Tavola supported Charles of Anjou in his conquest of the Kingdom of Sicily, and benefited greatly from his victory over the Hohenstaufen.
Orlando Bonsignori died in 1273. After his death the Gran Tavola soon declined and eventually went bankrupt in the early 14th century.
From Wikipedia’s article on Orlando Bonsignori, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
- Gran TavolaFounder5
Career
Occupation: banker.4
- Date not recordedFounded Gran Tavola3
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataOrlando Bonsignori on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaOrlando Bonsignori on Wikipedia
- 3
- 4
- 5WikidataGran Tavola, Founder
- 6Wikimedia CommonsOrlando Bonsignori photo by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Public domain