{"id":527,"date":"2025-10-31T14:35:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T13:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/curiosandofirenze.it\/en\/?p=527"},"modified":"2026-02-09T21:54:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T20:54:28","slug":"the-arte-di-calimala-or-guild-of-the-merchants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/curiosandofirenze.it\/en\/the-arte-di-calimala-or-guild-of-the-merchants\/","title":{"rendered":"The Arte di Calimala (or Guild of the Merchants)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-path-to-node=\"3\">The <b data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"4\">Arte di Calimala<\/b> was one of the seven <i data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"42\">Arti Maggiori<\/i> and one of the oldest in Florence. Its merchants were the first to organize into a guild to conduct international trade, particularly with France, Flanders, and England.<\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"4\">Economic Activity<\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">The success of this guild was based on a specific business model:<\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"6\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"6,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Importing:<\/b> Merchants purchased raw (low-quality) cloth from Northern Europe.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"6,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Processing:<\/b> These fabrics were brought to Florence to be refined and dyed using high-quality techniques.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Exclusivity:<\/b> The <i data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"17\">Arte di Calimala<\/i> worked exclusively with foreign textiles. In this way, it did not compete with the <i data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"117\">Arte della Lana<\/i> (Wool Guild), which used local wool instead.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\">The fabrics arrived in sealed packages called &#8220;<b data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"47\">torselli<\/b>.&#8221; Since many products came from France, they were known as &#8220;<b data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"116\">franceschi<\/b>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"8\">The Origin of the Name &#8220;Calimala&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">There are three main theories regarding the name:<\/p>\n<ol start=\"1\" data-path-to-node=\"10\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">From Arabic:<\/b> It derives from <i data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"29\">Kal\u00ec<\/i> (a substance used to clean fabrics). Since this process created a foul smell (<i data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"112\">mala<\/i>), the name <i data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"128\">Kal\u00ec-mala<\/i> was born.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"10,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"10,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">From Latin:<\/b> It derives from <i data-path-to-node=\"10,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"28\">Callis malus<\/i>, meaning &#8220;bad road&#8221; (referring to the poor condition of the street).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"10,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"10,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">From Greek:<\/b> It derives from <i data-path-to-node=\"10,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"28\">Kal\u00f2s mall\u00f2s<\/i>, meaning &#8220;beautiful wool.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"11\">\u00a0<\/h3>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"12\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"12,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Coat of Arms:<\/b> A gold eagle holding a white <i data-path-to-node=\"12,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"43\">torsello<\/i> (bale of cloth) in its claws, on a red field.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"12,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Patron Saint:<\/b> Saint John the Baptist.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"12,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Guild Residence:<\/b> <i data-path-to-node=\"12,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"17\">Canto del Diamante<\/i>, at the corner of Via Calzaiuoli and Porta Rossa, where a pharmacy is located today.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Arte di Calimala was one of the seven Arti Maggiori and one of the oldest in Florence. Its merchants were the first to organize into a guild to conduct international trade, particularly with France, Flanders, and England. Economic Activity The success of this guild was based on a specific business model: Importing: Merchants purchased [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arti-e-mestieri"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Arte di Calimala (or Guild of the Merchants) - Curiosando Firenze<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/curiosandofirenze.it\/en\/the-arte-di-calimala-or-guild-of-the-merchants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"it_IT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Arte di Calimala (or Guild of the Merchants) - Curiosando Firenze\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Arte di Calimala was one of the seven Arti Maggiori and one of the oldest in Florence. 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