ABSTRACT
This study is the result of a renewed interest by researchers in the study of the clergy and religious orders from an accounting history perspective (Laughlin, 1988; Booth, 1993; Quattrone, 2004; Di Pietra and Landi, 2007; Baldarelli, 2013; Bigoni et al., 2013; Bigoni and Funnell, 2014; Madonna et al., 2014; Poli and Gatti, 2014; Dobie, 2015). The economic role played by the clergy, both in the mediaeval and in the modern era, is well known. Churches, monasteries and convents were not only mere places of worship or caskets of precious art treasures but also the pillars of the entire economic and social system. They were the repositories of culture and education, the places where intellectuals were trained to maintain, enhance and transmit knowledge. The clergy played a primary role throughout the history of accounting (Carmona and Ezzamel, 2006); notable bookkeepers and accountants such as Fra Luca Pacioli, Angelo Pietra and his disciple Lodovico Florio belonged to religious orders (Antoni, 1983; Antonelli and D’Alessio, 2011; Gallizzi, 2012).
