ABSTRACT
It might seem a strange decision to discuss the customs of Rome here, rather than in Chapter 7, which deals with the other indirect taxes characterizing the papal finances. While this choice is certainly debatable, it has been made because the administration of the customs was of immense importance and held a central position in the relations between the mercatores and the Apostolic Chamber. For the latter the revenues originating from the customs constituted one of their main sources of income; moreover, a large part of it served to pay the annuities of the venal offices or of the bonds of the public debt (discussed in Chapter 4). For the merchant-bankers, on the other hand, this contract represented a notable financial effort, and, in fact, to be able to deal with it they used those techniques and mechanisms that can be considered ‘exemplary’ for their administration of contracts in general.
