ABSTRACT
Clearly, the main focus – and most original aspect – of this book is Benvenuto Olivieri’s activity as a papal banker. However, while this was his main role and an undercurrent in all his transactions, and even though all the sums of money that passed through his hands on other markets, prevalently foreign, served in the final analysis to finance the loans that he made to the Chamber, not all his banking activity was directly connected to the Apostolic Chamber. Since there was no overt relationship between the two, however, this chapter takes a more general look at the business turnover of Olivieri’s company, and examines its relations also with companies or individuals not connected to the papal finances. The historiography provides numerous examples of merchants who used Italian or foreign marketplaces to transfer sums of money or to conceal loans. However, as has been repeated several times, there are no other cases like that of Benvenuto Olivieri, and no other collection like the Fondo Galli Tassi has come to light which allows us to analyse in such detail the relations between private bankers and the Apostolic Chamber.
