IMC 2023: Sessions

In the passage from the Middle Ages to the modern age, consequential economic, social, and cultural changes occurred. They instigated the drawing of a new European space in which the intense commercial relations that happened at an international level generated, for the first time, 'an integral commercial space' understood in terms of the modern economic system. The recovery of the severe and painful 'crisis' of the Middle Ages, currently explained more as a structural change and a reconversion, as 'creative destruction', but not as a unilateral and generalised depression, would generate, according to a broad consensus of historiography, growth dynamics. Above all, international trade was the most observable area where the set of shifts came up. That was linked to a certain 'commercial boom' in local markets, driven by the development of way more complicated financial instruments and, primarily, by an increase in demand. The importance of the external market, determined by a few on-demand products, was conjoined with a growing inner demand capable of shaping production. Therefore, unique networks, unexplored markets, the latest techniques, and new merchandise illustrate the so-called 'First Global Age'. This panel commences from these premises to investigate the business networks of two companies, Torralba and Salviati, both functional during the 15th century, intending to foster comparison and debate.