the 13th century, one of the most important cities in Italy was Siena, as it controlled the southern Tuscan wool industry and dominated the trade routes between France and Rome. It also maintained
Italy's richest pre-Medici banks. Siena's power reached an apotheosis with the defeat of a much superior Florentine army at the battle of Montaperti in 1260. The
city then embarked on an unrivaled urban redevelopment. From 1287 to 1355,
the city underwrote the completion of a cathedral, a campo, and the town hall