First Impressions of Italy and Some Economic Questions

After about 5 days in Italy, I am overwhelmed at the amount of social, architectural, economical, and topographical differences I have seen when compared to the United States. We started our trip in Florence where we visited the Medici family estate and gardens after a walking tour of the city. The Medici was an extremely wealthy and influential banking family that gained power in Florence during the late 14th century, so their estate was massive and their gardens sprawling. Walking the grounds and learning how those who built the fortifications made the decisions in case of an attack was particularly interesting, seeing as that is something we would most likely never think of when designing a structure nowadays. We learned that there were multiple sets of walls and heavily enforced corners to protect best against cannon siege fire.

The river in Florence

The Medici family had an elaborate money trading empire of sorts during their time so it was only natural to visit a temporary exhibition in Florence that focused on the history of money. In the exhibition, we played an interactive game where we had a certain amount of money and had to choose from different money trading options at different stations to try to come out profitable by the end. One of the options was exchanging money to a country with a different exchange rate and then exchanging it back for a higher rate. This was an interesting concept to me because there was much risk involved in a process such as this. One would never know if the exchange rate would be better or worse when you arrive back home to change the money back, so it was a gamble. We saw ancient artifacts such as treasure chests with elaborate locks and giant bookkeeping records.

Inside the Duomo

After walking the streets of Florence, a few economic questions developed in my head. On one street, there were two currency exchange stations right across from each other, each functioning separately. We were trying to figure out how they both survive when they supply the same service at the same rates. Are there any tactics they use to drive the other out of competition? We didn’t notice any and were curious. Also, we noticed that the Ponte Vecchio (a bridge across the river) was lined from end to end in lavish jewelry shops. We questioned whether this boasts a model of perfect competition since so many shops thrived right next to each other, but determined it was not since we found many other jewelry shops dispersed throughout the city.

View while climbing the Duomo

We climbed to the top of the Duomo where the view was absolutely breathtaking. One interesting observation we made as a group while looking out over the city was the clearly defined boundaries. You could practically see a line drawn where the lavish construction stopped and where the working class buildings or hills began. We determined this to be due to strict zoning laws during construction or possibly for defensive reasons if there used to exist a wall. We visited the Galleria dell'Accademia where the statue of David is housed. I was surprised at the scale of the statue, it was massive! I can see why a statue such as this can draw people in to see it. It truly was a work of art. I snapped a picture of the statue without looking since the opportunity cost of not doing so to me was just too high. I’m such a rebel.

-Tyler Larson

The Statue of David