Basically as the banking system was in its nascent stages in Italian cities, such as Florence, there was the rise of a centralized wealthy urban class. Certain families such as the Medici rose to the fore. Their wealth dictated the frescoes and artworks in many parts of the cities in which they resided. They often competed to commission works of artists and underwrite the lives of such folk.
As time went by these families grew to control such other worldwide operations as the Church of Rome.
