page_title: Thomas I de Gadagne
section_title: Florentine connections
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas I de Gadagne / Life / Florentine connections
caption_attribution_description: Francesco de' Rossi's painting 'The Doubting of St. Thomas'
context_page_description: Thomas I de Gadagne, known as Thomas the Rich was a banker from a rich Florentine family who settled in Lyon in France, where he built up trading, banking and industrial business interests in Lyon and Florence. He made a huge fortune and lent large sums to the kings of France to support their military expeditions to Italy and to finance a French expedition to the Americas.
context_section_description: The Florentines in Lyon lived and worked by statutes officially recognized by the Republic of Florence and had to ensure internal harmony in their own community whilst also getting it protection and representation in the city of Florence and the French court. These statutes were established on 27 November 1501, putting the community under the leadership of four counselors and a consul - as the leader of the most important mercantile and banking community in Lyon, the consul more and more had the privilege of leading the payments made at the end of each of the four annual fairs.
  Thomas was made a counsellor in 1501 then consul in 1505. ·  · . He partly paid for the construction of the St Thomas Chapel in Notre-dame de Confort, the Florentine church in Lyon, and his heir and nephew later commissioned a painting for it of The Incredulity of Saint Thomas from Francesco Salviati. He also became a member of the wool guild back in Florence in 1497 and made major investments in Florence, mainly in the commercial and industrial sectors. - for example, he contributed 4000 florins to founding a wool textile factory in 1502 as well as owning a 60% share and sending his brother Olivier and nephew Niccolo Strozzi to manage the factory. Until his death, he remained very active in developing factories in Florence, gaining major commercial success by doing so.
caption: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Francesco Salviati, commissioned by Thomas' nephew and heir for the Florentines' chapel. Musée du Louvre.
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