Scali family
The Scali were one of the three leading Florentine banking families in the Middle Ages. Alongside their competitors (Bardi and Peruzzi), they grew from local cloth traders and deposit bankers to international financiers during the 13th century. By the beginning of the 14th century, the Scalis had become the mightiest commercial house in Italy. In 1326, they abruptly went bankrupt and the company disappeared. Rise of the family. The Scali or Scala company had been created in the early years of the 13th century and quickly rose to an important position (one member of the family became consul  in 1215). They were members the anti-imperial Guelph movement and in 1248 purged their house of its Ghibelline supporters. Their "loggia" was located close to the Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni). Even though they were initially involved in textile production and trade, they eventually achieved continental preeminence in the fields of finance and banking. Like many Italian banks of the time, the Scali specialized in public finance. They lent capital to the kings and princes of Western Europe and often benefited from the farming out of the sovereigns' tax collection. In France for instance, agents of the Scali bank became "seneschal