| [00:00.30] | |
| [00:00.45] | (The medieval Church's)laws against usury - charging interest on loans |
| [00:03.51] | - were a major obstacle to the development of finance in Europe |
| [00:07.66] | After all, what God-fearing Christian merchant wished to risk the torments of hell |
| [00:13.70] | This astonishing vision of eternal damnation was painted by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari |
| [00:20.41] | on the inside of the great dome of Florence's Cathedral, the Duomo |
| [00:25.26] | And below there's another fresco by Domenico di Michelino |
| [00:29.71] | of Florence's greatest poet, Dante Alighieri, holding his masterwork, the Divine Comedy |
| [00:36.67] | According to Dante, there was a special part of the seventh circle of hell that was exclusively set aside for usurers |
| [00:53.08] | There the moneylenders were eternally tortured with scorching earth and freezing snow |
| [00:58.91] | their necks weighed down with bulging purses |
| [00:08.18] |