Palla Strozzi

Palla di Onofrio Strozzi (1372 – 8 May 1462) was an Italian banker, politician, writer, philosopher and philologist.

Biography He was born in Florence into the rich banking family of the Strozzi. He was educated by humanists, learning Greek and Latin, and establishing an important collection of rare books.

Vespasiano, in his Lives of illustrious men of the 15th century described him as rich, handsome, a family man, a scholar, and a great builder and collector. Palla Strozzi was the richest man in Florence with a gross taxable assets of 162,925 florins in 1427, including 54 farms, 30 houses, a banking firm with a capital of 45,000 florins, and communal bonds. Despite his abundant wealth, Strozzi lived well beyond his means and had little interest in his family’s banking business, which would help lead to his eventual economic and political downfall in the later half of the 15th century.

His descendants settled in Ferrara.