[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]