Venice was considered a financial center.
Venice . The Republic of Venice was a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance , and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto , as well as a very important center of commerce ( especially silk , grain , and spice ) and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century . The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century .