Its first great painter, Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-1319), would have witnessed the emergence of the Nine: a civic democracy in which Siena, a rich merchant city-state, was ruled by nine elected citizens (aristocrats and lawyers were barred from standing for election).

ECONOMIST: Italian painting: A touch of heaven | The

He was born in Assisi in 1181 or 1182, the son of a rich cloth merchant, and he enjoyed a carefree adolescence and youth, particularly with troubadours.

CNN: St. Francis of Assisi: 'A great, great figure in the church'

Francis was born in 1181 or 1182 as the son of a rich Italian cloth merchant, according to the Vatican website.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Francis of Assisi was born in 1181 or 1182 the son of a rich Italian cloth merchant, according to the Vatican website.

CNN: New pope, Jorge Bergogolio, adopts the name Francis

The biggest republican group, the Australian Republican Movement, is led by Malcolm Turnbull, a rich Sydney lawyer and merchant banker.

ECONOMIST: The republican rumble down under

Saudi Arabia's 5, 000 princes and its great merchant families are indeed rich beyond the dreams of avarice, yet the kingdom as a whole has a per-head income little higher than Mexico's.

ECONOMIST: Time travellers

With no new hardware or software involved for the merchant, the deal could pay rich dividends for the company as the costs involved promise to be low.

FORBES: eBay Is Charged For $50 With PayPal's Discover Partnership