Francesco Balducci Pegolotti

Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, also known as Francesco di Balduccio was a Florentine merchant, politician and writer of the first half of the fourteenth century.

In 1310 he became a representative of the Florentine banking and trading house of Bardi, which traded mostly in oil and wine, and their chief product was high-quality woolen cloth. As a Bardi's factor, Pegolotti served their business interests from London to Cyprus. He represented te Bardi firm in Antwerp, Brabant (now in Belgium), in about 1315–17, London in 1317, and Cyprus in 1324–27. Pegolotti again visited Cyprus in 1335, obtaining trading privileges for the Florentines from Little Armenia. After he returned back to Florence, he held various positions in the ruling council of the city as Gonfalionere di Compagnia and Gonfalionere di Giustizia.

Pegolotti is best remembered in the history as the author of the Book of Descriptions of Countries and of Measures of Merchandise, more commonly known as La Pratica della Mercatura. The book was compiled between 1310 and 1340. The work gives information about the merchandise to be found in various ports of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, its provenance and quality, about the means of exchange used in various markets, about the exchange rates, and about the weights, measures, and customs duties that were used in each place.