Physiognomy of a Corte organization: How power does shape management and accounting at Estense’s Corte in Ferrara (Italy) from 1385 to 1471

Corti have been relevant entities in the history of Italy as they allowed its economic growth after the Medieval period. Corte was characterized by two main elements: the Lord and the fortifications, that defined the physical boundaries of Lord’s power. Lord had an advantage position in the coalition of the Corte and thanks to this advantage he could order and structure the Corte both adhering to behavioural codes and establishing hierarchy levels and accounting rules (Papagno, 1982). For instance, we studied the Estense Corte of Ferrara describing its physiognomy from 1385 to 1471. Through the analysis of original documents contained in the historical archives, the present work tries to define the exercise of Lord’s power and its relation both with shape of organizational structure and accounting system of Corte. In so doing, the research focus on their symbolic significance and sheds light on the evolution of organization and on the intertwined development of accounting architecture.