Supply and demand for goods play a critical role throughout world economies.  They are perhaps the primary building blocks of any economy.  Several hundred years ago, supply and demand were no less important, and were particularly instrumental in the economic recovery of Florence during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.  The ability of a group of notable people to provide the supply of goods in response to demand in Florence provided the foundation for the flourishing of art, commerce, and living standards.  In their own ways, both Michelangelo and the Medici family contributed to the economic recovery and development of Italy.  While Michelangelo may have represented only one of a slew of notable artists during the Renaissance, his contributions were extraordinary significant and still impress the world today.

Most of Europe suffered from the Black Death which had enveloped the continent during the thirteenth...