ABSTRACT Accounting practices played a fundamental role in the construction of Brunelleschi’s dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence during the fifteenth century. This study examines the accountability practices and government technologies adopted by the Opera del Duomo, the organisation entrusted to build and maintain the Cathedral of Florence, between 1420 and 1436, when the dome was constructed. This research draws on the theories of Foucault and Dean regarding technologies of government within quasi-public administrations to explain historical evidence for the accountability practices supporting Brunelleschi’s dome construction. Through the collected evidence, we identify the application of ‘technologies of government’ hundreds of years before Foucault’s arguments about governmentality. We also describe a system of accountability, especially downward accountability, inspired by religious values that pays attention to users, the local community and other affected constituents as a result of the Opera’s special status as a ‘quasi-public’ (but formally private) administration. Our findings touch on the willingness to account for and report public funding, the presence of checks and balances inside the governance framework, the active engagement of citizens and local partners to achieve consensus, and notions of social responsibility toward the workers who helped to build the dome.

中文翻译：

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十五世纪佛罗伦萨布鲁内莱斯基圆顶的建造：在问责制与政府技术之间

摘要 十五世纪，会计实践在布鲁内莱斯基的佛罗伦萨圣母百花大教堂圆顶的建造中发挥了重要作用。本研究调查了 Opera del Duomo 所采用的问责制做法和政府技术，该组织受托在 1420 年至 1436 年间建造和维护佛罗伦萨大教堂，当时圆顶建成。本研究借鉴了福柯和迪恩关于准公共行政部门内政府技术的理论，以解释支持布鲁内莱斯基圆顶建筑的问责实践的历史证据。通过收集到的证据，我们确定了在福柯关于治理性的争论之前数百年的“治理技术”的应用。我们还描述了一个问责制度，特别是向下问责制，受到宗教价值观的启发，由于歌剧院作为“准公共”（但正式的私人）管理机构的特殊地位，宗教价值观关注用户、当地社区和其他受影响的选民。我们的发现涉及对公共资金进行说明和报告的意愿、治理框架内存在的制衡、公民和当地合作伙伴积极参与以达成共识，以及对帮助建立公共资金的工人的社会责任观念。圆顶。