Note 296 — Chapter IV · STATE OF PARTIES—CONSTITUTION OF THE FIRST POPULAR GOVERNMENT AND OF THE GREATER GUILDS IN FLORENCE.234 (continued 2)

The term calimala seems to have been taken from the name of the street in which the guild was situated. The street led to a house of ill-fame, hence the name Calis malus, in the sense of Via mala—evil road or lane.