In 1563, the Council of Trent mandated the opening of diocesan seminaries to give low‐level instruction in pastoral duties for boys aged 12 years and older who were destined for the priesthood. This essay considers the early history of seminaries in four Tuscan dioceses of varying size and importance: Fiesole, Lucca, Pienza, and Pisa, in terms of the economic and political issues which placed the fledgling institutions squarely in between the needs of the Catholic Church and the resources of city‐states. In each case, the documentation points to limited financial and bureaucratic support for both the foundation and maintenance of the seminaries. In these dioceses we can in fact see a pattern of administrative and local action that amounted to moral support, rather than direct assistance, from either urban or church authorities.