Using the writings of Caffaro of Genoa this paper explores the challenging relationship between crusading for God and monetary gain. The latter of these has been largely discounted by recent historiography, but examining Caffaro and placing the contribution of the (usually ignored) Italian crusaders in a context of Mediterranean trade and previous contact and conflict with Islam, it argues that we need to reassess the issue and to recognise the complexities of motives, especially in the framework of the maritime cities.