Banco del Giro

The Banco del Giro (Venetian: Banco del Ziro), also Banco Giro or Bancogiro, sometimes referred to in English as the Bank of Venice, was a public bank created by the Republic of Venice in 1524 and extant until 1806. It was governed by a magistrate called the Depositario.[1]

The Banco del Giro on Rialto Square by Gabriele Bella (c.1780s), Pinacoteca Querini Stampalia

History

An early proposal for a banco per Comune, a public municipal bank that would complement the operation of Venice's private banks, was made to the Venetian Senate by Senator Giovanni Dolfin in 1356.[2] A comparable proposal was made again in 1374 by a committee headed by Michele Morosini.[2]:43

Following bankruptcies among private bankers and the difficulties generated for Venice's overseas trade by the new Portuguese routes to India, the Republic decided to found a bank with public capital in 1524, that would provide the necessary liquidity to the merchants of the Rialto.

In 1587 the Republic founded a separate entity, the Banco della Piazza di Rialto, in order to allow easy transactions settlement without handling of metallic money. In 1637, that bank was merged into Banco del Giro, following financial difficulties.

By new statutes of 3 May 1619, the Banco del Giro became a permanent institution of the Venetian State. Its administration was entrusted to the Senate, which appointed the Depositario from among its members.[3]

The bank ceased its activity in 1800, following the fall of the Republic, and was finally liquidated in 1806 under the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.

Legacy

One of the sotoportegos of the Rialto Square is still known as Sotoportego del Banco Giro.[4]

See also

Notes
  1. Charles F. Dunbar (April 1892), "The Bank of Venice" (PDF), The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 6 (3): 308–335, JSTOR 1882461
  2. Gino Luzzatto (1964). "Les banques publiques de Venise (siècles XVI-XVIII)". In Johannes Gerard van Dillen (ed.). History of the Principal Public Banks. Frank Cass & Co. p. 42.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Charles F. Dunbar (April 1892), "The Banco Del Giro of Venice: Appendix", The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 6, JSTOR 1882467
  4. "Banco Giro di Rialto". Venice Café. 9 April 2020.


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