The Bank of the Holy Spirit ( it, Il Banco di Santo Spirito) was a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

founded by

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

on December 13, 1605. The bank was the first

national bank In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings: * a bank owned by the state * an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally) * in the United States, an ordinary p ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

(as the bank of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

), the first public deposit bank in Rome, and the oldest continuously operating bank in Rome until its merger in 1992.

First period (1605–1923)

The Bank was founded by

in the ''Bench of S. Spirit'' building (which became known as the ''Palazzo del Banco di S. Spirito'') on December 13, 1605. The construction of the building was started in 1513 by

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

, on what became known as the "Street of the Banks." The newly founded bank provided a new source of income for the Archhospital of Santo Spirito (founded 1201),Cohen, M. 1994. "Capitalia S.p.A." ''International Directory of Company Histories'' 65. whose financial difficulties had been increasing throughout the 16th century, and in 1607 the bank began supervising the finances of the hospital, which owned the bank.Freiberg, Jack. 1991. "Paul V, Alexander VII, and a Fountain by Nicolò Cordier Rediscovered." ''The Burlington Magazine'' 133 (1065): 833–843. From February 20, 1606, to 1923, the Bank of the Holy Spirit provided capital for churches and hospitals constructed in Rome, and other commercial purposes. The bank lent funds to several public works projects, including the Trajan aqueduct project (begun 1608). In 1750,

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

, known for his condemnation of

usury Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is c ...

: ''

Vix pervenit ''Vix pervenit'' was an encyclical, promulgated by Pope Benedict XIV on November 1, 1745, which condemned the practice of charging interest on loans as usury. Because the encyclical was addressed to the bishops of Italy, it is generally not cons ...

'' (promulgated November 1, 1745), reorganized the Bank and restricted its lending activities. In 1786, the bank became one of the first to issue

paper money A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...

during the pontificate of Pope Pius VI. The records of the Bank are extant in the

Vatican Secret Archives The Vatican Apostolic Archive ( la, Archivum Apostolicum Vaticanum; it, Archivio Apostolico Vaticano), formerly known as the Vatican Secret Archive, is the central repository in the Vatican City of all acts promulgated by the Holy See. The Pont ...

, but not in '' Introitus et Exitus'', the records of the Apostolic Camera.

1923–92

In 1923, the Bank was reorganized as a joint-stock company. In 1935, the ''

Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale The Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI; English: "Institute for Industrial Reconstruction") was an Italian public holding company established in 1933 by the Fascist regime to rescue, restructure and finance banks and private companies ...

'' (IRI) of the fascist Italian government gained a controlling interest in the bank. In the 1930s,

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

bank robbers attempting to dig into the underground vaults of the Bank accidentally discovered the skeletons of victims of an 1836 cholera epidemic, which after archeological excavation became known as the Fontanelle cemetery.

Merger

In 1992, the Bank of the Holy Spirit—which had previously merged with the Cassa di Risparmio di Roma (est. 1836) in 1989— merged with the

Banco di Roma Banco di Roma was an Italian bank based in Rome, Lazio region. It was established on 9 March 1880. Along with Credito Italiano and Banca Commerciale Italiana they were considered as bank of national interests. In 1991 the bank was merged with Ba ...

(est. 1880) to form the

Banca di Roma UniCredit Banca di Roma S.p.A. was an Italian bank based in Rome, Lazio region. It was a subsidiary of UniCredit Group. In 2010 the subsidiary was absorbed into the bank, but retained as a registered trademark. In 2008 the bank had 1533 branches: ...

, which subsequently merged with other banks in 2002 to form

Capitalia Capitalia was an Italian banking group headquartered in Rome. The bank was a listed company in Borsa Italiana (Milan Stock Exchange). The bank was acquired by UniCredit by issuing new shares of UniCredit for shares of Capitalia. History Capitalia ...

.Who's Who in Italy.
Banca di Roma
"

References

{{Authority control Economic history of the Holy See Banks established in 1605 1605 establishments in the Papal States Defunct banks of Italy Capitalia Group Banks disestablished in 1992 1992 disestablishments in Italy History of banking

First period (1605–1923)

1923–92

Merger

See also

References