48 ITALY - CKEDIT 



And in 1619 the Magistrato petitioned the Grand Duke of Tuscany to 

 provide, not only for the poor, but also for the middle classes by the intro- 

 duction of "another kind oi Monte," endowing it with a new fund, so that 

 " every one might freely invest his money in it, with the certain hope of 

 receiving his interest with a good conscience. " It was desired in 

 this way to form a permanent fund of 50,000 ducats, "with which to assist 

 those who had to pay more than 12 % (i). " 



The proposal was supported by the Balia, the communal government of 

 the day. and was fully discussed and explained, and led to the foundation 

 of a new Monte. "These were years of very great poverty," writes Lu- 

 ciano Banchi, to whom we owe so much for our knowledge of Sienese 

 institutions, " every class of citizens was distressed, and the very nobility 

 of Siena were reduced to such a degree, that every day more of them 

 were in need of assistance and more than one nobleman was compelled, 

 not merely when sick, but even when weU, to ask for assistance from the 

 Hospital, just when its expenses were increasing and its revenue falling off. 

 But fortunately for Siena, when the prosperity of the Hospital began to 

 decline, there arose an institution, due to the very special poverty of the 

 time, which, through the admirable wisdom of its organization, soon 

 became the salvation of the Sienese landed proprietors, and, as it were, an 

 inexhaustible source of good for many charitable institutes. The Hospital 

 w^as not slow to contribute to it, as if foreseeing that those manifold 

 benefits it would no longer be able, in the course of future years, to confer, 

 would be rendered in great abundance, and in a better manner, to the 

 entire body of citizens, by the new institution, the Monte dei Paschi. the 

 great Bank of modern Siena, the deed of foundation of which bears the 

 memorable date of November 2"<^., 1624 " (2). 



Before the Monte de' Paschi was started, those in need of money either 

 could not obtain it at all, or onl}' at a hea\'y sacrifice and, while amongst 

 these marriages decreased and many were ruined, the few fortunate persons 

 possessing money lent it in greater quantity and found this more profitable 

 than if they had invested it in agriculture or the commerce possible in an 

 inland town, so that both agriculture and commerce were considerably 

 neglected. 



" It was therefore only right," as an eighteenth century manuscript 

 m my possession puts it, " that the oppressed should find protection and 

 assistance in the paternal care of the Most Serene Grand Duke Ferdinand II, 

 who, clearly perceiving the evil calling for a remedy and the good that 

 had to be done, lent a generous ear to the petitions of the people." 

 The Grand Duke, ordered the foundation of a Monte, non vacabile, that is 

 with funds not to be redeemed, by Rescript of December 30th., 1622, in 

 which it is said that, to facilitate the work of the Monte, the Grand Duke 



(1) For all quotations relating to dates, facts and documents in connection with the history 

 of the Monte de' Paschi, cf., when not otherwise stated, N. Mengozzi : " // Monte dt' Paschi 

 « 1$ sue aziende, Siena, 1913. 



(2) 1,. Baxchi : Sfatuto dello Spedale di Siena ; Bologna 1877, p. 365. 



