52 ITALY - CREDIT 



was held to be of the greatest advantage. This commercial idea was treated 

 by Cerretani simply, without any theoretical exaggerations, but moderated, 

 as I have elsewhere remarked, by those principles of agricultural protec- 

 tionism Sallustio Bandini had but recently propounded in his celebrated 

 Discorso sulla Maremma, that were to prepare the way for the great 

 lycopoldine reforms (i), marked by a larger understanding of economic 

 phenomena and social needs. 



Meanwhile, at the end of 1783, the Monte Pio and the Monte de' Pa- 

 schi were united in a single institute under the name of Monti riuniti ; 

 with one staff of employees under the same management ; rather than a 

 reform, this was an administrative union, in no way modifying the ordinary 

 functions of the Monte de Paschi. 



An important change was, however, introduced by the great political 

 events that disturbed the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the 

 nineteenth century, completely changing the map of Europe. " When the 

 Napoleonic Code had been promulgated in Tuscany, an edict of the Imperial 

 Government of April 14th., i8c8 appUed the French mortgage system 

 also to the Monte de' Paschi, enjoining the conversion of all the credits 

 of the Monte into mortgages and thus substituting real land security for 

 personal and fiduciary security, by which the loan operations of the 

 Institute had been guaranteed from the start " (2). 



This provision remained, however, for some years without effect, 

 both because in the more disturbed period, from 1808 to 1818, the Monte 

 suspended its loan business and because mortgage security could only be 

 useful when there was a cadastre, and the Tuscan cadastre, commenced 

 in 1819, was only completed in 1831. 



And it was just the next year, 1832, that the first radical change and 

 the first impulse towards the improvement of our Institute began after 

 207 years of almost stationary hfe. 



At first, the Monte de' Paschi only lent to the citizens of Siena. And a 

 few communities included in its territory benefiting under the original con- 

 tract, but in 1 831, as a result of a concession made in a Rescript of June 

 30th. of that year, the principle prevailed that loans might be granted to 

 any land holder in Tuscany : this extension of the field of operations really 

 marks the beginning of a new life which was again strengthened by the 

 Institution of a Savings Bank the Monte was allowed to found by 

 Rescript of August 23rd., 1833, ^^^ the right secured a few years later 

 (Rescript of January 27th., 1843) to grant loans for any amount. 



With the foundation of the Savings Bank our Institute began to adapt 

 itself to the new age and new requirements, and we shall see later on that 

 other institutions were founded to suit the modern requirements of the cred- 

 it system ; but before following the phases and consequence of this trans- 



(i) Cf. my n.rticle, II Monte de' Paschi net 1777-79 « I'incremenio delV A'^ricullura, in 

 vol. II of the Studi Senesi, in honour of t,. Mariani. Siena, 1905. 

 (2) Mengozzi, op. cii. p. 197. 



