The Provveditori e Sopraprovveditori sopra Banchi were, in 1524, charged with overseeing the banks operating in Venice, around the markets at Rialto.
Since the Middle Ages, noble families had operated banking activities around the Rialto with insufficient oversight. Consequently, fraud and bankruptcies abounded.
The L’Archivio di Stato di Venezia: indice generale, storico, descrittivo ed analitico by Andrea Da Mosto was published in 1937. Besides being a general index of the holdings of Venetian documents in the state archive, it contains short historical descriptions of most Venetian offices and magistracies.
Andrea Da Mosto (1868-1960) was director of the Archivio di Stato di Venezia (1936-1937).
Superintendents and Superintendents of Banks
The supervision of the Banks, established by patrician families starting in the 12th century for the needs of trade and foreign exchange, was initially entrusted to the Merchants’ Consuls;1 in 1524, it was assigned to a special body composed of three members, which, having proven its worth, became permanent in 1526.
The powers of the Superintendents were not limited to economic control over the banks, but also extended to the judicial field, as they were entrusted with the power to decide on issues arising between bankers and merchants in the context of their business relationships.
Translator’s notes
- The Consoli dei mercanti were magistrates of the republic, known from the early 1200s, who oversaw the activities of the merchant class. ↩︎
Original Italian text
Provveditori e Sopraprovveditori sopra Banchi
La vigilanza sui Banchi, sorti ad opera di famiglie patrizie fin dal secolo XII per le necessità del commercio e dei cambi, fu affidata dapprima ai Consoli dei Mercanti; nel 1524, fu attribuita ad un organo apposito, composto di tre membri, che, nel 1526, avendo fatto buona prova, da straordinario divenne stabile.
La competenza dei Provveditori non fu limitata al controllo di indole economica sui banchi, ma si estese anche nel campo giudiziario, essendo stata loro affidata la facoltà di decidere sulle questioni nascenti fra banchieri e mercanti in occasione dei loro rapporti di affari.
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