MONTE DI PIETA’

The Monte di Pietà of Montagnana was founded in 1497, spurred on by the fervent preaching of the Franciscan friars who, from the crowded squares, strongly criticised the usurious loans by the Jewish communities, inciting people and administrators to set up institutions that could lend money to the poorest at modest rates. This was not the institution’s first headquarters, but was acquired in the 16th century and built by joining two adjacent buildings, whose façades were unified under the same architectural style. A more radical restoration was carried out in 1765, giving the building its present appearance, with the faux rustication on the ground floor reinforcing the four wide arches, and with the upper half characterized by an elegant and rigorous geometric essentiality.