Monte di Pietà

The first mention of charitable credit activity in Lodi could almost certainly be traced back to the 12th century, <<with the institution of a great work of charity that emerged at the same time as the reconstruction of the city>>. However, the step from this first charitable association to the pawn broking institution was a short one, thanks also to the persuasive preaching of Blessed Bernardino da Feltre, the father of these institutions.  And so, the Mount of Piety was born in Lodi on 20 May 1512. The institution, housed from the mid-16th century onwards in the austere palace in Via Incoronata (near the temple of the Beata Vergine Coronata) and governed by a series of active and scrupulous administrations, gathered all the city's financial functions and activities. The seat of the institute was moved to the building of the Santa Chiara Old People's Home in 1923. Its work continued even after the creation of the first modern banks in the city, and even beyond that, until its suppression in 1926.