The credit market and notaries in Verona in the second half of the seventeenth century

This article analyzes the private capital market in Verona in the second half of the seventeenth century, drawing upon notaries’ loan contracts. In a period in which formal credit institutions such as joint stock banks still did not exist the role of notaries proved crucial in non-istitutionalized credit networks. While a share of the contracts were distributed among citizens belonging to the same social class, most of the loans were drawn up between individuals coming from heterogeneous groups. The capital, which was mainly provided by the urban elite, including nobles, patricians and a dynamic and emerging bourgeoisie, aimed to finance a vast range of needs, from everyday expenses, to extraordinary ones, from the purchase of a plot of land, or a house, to the provision of a dowry. Yet, part of these financial resources aimed to support activities which gave new impetus to the Veronese economy that in the seventeenth century was gradually recovering from a period of stagnation. In effect, some capital was invested in agrarian activities, such as, for instance, the creation of new and profitable paddy fields, as well as in urban activities, like the starting up of new businesses and shops. All in all, the notaries, widely spread in the city and the countryside, helped the Veronese credit market function efficiently because of their role as depositories of publica fides and of financial intermediaries, paving the way to a future economic modernization.