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Abstract: THE GENESIS AND CONSOLIDATION OF AN EXAMPLE OF STATE INTERVENTION IN ECONOMY: THE SACRO MONTE DI PIETÀ OF ROME The creation of the Sacro Monte di Pietà of Rome (1539) represented the official achievement of the pawnshop model that had arisen during the latter half of the 15th century. In fact, due to its central location, the Sacro Monte di Pietà of Rome was to have a prominent role over many other similar institutions. An analysis of the business conducted by the Monte during its first decades of existence raises a question regarding the real nature of this institution, especially from an economic point of view. The shift from the original confraternity of benefactors, inspired by Franciscan ideals, to a “public corporation” with a prominent role in the credit system was slow and gradual, but by the end of the century, when the Monte had been attracted into the orbit of the papal administration, the true situation had been radically altered. The Roman Monte, which had been instituted relatively late, was among the first to act as a banking institution, even prior to the creation of the Deposits Bank for judicial trials (1584). Over the course of time, the Monte increasingly acquired the characteristics of a national bank. This became official in 1743, when it was made the Deposit of the Apostolic Chamber and then began to function as the state mint. During the course of the 16th century, it was a privileged meeting point between the interests of magnates who could invest in productive activities (land owners and high clergy) and the needs of the poorer classes (individuals who were underprivileged, unemployed, but also apprentices and wage workers as well as small shopkeepers and artisans, especially during crisis periods). On the basis of the available data, it is hard to establish to what extent credit was granted and whether for welfare or consumption financing (which often was a primary need) and when, instead, it was used to back up small productive activities, thereby becoming invested capital. However, from the end of the 16th century, the Monte played an important public role in the Roman economy.