Monte di Pietà
Malta · Europe
About
The Monte di Pietà, formerly known as the Monte di Sant'Anna, is a charitable institution in Valletta, Malta which lends money to those in need at modest interest rates, on the security of gold, silver or other precious articles given in pawn. It is a mount of piety, a type of Catholic institution for lending money exempt from the historic Catholic ban on usury. The institution was set up in 1598, was known in the British period as the Public Pawn-Brokery, and is still in operation today as part of the Inland Revenue Department. Since 1773, the Monte di Pietà has been housed in a 16th-century building in Valletta.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.