The failure of Venice's private banks had led to the creation of the public
Banco della Piazza di Rialto in 1587. In 1619 Giovanni Vendramin, a merchant from the
Vendramin family, suggested that his claims on the city government be made transferable to third parties through accounts managed by the Republican government, echoing longstanding Venetian practices since the 13th century. The Republic accepted and established the Banco del Giro as a temporary clearing mechanism, expected to be phased out after three years. The success of the scheme, however, led to the deadline being extended from year to year, and the amounts in the accounts increased during the
war of the Mantuan Succession and the
plague of 1629–1631, so that the Banco del Giro became a permanent monetary institution. By 1630, its issuance was already double that of the Banco della Piazza del Rialto. The bank's administration was entrusted to the Senate, which appointed the
Depositario, the magistrate who actually ran it, from among its members. Initially, the Banco del Giro's money, namely government debt used as a means of payment, was fully inconvertible, in contrast with that of the Banco della Piazza di Rialto. Its value in
specie depreciated during times of warfare in the 1620s and 1640s, but re-appreciated in the 1630s and 1650s as Venetian government debt was gradually resorbed. In 1666, however, the government yielded to lobbying from merchants and made the bank's money convertible, which it remained throughout the late 17th and 18th centuries except for a suspension during the
Ottoman–Venetian war of 1714–1718, which was only lifted in 1739. Until around 1650, the Banco del Giro was of similar size as the
Bank of Amsterdam. In line with its purpose at creation, its assets were overwhelmingly Venetian government debt. From 1651 on, its deposits were made sole
legal tender for all commercial payments above 50
ducats. The bank suspended its activity from 1797 to 1800 following the
fall of the Republic, and in 1805 the Napoleonic
Kingdom of Italy assumed its debt and repaid its depositors with its own bonds. It was formally liquidated in 1807. ==Legacy==