Jacopo Sartori*

University of Cambridge

The diffusion of public banking initiatives in Europe in the long 16th century

I am very grateful to the Society for this grant which has supported me through the writing-up of my dissertation. My thesis examines the resilience of the taula public bank model in the Iberian Peninsula under the early Habsburgs and its direct and indirect connections to the diffusion of a “culture of projects” which brought about several attempts by a diverse range of entrepreneurs to spread the concept of public bank beyond the most economically vibrant cities in Europe. Before the lockdown went into effect the grant also allowed me to visit the major archives of Barcelona and Turin to review further material for an article.