Italy, like several other European countries, has been in the press for its big public debt and banking woes. If you open any of today’s newspapers, there is talk about bankruptcies, debt, balance sheets, and the like.
What does this have to do with your Italian learning? Quite a lot, actually. We can find a strong Italian language connection in this week’s news. Modern banking, like modern accounting, was invented in Italy. So it should not come as a surprise that we find so many cognates with the English language — and other languages too.
Banca Bank
Debito Debit
Credito Credit
Conto Account
Bilancio Balance sheet
Deposito Deposit
Frode Fraud
The most intriguing term is bancarotta (bankruptcy). The first banks were just a banco (desk; counter) in Tuscany and Lombardy’s squares in the middle age, and before that in the Roman Empire. Bankers were the actual people behind the desk, usually giving credit or changing currencies.
If they became insolvent, the authority would break the desk (“broken desk” is literally banco rotto) so that the bankers would not do business anymore. That would also signal, publicly, that that banco was bankrupt. Banco was then corrupted into “banca.” However, many Italian (and Spanish) banks still carry the “old name” banco.
In the “Bancarotta” painting by Matania in 1871 you can see the little sign on the door, just behind the police, that says “La banca e’ chiusa” (the bank is closed).
In addition, ever wonder why there is a Lombard Street in most Anglo-Saxon cities like London, Sidney, Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, and several others? Most Italian bankers and traders were from Lombardy (“Lombardo” means a person from Lombardy) therefore, while expanding abroad, they would usually settle in the same block — hence the name.
P.S.: By using Living Language you may have made one of your best investments (investimenti) of your life!
"Piazza Aldo Moro" square in Verbania-Intra (Italy). At the left side, the monument to Lorenzo Restellini; at the right side, the headquarter of "Banca Popolare di Intra" bank. Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, April 7 2007.