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  • NAPLES, ITALY - 19 JUNE 2020: Customers of  the pawn branch of the Bank of Naples, which is owned by the financial giant Intesa Sanpaolo, wait and call names off a list organized by the customers themselves to enter the Bank and either pawn their valuables or pay interest on their paws, in Naples, Italy, on June 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200619_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30051...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Customers of  the pawn branch of the Bank of Naples, which is owned by the financial giant Intesa Sanpaolo, wait for their names to be called off a list organized by the customers themselves to enter the Bank and pay interest on their paws, in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30902...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: A customers of  the pawn branch of the Bank of Naples, which is owned by the financial giant Intesa Sanpaolo, waits for her name to be called off a list organized by the customers themselves and enter the Bank to pay interest on her pawn, in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30894...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Customers of  the pawn branch of the Bank of Naples, which is owned by the financial giant Intesa Sanpaolo, wait for their names to be called off a list organized by the customers themselves to enter the Bank and pay interest on their paws, in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200619_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30053...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Customers of  the pawn branch of the Bank of Naples, which is owned by the financial giant Intesa Sanpaolo, wait and call names off a list organized by the customers themselves to enter the Bank and either pawn their valuables or pay interest on their paws, in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30892...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 19 JUNE 2020: Customers of  the pawn branch of the Bank of Naples, which is owned by the financial giant Intesa Sanpaolo,  call names off a list organized by the customers themselves to enter the Bank and either pawn their valuables or pay interest on their paws, in Naples, Italy, on June 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200619_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30058...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: A family walks by a fish seller in the Spanish Quarters in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30909...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 19 JUNE 2020: Luigi Milano (69), owner of a pawnshop, poses for a portrait at his counter in Naples, Italy, on June 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200619_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30039...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Passerby are seen here in the historical center of Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30968...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Claire Tranchesi (40), founder and owner of the vintage shop Oblomova, poses for a portrait in front of her shop in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30945...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Valentina Filardi (45), unemployed, poses for a portrait in the Spanish Quarters in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30924...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 19 JUNE 2020: The entrance of the pawn shop owned by Luigi Milano (69) is seen here in Naples, Italy, on June 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30906...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Customers of  the pawn branch of the Bank of Naples, which is owned by the financial giant Intesa Sanpaolo, wait for their names to be called off a list organized by the customers themselves to enter the Bank and pay interest on their paws, in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30898...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Customers of  the pawn branch of the Bank of Naples, which is owned by the financial giant Intesa Sanpaolo, wait for their names to be called off a list organized by the customers themselves and enter the Bank to pay interest on their  pawn, in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30895...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: A man is seen here by the seafront overlooking Mount Vesuvius in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30017...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Claire Tranchesi (40), founder and owner of the vintage shop Oblomova, poses for a portrait in front of her shop in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30948...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Young men play ball by the Basilica of San Francesco da Paola, in Piazza Plebiscito in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30016...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 19 JUNE 2020: An elderly woman is seen here walking in the Spanish Quarters in Naples, Italy, on June 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200619_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30064...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 19 JUNE 2020: Luigi Milano (69), owner of a pawnshop, weighs  a gold watch and a gold brooch recently pawned by a customer in Naples, Italy, on June 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200619_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30043...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 19 JUNE 2020: Luigi Milano (69), owner of a pawnshop, poses for a portrait at his counter in Naples, Italy, on June 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
The gold and jewelry-backed loans business of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo, which operated the Naples pawnshop, is in the process of being acquired by Banca Sistema. A company spokeswoman said its new pawnbroker policies went up 20 percent in March and April and that it looked forward to standing at the side of Italians, protecting them from loan sharks, and getting them much needed cash.
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200619_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30039...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Passerby are seen here in Piazza Plebiscito in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30994...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: A waiter is seen here at work in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30985...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Passerby are seen here in the historical center of Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30957...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Valentina Filardi (45), unemployed, poses for a portrait in the Spanish Quarters in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30924...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Rossana Nappo (52), a tobacconist, poses for a portrait in her tobacco shop in the Spanish Quarters in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30920...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: A girl looks at her smartphone by the Basilica of San Francesco da Paola, in Piazza Plebiscito in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30012...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 19 JUNE 2020: A waiter is seen here after a delivery in the Spanish Quarters in Naples, Italy, on June 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200619_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30067...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 19 JUNE 2020: People shop in the Pignasecca, a popular outdoor market in the center of Naples, Italy, on June 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200619_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30035...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 19 JUNE 2020: People shop in the Pignasecca, a popular outdoor market in the center of Naples, Italy, on June 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200619_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30029...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: Passerby are seen here in the historical center of Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30962...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: (L-R) Gennaro Sifo (58), Salvatore Sifo (55), Giuseppina Liberti (63) and Elena Carlevalis (49), all without a stable income, have a chat here in the Spanish Quarters in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30936...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: An elderly man rings a doowbell in the Spanish Quarters in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30913...jpg
  • NAPLES, ITALY - 18 JUNE 2020: A family fishes by the seafron overlooking Mount Vesuvius in Naples, Italy, on June 18th 2020.<br />
<br />
Pawn shops have been part of the Italian banking system for centuries. Lombard money changers worked with collateral in the Middle Ages and Catholic church in the 15th century sought to combat usury, and undercut Jewish money lenders, by pooling the resources of wealthy locals into a Mount of Piety, basically a pile of cash, to make no interest (and thus no-sin) loans to the poor. Papal intervention eventually allowed added payments, and pawn departments became central to the evolution of Italian banking, extending ready cash through plagues, sieges and other assorted catastrophes. Now, with Italy facing economic devastation from the coronavirus pawnshop industry leaders are confident there will be a surge in business.<br />
<br />
In the days after the lifting of Italy’s lockdown in May, the collateral loan sector – the institutional name for Italy’s pawn brokers — saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in activity. And on lines outside the pawn units of banks in Rome, Milan and Naples, anxiety remained palpable.
    CIPG_20200618_NYT-Italy-Pawn_7M30024...jpg
  • 4 May, 2012. Palermo, Italy The pawn room of the ex Savings Bank located in Palazzo Branciforte was kept in its original configuration after the restauration by architect Gae Aulenti. # 4 maggio 2012. Palermo, Italia. Il Monte dei Pegni, con sede in passato nel Palazzo Branciforte, è stato restaurato mantenendo la sua configurazione originale dopo  il restauro dell'architetto Gae Aulenti.
    CIPG_20120504_ESPRESSO_Branciforte__...jpg
  • 4 May, 2012. Palermo, Italy The pawn room of the ex Savings Bank located in Palazzo Branciforte was kept in its original configuration after the restauration by architect Gae Aulenti. # 4 maggio 2012. Palermo, Italia. Il Monte dei Pegni, con sede in passato nel Palazzo Branciforte, è stato restaurato mantenendo la sua configurazione originale dopo  il restauro dell'architetto Gae Aulenti.
    CIPG_20120504_ESPRESSO_Branciforte__...jpg
  • 4 May, 2012. Palermo, Italy Shelves in the pawn room of the ex Savings Bank, located in Palazzo Branciforte, which was kept in its original configuration after the restauration by architect Gae Aulenti. # 4 maggio 2012. Palermo, Italia. Scaffali nell'ex Monte dei Pegni, con sede in passato nel Palazzo Branciforte, il quale è stato restaurato mantenendo la sua configurazione originale dopo  il restauro dell'architetto Gae Aulenti.
    CIPG_20120504_ESPRESSO_Branciforte__...jpg
  • ROCCA DI PAPA, ITALY - 18 OCTOBER 2022: A man walks by a closed gold pawn shop in the hilltop village of Rocca di Papa, where Brothers of Italy won 38% of votes in the last general elections, here in Rocca del Papa, Italy, on October 18th 2022.<br />
<br />
Giorgia Meloni said her victory would be a “payback for so many people who in this nation had to lower her head for decades,” but also “for all the people who saw it differently from the mainstream and the dominant power system.” They were, she said, “treated as the children of a lesser God.” As Italy debates why Ms. Meloni did so well in the elections — if it had to do more with Italy’s voracious appetite for something new or a shift to the right — her victory clearly provided a vindication to right wing loyalists who for years endured marginalization.
    CIPG_20221018_NYT-MSI-Meloni-Payback...jpg
  • 4 May, 2012. Palermo, Italy The pawn room of the ex Savings Bank located in Palazzo Branciforte was kept in its original configuration after the restauration by architect Gae Aulenti. # 4 maggio 2012. Palermo, Italia. Il Monte dei Pegni, con sede in passato nel Palazzo Branciforte, Ë stato restaurato mantenendo la sua configurazione originale dopo  il restauro dell'architetto Gae Aulenti.
    CIPG_20120504_ESPRESSO_Branciforte__...jpg