Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena: il fine di campanilismo? - Part II

In April 2009 I wrote about the economic problems of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the oldest bank in the world. Little did I know how relevant the title of this blog actually was. Campanilismo is the Italian word for “local patriotism” and as any Italy-cognoscenti knows very well this is a classic Italian trait! In 1995 I attended Il Palio, the classic Siena horse race, for the first time. To me, this race is the epitome of campanilismo (and the opposite to a F1 race in, let's say, Bahrain....). The different wards of the city compete against each other in the central square of Siena and it is serious business. It is no game! Even for us who just like horses, however, it is a wonderful show of colors, celebrations and, above all, European civilian tradition (Il Palio is at least 500 years old). I really like it!

OK, the new, somewhat sad, thing I have just learnt is that the Palio in fact is financed (partially at least) by Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, or Babbo Monte as it is sometimes allegedly called by locals! Add this to the fact that Babbo Monte is in serious financial trouble, the bank’s share has fallen by two thirds since the financial crisis started, and you have another irritating piece of evidence of Europe´s current agonies. Even more troubling is the fact that the entire society of Siena relies on dividends paid by Babbo Monte for financing! Schools, communal services, healthcare etc. all is allegedly partly financed by the old local bank's dividends. And now the dividends have been slashed! So, when I wrote about the end of local patriotism I might have been more correct than I thought. If Babbo falls, I guess, so does "patriotisme Sienese"....

The moral of this tale is simply that, sometimes, modernization is actually not only good but essential. In Italy, this is probably truer than in any other place I know!