Zecca
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zecca means mint in Italian, and derives from the Arabic for "die".
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[edit] Overview
Zecca may refer to:
- The historical mint of the Republic of Venice.
The sixteenth-century mint building, designed by Jacopo Sansovino, has since the beginning of the twentieth century housed Venice's reference library, the Biblioteca Marciana.
- The historical Papal mint located in Vatican City.
- The mint of the Italian Republic, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, which is still active.
The histories of the latter two mints are interrelated. With the unification of Italy and the altered status of Rome, the Italian government took over the operation of the Papal mint in September 1870. The mint was used to make Italian coins, and due to the presence of Italian soldiers guarding the mint, a tunnel was constructed beneath the Apostolic Palace to ensure private access to the Vatican gardens.[1]
When the Italian government announced that it would move its minting operations to a larger facility in 1901, Pope Leo XIII, concerned that an anti-papal organization would take up residence in the building, privately arranged to purchase to the building from the Giolitti government via Ernesto Pacelli in 1904.[1]
The Italian mint makes coins for the micro-state of Vatican City, which issues its own euros.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Pollard, John F. (2005). Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy: Financing the Vatican, 1850–1950. Cambridge University Press.
