Within the Venetian economy, one of the traditional functions of the Jewish community was to provide cut-rate pawnbroking services – theoretically to the poor, although the well-to-do frequently made use of the service. Of the three, original 'banks' in the Ghetto, the Red Bench is the only one to survive. Inside a fascinating documentary describes how Jewish moneylenders laid the foundations for the modern banking system and gave us expressions such as bankruptcy and 'in the red'.
