Location: Via dell’Annunziata

In the 14th century, the Casa dell’Annunziata was founded to help the poor and infirm; the institution managed a church and a hospital, as well as an Institute which took in abandoned children (known as esposti, or foundlings). The Banco Ave Gratia Plena was established in 1587 by the Governors of the Casa dell’Annunziata, who hoped to find the means to sustain their work.

The beginning looked promising, but later political, economic and monetary events of the Kingdom were soon felt. The bad faith of the administrators and some employees caused considerable damage to the Institute: in 1652 the cashier Fulvio De Falco was found guilty of subtracting 83,000 ducats from the cash reserves by issuing false credit certificates. In 1702, the bank failed. In the years it was in operation, it remained in the same location: in the courtyard of the Casa dell’Annunziata. Today, the building is managed by the City of Naples.