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5 Lire
| Issuer | Governo Provvisorio di Venezia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1848 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Lira (1848-1849) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed on plain pale bluish-grey paper with a light decorative underprint of scrollwork visible in the field. At centre, a prominent circular red ink stamp of the Controleria bears the winged Lion of St. Mark holding an open book, surrounded by the legend CONTROLERIA 1848 repeated around the circumference. A handwritten manuscript signature appears vertically along the right margin. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Red circular controleria stamp applied to the reverse, bearing the winged Lion of St. Mark and the inscription CONTROLERIA 1848; manuscript signature applied by hand on the reverse. |
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| Comments |
The Governo Provvisorio di Venezia — the short-lived republic proclaimed by Daniele Manin in March 1848 — issued these notes under acute financial pressure. Venice had expelled the Austrian garrison and needed immediate liquidity to fund its defense; the municipal monte di pietà and local institutions were pressed into service as the financial backbone of a revolution that most of Europe assumed would collapse within weeks.
The official stamp served as the primary authentication device, a minimal but practical measure for a government printing money in the middle of an uprising. Venice held out against the Austrian siege until August 1849 — longer than almost anyone expected — before surrendering following famine and cholera.