Capitoli da' Osservarsi dalli Hebrei Banchieri [regulations to be observed by Jewish bankers]

The earliest legal Jewish residents in Modena were bankers who established themselves with the approval of the Dukes of Ferrara. Since Christians were forbidden by the Church from charging interest and Jews were barred from entering most professions (medicine being the rare exception), banking became an attractive profession to Jews. Unfortunately, such "moneylending" became the object of much anti-Semitic scorn. See JE, Vol. VIII, p. 638.