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The Governo Provvisorio di Venezia — the provisional government established after Daniele Manin led the expulsion of Austrian forces in March 1848 — issued these notes to fund an insurgency with almost no financial infrastructure behind it. Venice had no central bank, no established note-printing apparatus, and was operating under a revolutionary administration that few powers were willing to recognize or bankroll. These paper obligations were a fiscal improvisation under siege conditions.

Austrian forces blockaded and eventually retook the city in August 1849 after a prolonged bombardment. Notes issued by the provisional government became worthless overnight, which is precisely why survivors exist at all — they were pocketed as souvenirs rather than presented for redemption.