Praça Dr. Bartholomeu Tacchini was already part of the city's landscape in the 1920s, when it was called Praça Padova. During João Baptista Pianca's Intendance (1924-1928), the square was landscaped with plane trees, resembling Italian scenery. At the back of the space are two important buildings for community development. One of them is the building where the branch of the Bank of the Province of Rio Grande do Sul operated.

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The Bank of the Province of Rio Grande do Sul was founded in Porto Alegre, in 1858, an initiative of a group of merchants, with the purpose of facilitating their transactions. It expanded throughout the state, opening branches in several cities.

The Bento Gonçalves branch was established in 1917, motivated by the economic scenario of the city, which had been consolidating through agricultural activities and in the commercial sector. The space was promoted to the category of “agency” three years later and in 1973 it merged with other banking institutions, forming Banco Sul Brasileiro (later Banco Meridional, closed in 2000).

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The other building is the Casa Bertani, built in 1927. It has three floors, the upper one serving as a residence for the Bertani family and the ground floor housed important commercial points for the development of the community. It was built by Marcelo Bertani, so his initials are on the front of the building. These two buildings, together with the City Hall and the Santo Antônio Church, are among the oldest in the central area of ​​Bento Gonçalves.

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Sources:

CINI, Aldo; ROCHA, Ana Augusta; FROM PARIS, Assunta. 20TH CENTURY MEMORIES OF BENTO GONÇALVES. São Paulo: Auana Editora, 2013. 146 p. Available at: http://www.memoriasdebento.com.br/.

CORAZZA, Gentle. Financial System (and development) of Rio Grande do Sul. Essays FEE, Porto Alegre, v.23, Special Issue, p.491-516, 2002. Available at: http://cdn.fee.tche.br/eeg/ 1/table_1_corazza.pdf.

SCALZER, Simone Zamprogno; Scalzer; GENOVEZ, Patricia Falco. The urban configuration and Italian identity in Santa Teresa/ES. XVIII Regional Meeting (Anpuh MG), Mariana, Jul. 2012. Available at: http://www.encontro2012.mg.anpuh.org/resources/anais/24/1340386975_ARQUIVO_SCALZER_A_configuracao_urbana.pdf.