Richiamati. Bancari al fronte della Grande Guerra

The Bank during the First World War

The Gallerie d’Italia presents documents from the Historical Archives of Intesa Sanpaolo , most of them unpublished and on display for the first time, helping reconstruct the stories of banking staff as well as revealing the link between the Bank’s history and the history of Italy.

Many of them are in fact sourced from employees’ personal files, in the form of certificates, letters, memos and photographs.
Particular attention is paid to Giulio Bazzi, chief of personnel at Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde between 1925 and 1934, and one of the founders of the National Alpini Association in 1919. The documents on display include diaries, registers and notebooks, giving an insight into the organisation and hierarchy of an Alpine platoon, with all the details of its management and administration.

Exhibition visitors can also consult a roll of honour of employees recalled to duty during the Great War, standing on a lectern. The Historical Archives of Intesa Sanpaolo have reconstructed an initial list of 750 staff members who figure in the documentary heritage. To compile the list, use was made of Board meeting minutes, personal files and articles published by the Bank at the end of the War in memory of those who died or were called up. Next to each name, visitors can read a short description of the person’s military career and position within the bank. This is a work in progress, which is intended not only to preserve the memory of the soldiers but also to show the relationship that links them to all of us today, via the archives.