Assicurazioni Generali: a Journey that started in 1831 (1800 - 1830)

1. 1800-1830
Trieste: a fertile ground
T lishment of an insurance company: Compagnia
he beginning of the century brought great pros-
d’Assicurazione. Other companies were founded
perity to Trieste: these were years of bustling ac-
between the end of the 18th and the beginning
tivity during which trade expanded, the popula-
of the 19th century. In 1804, faced with the dam-
tion grew and the many neo-classical buildings
age caused by the violence of the Bora wind, 15
that can still be admired today were built. The
insurance companies formed a syndicate, the
insurance business developed, too. It had taken
first in the history of marine insurance, entrusted
root in Trieste in 1766 when Maria Theresa of
with the task of fixing common conditions and
Austria – who had given impulse to the develop-
premium rates.
ment of the free port – encouraged the estab-
Napoleon in Trieste. French troops enter
the city in 1797 in a painting by Alfredo
Tominz.
A flourishing port. Trieste in an early 19th
century print.
Trieste: a fertile ground
4

2. Looking out
1800 - Alessandro Volta announces the
invention of the pile.
1804 - Napoleon declares himself Emper-
The situation, howev- or of the French.
1806 - After a thousand years, the Holy
er, soon changed. Dur-
Roman Empire officially ceases to exist.
ing the second and, par-
1807 - Idealist philosopher Friedrich He-
ticularly, third occupa- gel publishes Phenomenology of Spirit.
1815 - Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo. Af-
tion by the Napoleonic
Giuseppe Lazzaro Morpurgo ter the Congress of Vienna, the Lombardo Vene-
free port” that the right
troops, Trieste – which to Kingdom is assigned to Austria and the Papal
States are restored. Russia, Austria and Prussia
conditions were creat-
had been cut off from its hinterland and stran-
forge the Holy Alliance.
ed for an economic re-
gled by the British naval blockade – underwent
1819 - Sir Walter Scott publishes Ivanhoe.
birth. The change was
a major economic disaster. It was only with the 1821 - Simón Bolívar defeats the Spanish in the
Venezuelan battle of Carabobo.
also reflected in the
restoration of Austrian sovereignty and the re-
1825 - The first passenger railway is inaugurated
rapid growth of the in-
introduction of the “former privileges of the
in England, eleven years after George Stephen-
surance industry, with son had invented the steam locomotive.
1829 - Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Sympho-
a flurry of new initia-
ny is performed for the first time.
tives.
1830 - In France, the “July revolution” overthrows
One of the personalities King Charles X; Louis-Philippe of Orléans, is
crowned King.
who stood out in this
Hokusai paints The
period was Giuseppe Breaking Wave Off
Kanagawa, a master-
Lazzaro Morpurgo, a
piece of Japanese Art.
businessman who was
fascinated by insurance theory and practice. He
was the first, in 1814, to give renewed impetus
to the insurance business by establishing Ac-
comandita di Assicurazioni. This was followed
by the foundation of Azienda Assicuratrice in
1822, for which he succeeded in gathering sig-
nificant venture capital. However, his dream
of creating an all-round insurance company
based on extensive capital, multi-branch oper-
ations and widespread territorial range had to
wait for another ten years before it eventually
became a reality.
An ambitious initiative. Thanks to his experience matured
in the insurance sector, in 1822 Giuseppe Lazzaro Morpurgo
established Azienda Assicuratrice, the first ever Trieste com-
pany to have significant capital at its disposal.
The early companies. A stock ownership certificate issued
by Unione di Assicuratori, established in Trieste in 1794.
1800-1830 5

3. A tormented city
5th century BC 1150
In his Histories, Herodotus writes that the ancient The Arab traveller Idris
road on which Mediterranean-bound goods are recalls Trieste as “a flour-
conveyed from the Danubian hinterland ends at ishing city, full of en-
the “sinus tergestinus”. trepreneurs, indus-
tries and traders”.
1st century BC
1202
Trieste becomes a Roman colony. The theatre
and the forum on the Capitoline hill are built be- Trieste is forced to
tween the 1st and the 2nd century AD. swear allegiance to the
Republic of Venice.
Trieste in the Middle
Ages, around 1370.
1382
Venice renounces all claims on Trieste, which
readily submits to Austria.
1719
Charles VI of Hapsburg grants Trieste free port
status. The benefits arising from imperial privi-
leges and exemptions attract traders and entre-
preneurs from all over Europe. The new status
proves to be a decisive factor in bringing about
that blend of cultures and experiences that ulti-
948
mately forge Trieste’s cosmopolitan character.
King Lothar II grants the Church of Trieste, which
1740
is contended by Aquileia and Grado, juridical
Maria Theresa of Hapsburg launches a major de-
and fiscal immunity.
velopment drive by introducing the urban regis-
try, extending education to all social classes and,
with the removal of the city walls, accelerating
the integration between the old aristocratic nu-
cleus and the new mercantile class-
es already settled in the new part of
town, the Borgo Teresiano.
Trieste is solemnly declared a free
port by Charles VI in 1719, in a
painting by Cesare dell’Acqua.
Maria Theresa of Hapsburg, Sover-
eign of Austria from 1740 to 1780.
A tormented city
6

4. Plan of the city and free
port around 1800.
1918
At the end of the
First World War,
Trieste becomes
part of Italy.
1849
1943
Francis Joseph elevates Trieste to the status of
“immediate town of the Empire”, granting the After the armistice of September 8, the Germans
local Diet greater autonomy. establish the OZAK (Operationszone Adriatisches
Küstenland), which comprises the north-eastern
1864
border region of Italy with Trieste, Gorizia and
From Miramare Castle, the residence he has built
Udine, as well as parts of present Slovenia and
not far from Trieste, Maximilian, brother of Emper-
Croatia (Ljubljana, Istria and the Kvarner Gulf ).
or Francis Joseph, embarks on his ill-fated journey
1945
to assume the imperial crown of Mexico.
After forty days under Yugoslav occupation, Tri-
este is placed under Anglo-American adminis-
tration.
1954
With the Memorandum of Understanding
(signed in London on October 26), Trieste reverts
to Italian rule.
1975
The treaty of Osimo definitively endorses the
agreement of 1954: Trieste and Zone A are as-
signed to Italy, whereas Zone B is handed over
to Yugoslavia.
Maximilian of Hapsburg departs for Mexico.
In 2004, Trieste celebrates the 50 th anniversary of its reversion to
Italy with the national Alpini reunion and other events.

5. 1831-1840
The foundation of Assicurazioni
Generali Austro-Italiche
T
Looking out here were in Trieste in 1831 some twenty in-
1831 - Vincenzo Bellini composes Norma and surance companies. With the sole exception of
The Sleepwalker.
Azienda Assicuratrice, all were small entities with
1834 - A number of German states form the
modest financial means, operating mainly in ma-
Zollverein or customs union.
Louis Braille develops the systems of rine insurance. At that time, the conditions in the
printing allowing the blind to read.
city were suitable for the creation of a large in-
1836 - Davy Crockett dies in the bat-
tle of Alamo during the war between surance company that could compete with the
Mexico and Texas.
big players emerging in nearby Lombardo Vene-
1837 - Queen Victoria ascends the
to Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe.
throne: she will reign over the British
Empire until 1901. The man behind this initiative was once again
Louis Daguerre develops the first pho-
Giuseppe Lazzaro Morpurgo. Drawing on the ex-
tographic technique.
perience gained with Azienda Assicuratrice (and
1839 - The Opium war begins; China will ulti-
mately cede Hong Kong to Great in full awareness of the limits of that type of in-
Britain in 1842.
surance company), Morpurgo gathered around
1840 - The first stamp, known as
the penny black, is issued in Great him a group of entrepreneurs who shared his
Britain.
drive and enthusiasm to launch the ambitious
project he had been nurturing for many years.
On December 26, 1831, the memorandum of
association of Assicurazioni Generali Austro-
Italiche was signed.
The first headquarters. The neo-classical Palazzo
Carciotti, built in the early 19th century by a wealthy
Greek merchant, housed Generali’s headquarters
from its foundation to 1866.
The foundation of Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche
8

6. Looking in
1831 - On December 26, the memorandum of
association of Assicurazioni Generali Austro-
Italiche is signed.
1832 - On February 16, the shareholders’ meet-
ing approves the articles of association and ap-
points Giovanni Cristoforo Ritter de Zahony as
chairman of the Company.
In July, the Company rents a number of rooms
in the Procuratie Vecchie building in Venice’s
Piazza San Marco where it establishes the Veneto
Head Office, in charge of operations in the Italian
peninsula.
1835 - Ritter de Zahony resigns. The Board of Di-
rectors decides that a new chairman will not be ap-
pointed. The post will remain vacant until 1909.
1836 - Masino Levi, Generali’s agent in Padua,
is called to Trieste and is ap-
pointed secretary general – a
post he will maintain for for-
ty years. Leone Pincherle is
appointed secretary general
at the Veneto Head Office.
December 26, 1831. The foundation date of Assicurazioni Generali is
remembered for a tremendous storm that struck the city of Trieste, as
depicted in a painting of the time.
Initial capital. Assicurazioni Generali’s initial capital was 2 million
Florins, divided into 2,000 shares of 1,000 Florins each: a truly remark-
able sum, enough to sustain four or five families for an entire year.
The memorandum. Assicurazioni Generali’s memo-
randum of association, made up of 47 articles, was
approved by the shareholders’ meeting held on Feb-
ruary 16, 1832.
1831-1840 9

7. 1831-1840
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
1833 - Generali opens its first agency in Naples.
1846 - Restrictive laws are enforced against foreign
insurers.
1855 - Generali is once again authorised to operate
in the Kingdom.
1863 - Following the annexation of southern Italy to
the Kingdom of Italy, Generali opens agencies in Sicily.
Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla
1837 - Generali is authorised to operate and opens an
The Italian territories in 1840
agency in Parma.
Kingdom of Sardinia
1849 - The license is withdrawn following the intro-
Lombardo Veneto Kingdom duction of the insurance monopoly in the Duchy.
1860 - Generali resumes operations following the an-
Duchy of Parma
nexation of the Duchy to Italy.
Duchy of Modena
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The difficult expansion Duchy of Modena
Papal States
in the Italian territories 1839 - Generali is granted formal authorisation to op-
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
erate and opens two agencies, in Modena and in Reg-
gio Emilia.
Kingdom of Sardinia
1841 - Insurance monopoly is intoduced and all for-
1832 - Generali opens an agency in Genoa, which is
eign companies are expelled.
soon closed as a consequence of disappointing re-
1860 - Generali resumes operations following the an-
sults.
nexation of the Duchy to Italy.
1840 - Generali obtains a new licence from King Charles
Albert authorising it to operate in all lines of business ex-
cept fire, which is reserved to Società Reale Mutua.
1855 - Generali is authorised to underwrite fire insur-
ance in Piedmont.
Papal States
1832 - Generali opens two agencies, one in Ferrara
and the other in Ancona.
1836 - Generali opens an agency in Rome.
1837 - Local authorities establish Società Pontificia
di Assicurazioni, which enjoys a monopoly of insur-
ance business (granted by the State). All foreign com-
panies are expelled.
1860 - Società Pontificia di Assicurazioni cedes the
portfolio of its agencies in the regions of Emilia and
Romagna – now annexed to the Kingdom of Italy –
to Generali.
1862 - Generali takes over the entire insurance busi-
ness of Società Pontificia di Assicurazioni.
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
1832 - Generali opens an agency in Florence. Its ac-
tivity in the Grand Duchy proceeds smoothly.
The foundation of Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche
10

8. The new Company could rely on a capital of two were opened in all Italian states, in the most
million Austrian Florins, ten times as much as the important cities of the Empire – from Vienna to
average capital paid up by other Trieste-based Prague and Pest – and in Europe’s major ports,
insurance companies. starting with Bordeaux and Marseille.
The appellation “Generali” un-
derlined the will on the part of
the Company to operate in all
lines of business – as explicitly
stated and explained in a no-
tice published with great em-
phasis on the announcements
page of the Osservatorio Tri-
estino, shortly after Generali’s
foundation.
From the outset, the Compa-
ny adopted a dual managerial
structure: the Central Head Of-
fice in Trieste and the Veneto
Head Office in Venice.
The task of the Central Head
Office – with premises in the
prestigious Palazzo Carciotti on
Trieste’s seafront – was to su-
The expansion in Europe. After barely a few years,
pervise overall operations and to develop busi- Generali established offices in the main cities of the Aus-
trian Empire as well as in Europe’s major ports.
ness in the Austrian Empire, whereas the Veneto
Head Office – occupying part of the Procuratie The Veneto Head Office. In July 1832, Generali rented
a portion of the Procuratie Vecchie building in Venice’s
Vecchie building in Venice’s Piazza San Marco –
Piazza San Marco.
was to handle operations in the Lombardo Vene-
to Kingdom and in the rest of the peninsula.
Growth in the first decade was rapid: agencies
1831-1840 11

9. The Group’s homes
Generali Immobiliare
The Generali Group has worldwide
real estate assets worth approxi-
mately 23 billion Euros. Established
in 2008, Generali Immobiliare, based
in Paris, is responsible for developing
and co-ordinating real estate activi-
ties for the entire Group. All Generali
real estate divisions located in the
countries where the Group operates
will report to the new entity.
New horizons
Between the end of the second
and the beginning of the
third millennium, the Group
decided to seize the significant
growth opportunities offered
by the emerging markets
of Asia and eastern Europe,
where a number of new com-
panies have been established,
also through local partners. In
the pictures: the Beijing head-
quarters of Generali China and
the Warsaw offices of Generali
Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń.
CityLife, a winning project
Through the establishment of Generali
Properties (since 2008 Generali Gestione
Immobiliare) – the company that manages
a big portion of the property portfolio of
Assicurazioni Generali and Alleanza – in
2002, the Group gave autonomy to the new
real estate core business. Generali Proper-
ties’ CityLife project won the international
tender in 2004 for the urban redevelopment
of the Milan fair district.
New head offices
New modern head offices have been built to enhance integration among
different Group features, with a view to rationalising and streamlining
company structures. An example is given by the Saint-Denis complex,
just outside the centre of Paris, where around 3,000 employees have been
working since 2003, who were formerly assigned to 26 separate units in
the French capital city.
The Group’s homes
12

10. Implementing sustainable development
Generali Switzerland’s new headquarters in Nyon incorporate sustainability
principles aimed at minimising environmental impact by employing energy
saving technologies. This new dynamic and interactive environment also
includes a restaurant, a crèche and a gym.
A consolidated presence in Europe
A number of important subsidiaries are located in
west-European countries, where the Group is among
leading companies on the market. This role is reflected
by the prestigious buildings that house the local head
offices such as the headquarters of Vitalicio and of the
Austrian holding company, in Paseo de Gracia, Barce-
lona, and in Landskrongasse, Vienna, respectively.
An “embassy” in Rome
Between the end of the 19 th and the beginning of the 20 th cen-
tury, chairman Marco Besso commissioned the building of Gene-
rali head offices – decorated with the winged lion of St Mark –
in the historic squares of major Italian and European cities. In
particular, the Piazza Venezia building in Rome, inaugurated in
1906, houses the Representative Office, a sort of “embassy” for
Generali colleagues and guests from abroad.
A tower in Latin America
The Generali Tower was built in 2002 in Avenida
Samuel Lewis – one of the main streets in Panama
City – in a residential area with a number of impor-
tant embassies. The tower houses the Generali
Branch in Panama and was awarded the Magno
prize in the commercial facilities category by the
Sociedad Panameña de Ingenieros y Arquitectos,
the local engineers’ guild.

11. 1841-1850
A new name for the Company
A decade after its foundation, Generali could look
back at its performance with satisfaction. The
Company had already set up a network of agen-
cies that covered a dozen countries, and its
results were good both in terms of expan-
sion and profit. At the helm of the Com-
pany during this delicate phase was
Masino Levi, Generali’s former agent
in Padua, who had been asked to fill
the highest executive post within
the Company – that of secretary gen-
eral – in 1836. He would ultimately re-
main in that post for forty years. The first lion. St Mark’s lion, head facing left with
unsheathed sword: this was the symbol that appeared
However, business in the independent on the early policies issued by the Veneto Head Office.
states of the Italian territories was not progress- The earliest plaques. Utilised prior to 1848 also in Italy,
they bore the Hapsburg two-headed eagle.
ing well: diffidence was high and governments
After 1848. The plaques placed on property or insured
did not trust “foreign” companies. In particular,
buildings were different in Italy and in the provinces of
the Empire.
things took a bad turn in the Duchy of Mode-
na, where the licence granted in 1839 was with-
drawn following the decision to set up an insur-
Looking out
1841 - The “Straits convention” proclaims the
Bosphorus and the Dardanelles off-limits to non-
Turkish warships.
1843 - Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman
is performed for the first time.
1844 - The first telegraphic line between Wash-
ington and Baltimore is inaugurated: messages
are relayed using the alphabet invented by Sam-
uel Morse.
1845 - The Irish potato famine forces millions to
migrate to the United States and other countries.
1848 - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish
the Manifesto of the Commu-
nist Party.
1849 - Victor Emmanuel II be-
comes King of Sardinia after the
abdication of Charles Albert, de-
feated in the first Italian war of
independence.
Charles Dickens’s David Cop-
perfield is publishes in instalments.
A new name for the Company
14

12. The earliest print-outs. Starting the 1840s, the
graphic layout of insurance policies gained a more
commercial look: life policies bore the image of the
Parcae, mythological divinities that preside over
human destiny.
Masino Levi. Called by the Company to head oper-
ations in 1836, Masino Levi gave a strong impetus
to Generali’s activities throughout the Empire.
ance monopoly in 1841, and in the Duchy of Par-
ma, where similar laws led to the expulsion of
Generali at the end of the decade. There were
difficulties also in the Kingdom of the Two Sicili-
es, where the request put forward by the Naples
agency to extend operations also to Sicily was
rejected in 1846, and in Piedmont, where the
monopoly on fire insurance,
granted to Società Reale Mu-
tua of Turin, seriously hindered
business growth.
Abroad, the Company focused
on strengthening operations in the
German states. In 1844, the Munich agen-
cy was opened, while in central and north-
In the Empire. In the map, dif-
ern Germany operations were extended from ferent colours identify the entity
of claims paid in 1848 by Gene-
the agencies in Hamburg and Leipzig (set up in
rali in the various territories of
the Austrian Empire.
1837) to the Kingdom of Hannover in 1847 and
to Prussia and Saxony in 1848.
1841-1850 15

13. 1841-1850
In the same year, however, a general insurrec- lation “austro-italiche” – which had become a
tion broke out in various provinces of the Em- cause of embarrassment in the peninsula and
pire, which changed the course of the Compa- the Empire – removed from the Company’s
ny’s history. Senior officers at Generali’s Vene- name. On April 8, 1848, Generali announced
to Head Office espoused with enthusiasm Dan- that the Trieste imperial authorities had given
iele Manin’s republican cause, causing deep the go-ahead to use the simplified version of its
embarrassment in Trieste. Freedom fighters as- Company name: “Assicurazioni Generali”. Three
saulted a number of Generali buildings in Italy, days later, the name change was approved by
tearing down the symbol of the Company: the the provisional government of the Republic of
imperial two-headed eagle. Consequently, the Venice, paving the way to similar decisions in
Board of Directors decided to have the appel- the other Italian states.
Defending Venice
A new name for the Company
16

14. Looking in
1842 - The Osijek agency (Slavonia) is authorised
to underwrite fire insurance in Belgrade.
1844 - The Munich agency is opened.
1847 - The Hamburg agency is authorised to ex-
tend operations in the Kingdom of Hannover.
1848 - The Company changes its name to Assi-
curazioni Generali.
Operations are started in Prussia through the
Königsberg agency.
The Paris uprising
1849 - After Austria’s re-occupation of Venice,
three of Generali’s leading figures – Pincherle,
Maurogonato and Francesconi – are forced to
The 1848 revolution. In Europe, a combination of liberal, democratic
seek shelter abroad following their political in-
and social aspirations triggered a rebellion against the established
volvement with Daniele Manin’s republican
order. Early in 1848, the tensions broke into revolutionary uprisings
movement.
that hit Europe’s capitals from Paris to Berlin, from Vienna to Prague.
The Hapsburg Empire was seriously undermined by the independence
movements, above all in Italy and Hungary: the Five Days revolt broke
out in Milan, while in Venice the insurrectionists, headed by Daniele
Manin, set up a provisional republican government. Within a year,
however, the reactionary forces regained the upper hand, although
some social achievements – the abolition of aristocratic privileges, the
democratisation of institutions and the implementation of constitu-
tional charters – were not swept aside.
Isacco Pesaro Maurogonato
Generali and the Venetian Republic. The establish-
ment of the Venetian Republic by Daniele Manin was
enthusiastically endorsed by numerous Generali offi-
cials, who openly backed the revolutionaries by taking
up key roles in the new government. Leone Pincherle,
secretary of the Veneto Head Office, was appointed Min-
ister of Commerce, while Isacco Pesaro Maurogonato,
head of the legal department became Finance Minis-
ter. Another Generali official, Daniele Francesconi (who
would become head of the Veneto Head Office in 1850)
was in charge of the Treviso legion, whose task was to
defend Venice against attacks from the mainland.
The insurrection was put down with the fall of Venice
in August 1849 and forty citizens who had been closely
involved with the Manin government – among whom
the three Generali men – were forced to seek asylum
abroad.
The Five Days revolt in Milan
1841-1850 17

15. 1851-1860
Investing in land and agriculture
B y 1850 the economy was once again booming there were approximately 2,000 homes with a
in Trieste. Its port was the biggest in the Empire population of 61,000, including 2,500 Greek Or-
and second only to Marseille in southern Europe. thodox, 3,100 Protestants and 3,400 Jews. Twen-
The new Südbahn railway across the Semmering ty steamers belonging to the Lloyd Austriaco
connected Trieste to Vienna and opened new shipping company linked Trieste not only to the
horizons for the port. The city was in full flow: Mediterranean and the East but also to Switzer-
land, through the Po River and Lake Maggiore.
Looking out
There were at that time 22 insurance companies
1851 - Louis Napoleon gains power in
in Trieste.
France with a coup d’état; the follow-
ing year he is proclaimed Emperor un- Generali, too, benefited from the positive eco-
der the name of Napoleon III.
nomic climate, finally overcoming the downturn
Herman Melville publishes Moby Dick.
caused by the 1848 insurrection, when the Com-
1854 - The Crimean war begins.
1857 - The Sepoy mutiny breaks out pany recorded a sharp fall in premium income and
in India: the East Indian Compa-
in profits. Over the next decade, Generali increased
ny transfers full powers to the Brit-
ish Crown, which imposes direct rule premiums by over two and half times, while aver-
over the colony.
age profit rose by 50%. Thus Generali became the
1859 - An oil well is drilled for the first
Empire’s largest insurance company.
time in Titusville, Pennsylvania.
Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species.
The southern railway. In 1857, the Südbahn was
1860 - Robert Burke and William Wills explore inaugurated. The railway line connected the port
the inner regions of Australia, from South to of Trieste with Vienna and thus with the rest of the
North. Empire, thus helping to boost the volume of trade in
the city. The print depicts the Barcola viaduct, just
before Trieste.
Investing in land and agriculture
18

16. True to its growth-oriented entrepreneurial vi-
sion, not only did Generali set aside significant
portions of its annual profits in reserves, but it
also made the decision to double its capital in
Ca’ Corniani. In 1851, following a
1856 to keep up with increased business. decision by Daniele Francesconi,
general secretary of the Veneto
Thanks to this operation, total available funds
Head Office, Generali bought Ca’
rose to the considerable sum of 11.4 million Flor- Corniani. As is clearly visible from
a map of the period (below), the
ins, six times as much as the capital subscribed property was mainly a swampy
area with just a few shacks. The
by the founding partners just 25 years earlier. To
land reclamation work lasted a
diversify its growing investments, Generali be- number of decades and
was finally completed
gan to focus on real estate. In 1851, it bought a
with the installation of
a large water pumping
huge piece of property in a marshy area in the
plant in 1879 (right).
Veneto region. A major land reclamation drive
followed: channels were dug and a large water
pumping plant was built. The outcome of the ef-
fort was Ca’ Corniani, a 1,770-hectare farm.
The highlight of this period was Generali’s in-
volvement in the setting up and management of
The first 25 years. A page
from Generali’s 1856 finan-
cial statement, on its 25th
year of activity.
Daniele Francesconi
1851-1860 19

17. 1851-1860
Società delle Tontine Sarde, which was later re-
named, following the unification of Italy, Socie-
tà di Tontine Italiane. The form of mutual sav-
ings called the tontine had been promoted by
the Piedmontese government in a bid to stop
the flow of capital out of the country to France,
but the initiative did not produce the results
that were expected. In particular, Generali
chose not to pursue this initiative in the Austri-
an Empire and in the rest of Italy, encouraging
more modern forms of life insurance involving
profit sharing for policyholders.
The decade closed with the momentous events
that changed the history of the nation. In 1859,
Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy said he could not
The tontine. Invented in 1653 by mathemati-
cian Lorenzo Tonti (in the portrait), the tontine
was a system for the distribution of annuities to
subscribers that proved particularly successful in
France. In the picture, a tontine insurance policy
issued by Società delle Tontine Sarde, which was
managed by Assicurazioni Generali.
A city in full swing. The 1850s were fast-paced years
for the city of Trieste, as testified in contemporary prints:
the port was busy and trade flourished on the water-
front. This 1854 print (below) depicts the Carciotti
seafront. The Greek orthodox church – built
at the end of the 18th century – is clearly
visible on the right.
Investing in land and agriculture
20

18. Looking in
1851 - Generali buys a large 1,770-hectare estate
in the Veneto region. After a massive land recla-
mation initiative, this will become the Ca’ Cor-
niani farm.
“remain deaf to the cry of pain that reached 1852 - Generali is entrusted with the manage-
ment of Società delle Tontine Sarde, a newly-
him from all parts of Italy” and decided to chal-
established company based in Piedmont.
lenge the Austrians. In 1860, Giuseppe Garibal-
1855 - The Company creates a pension fund for
di’s Redshirts liberated Sicily and the South, agents and employees.
1856 - Generali celebrates its 25th anniversary.
while Piedmontese troops occupied Marche
The share capital is increased from two to four
and Umbria, which formed part of the Pa-
million Florins.
pal States. A few months later, the rep- 1857 - Generali shares are listed for the first time
in the Trieste Stock Exchange.
resentatives of all regions met in Parlia-
ment in Turin and the Kingdom of Italy
was formally established.
Independence. The second war of independence and
the exploits of Garibaldi’s Redshirts allowed Victor
Emmanuel II of Savoy to liberate Lombardy, the South
of the peninsula and Sicily. In the meanwhile, the duch-
ies of Parma and Modena, Tuscany, Emilia, Marche and
Umbria rose up against their sovereigns and through
plebiscites opted to join the nascent Kingdom of Italy.
1851-1860 21