19th Century and Onwards

32 I9th CENTURY

AND ONWARDS

Florence as capital of the Kingdom of Italy

In 1803, Palazzo Portinari Salviati passed from the Ricciardi Serguidi family, through inheritance, to Pietro Leopoldo di Giannozzo Da Cepperello (or Da Cepparello). The building was then acquired by the City of Florence when it became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy and was used as a government office building.

In 1864, the Senate approved a bill to authorize the transfer of the capital of the Kingdom of Italy from Turin to Florence in 1865. Choosing Florence as the capital indicated the significance of the Tuscan Renaissance. Florence was called the Italian Athens. Artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael, as well as the Florentine popes of the 16th century, played an important role in forming Italian art and culture. Additionally, as the city was located in the center of Italy, far away from borders and seas, it was a secure location for the most important political and military authorities.

Victor Emmanuel II’s triumphant entry into Florence

On February 3, 1865, King Victor Emmanuel II left Turin and settled in Florence. A sense of festivity spread throughout the city with flags hanging from all the windows. The Florentines accompanied the king from the station to the Pitti Palace, where he looked out from the balcony several times to greet the cheerful crowd. A 19th century painting depicted the triumphant entry of Victor Emmanuel II into Florence as follows: “surrounded by jubilant citizens, the king prepares to

KING VICTOR EMMANUEL II IN FLORENCE

in front of Palazzo Vecchio

PIAZZA SANTA CROCE ON 14 MAY 1865

the statue of Dante was inaugurated by SM Victor Emmanuel II in Florence, commemorating the sixth centenary of the poet’s birth

34 cross the threshold of the new capital of the Kingdom of Italy.”

To adapt to its new role as Italy’s capital, Florence had to change its infrastructure. Employing the urban planning work of architect Giuseppe Poggi, the ancient walls were demolished and in their place, following the Paris model, wide ring roads were built to converge on Piazzale Michelangelo.

The “modernization” or “redevelopment” as it was called, was impressive. Some areas of the city were completely destroyed, such as Piazza della Repubblica, where the old city market and

Jewish ghetto had once stood.

The Ministry of Grace, Justice and Religion

The king took lodgings in the Pitti Palace, in the secluded Meridiana quarter. The lodgings remained secluded to give the king the opportunity to easily slip through a back door and join his mistresses. The Prime Minister, La Marmora, chose Palazzo Medici Riccardi as his residence, the Chamber of Deputies was housed in the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio, while the Senate was seated in the ancient Medici Theatre of the Uffizi. Palazzo Portinari Salviati, then known as Palazzo da Cepparello, housed the Ministry of Grace, Justice and Religion. To better suit its new role as the Ministry, the Palazzo was enlarged once again, adding a third floor on Via dello Studio side with a total of sixteen rooms in July 1866.

The United School of the Piarist Fathers

The capital of Italy moved from Florence to Rome in 1871. Florence had accumulated heavy debts during its short time as the capital and in 1881 the Municipality went into a liquidity crisis. It had to give up several properties, including Palazzo Portinari Salviati, at the time known as the Palazzo da Cepparello. A local bank, Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, offered to act as a guarantor of the debt and bought the building to save the city from bankruptcy. The bank held the property for just two months and was then ready to resell it.

The new buyers were the Calasanzians, better known as the Piarist Fathers (Scolopi in Italian). The group had been in Florence since 1630 and had been looking for a new location for their religious and scholastic activities.

The first school of the Piarist Fathers was founded in Rome in 1597 by San Giuseppe Calasanzio (José de Calasanz in his native Spanish). It was the first free popular school in Europe, at a time when education was the prerogative and privilege of the wealthiest classes. In 1630, the Piarist Fathers set up their headquarters in Florence and moved to the church San Giovannino in Via dei Martelli in 1775, where they remained until August 1878.

When the municipal administration fell apart, it ordered the schools to close. Many talented teachers who had dedicated their lives teaching young talents of all social conditions, were evicted. The whole of Florence, including the main noble families, rose up against this senseless decree. Soon the Piarist Fathers were able to raise a considerable sum of money and began to seek new locations for over 1700 pupils. Various temporary offices of the Piarist Schools were opened and finally, in 1881, all the schools were reunited once again in Palazzo Portinari Salviati (then Palazzo da Cepparello) on Via del Corso.

On the third centenary founding of the Piarist Fathers’ school in Florence in 1930, the city added a commemorative plaque on the facade of Palazzo Portinari Salviati, to remember the Piarist Fathers’ contribution towards Florence and efforts towards equal education.

The headquarter of Banca di Credito Toscano

After the First World War, in 1918, the Piarist Fathers sold Palazzo Portinari Salviati to the Società Anonima di Conserve alimentari L.Torrigiani, which had its headquarters in Sesto Fiorentino. In 1921, Banca di Credito Toscano (later became Banca Toscana), under the chairmanship of Rodolfo Arnoldo Bürgisser, purchased the Palazzo to house its headquarters.

Rodolfo Arnoldo Bürgisser was the first president and a leading figure in the history of the Bank. Swiss by origin, he founded a straw factory in Florence for making hats and extended his entrepreneurial activities throughout the 20th century, guided always by a Christian-social spirit. The Florentines knew him as “commendatore Arnoldo” or the “good Swiss Florentine.” Banca Toscana was a bank established in Florence on 4 April 1904 under the name of Piccolo Credito Toscano. It is a cooperative society promoted by a committee of citizens from different social backgrounds, mostly artisans, merchants and farmers. The Bank, which had its first headquarters in Palazzo Portinari Salviati (Via del Corso 3), was a credit institution of Catholic faith. Its first Board of Directors, chaired by Rodolfo Arnoldo Bürgisser, was composed of a monsignor, a canon and a lawyer.

After the purchase of Palazzo Portinari Salviati, the Bank began to restore and renovate the Palazzo, furnishing the rooms with valuable works for art. Giuseppe Castellucci was the main architect and applied a stylistic restoration in vogue in the first half of the 20th century. The most noticeable creation was the velarium roof of the Emperors’ Courtyard, by Francesco Mossmeyer, depicting an Allegory of Abundance in 1922. The tall stained glass windows in the rooms on the noble floor, which are decorated with the coats of arms of the Florentine Arts, were probably made as part of the renovation as well.

The Bank’s new headquarters were inaugurated on 11 December 1922, with a private blessing. Yet there were no special celebrations due to the passing of Rodolfo Bürgisser. To commemorate Bürgisser, an elegant marble bas-relief by Dante Sodini was erected on 23 November 1924 in the atrium of Palazzo Portinari Salviati. On the plaque it reads: his Swiss origins, his love for Florence, his constant commitment to all forms of social engagement, and his Christian convictions.

Banca Toscana was officially founded in 1930 and retained ownership of the Palazzo until 2008, when it was sold to Beatrice Srl (a company wholly owned by Sansedoni SpA, controlled by the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation).