The prestigious mansion of merchants that has become a world heritage site

A land of merchants that has always been. Italy, and Genoa in particular, links its history to that of commercial traffic and among the buildings that symbolize this tradition is Palazzo della Meridiana, the site chosen for the stage of the “Alphabet of the future” tour dedicated to changes in trade. global. «It is a palace built in 1543 by Gerolamo Grimaldi, included in the list of” Rolls of public housing “, which were, at the time of the Republic of Genoa, the lists of palaces and residences of noble families.lie who aspired to host high personalities in transit in Genoa for state visits, bankers and merchants. Previously, there were 150 residences that made up this list but those that have arrived at our time are 42, and they were all included, in 2006, among the Unesco World Heritage Sites “, explains Davide Viziano, president of the homonymous Group that in 2004 the he bought to restore it after ups and downs (over time it had also become the seat of the offices of the Municipality of Genoa). A historic building that is now a center for events and meetings, but also a cultural area for exhibitions and concerts organized by the Amici di Palazzo della Meridiana association. The exhibition “Il Re Denaro. Coins tell the story of Genoa between art, luxury and thrift ”, edited by Anna Orlando and Guido Rossi, who tells the story of Genoa through the coins minted in the city mint, authorized by Emperor Corrado III in 1138 and closed by the Savoy in 1860. «Trade has always been in the DNA of the Genoese, they traded with their ships but also with their banks. The founder of the palace has spent his life lending money to the king of Spain and with the proceeds he built this residence », Viziano continues. Today, the pandemic has paralyzed trade around the world. «I think we have to start from one of the positive factors that can be found in an experientraumatic as the one we have experienced: having forced people to think about the future, how they move, how they eat, how they relate to others and what they buy. After dark, the traffics are in great recovery. My hope – concludes Viziano – is that the recovery will be guided by different objectives, principles and sensitivities towards issues such as the environment and health ».