THE ROOTS OF THE FONDAZIONE ROMA: THE HISTORICAL ARCHIVES
Historical Archives
In 2010 Fondazione Roma acquired the archives pertaining to the pawn broking institution, Mount of Piety (Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma), and the savings bank, Cassa di Risparmio di Roma, from UniCredit S.p.A., due to the determination of the then Chairman Professor Emmanuele F. M. Emanuele, now Honorary President, who also arranged for the preservation and enhancement of these historical records that trace back to the philanthropic spirit at the roots of the Foundation.
This complex collection of various types of records, documents and materials deposited between the sixteenth and the twentieth century is kept inside Palazzo Sciarra, in an electromechanical shelving unit located in a repository monitored with modern instruments that ensure safety, stability and constantly measure the environmental parameters, in observance of the standards for protection and preservation.
The then Chairman Professor Emmanuele F. M. Emanuele also decided to create an exhibition hall on the ground floor near the building’s seventeenth century portal where a selection of documents and memorabilia arranged in chronological order are preserved, offering an excursus that starts from the Papal Bull establishing the Mount of Piety issued on the 9th of September 1539 by Pope Paul III, born Alessandro Farnese, continues with the list of the first hundred members who founded the Cassa di Risparmio in 1836 and ends with the minutes of the meeting that decreed the merger of the two credit institutions in 1937.
Aware of the Foundation’s prestigious documentary heritage, in order to allow citizens to broaden their knowledge of the origins and history of both institutions Professor Emanuele authorised access to the historical archives. Hence a large reception room has been opened beside the exhibition hall where visitors who have obtained routine authorization from the Superintendent of Archives in the Lazio region may access the archives by appointment. Scientific advisors and suitable consulting tools help users to examine the documents and perform research.
