Sustainability Report 2012 - Generali Versicherung AG

Cultural areaWith a view to promoting knowledgesharing and healthy recreation toencourage reflection and lift the spirits,the Group has always supportedactivities that aim to enhance and preserve the artistic andcultural heritage of the areas in which it operates.The Group contributed to a great many initiatives in 2012,which testify to the important role it plays in the countries.These initiatives covered a wide range of activities and weredesigned to support both the major cultural institutions,particularly the leading theatres, which increasingly needfinancing from private sponsors to continue with their activities,and numerous initiatives promoted by local associations andorganisations, focusing particular attention on those involvingyoung artists.Generali is also involved in the world of art, both through thepieces it owns, such as the BSI collections, the works of theGenerali Foundation in Vienna and the collection at the CeskáPojištovna gallery in Prague, and by supporting the activitiesof museums, theatres, schools, foundations and culturalassociations. The Group’s commitment in this area is not justlimited to top-class institutions but also extends to smallerorganisations, which are key to the creation of a rich andvaried cultural panorama. In 2012 the most firmly consolidatedactivities were the support for museum and exhibition activitiesand the promotion of historic and artistic heritage.With the ultimate goal of promoting the Generali brand, onceagain this year various high-profile events were sponsoredincluding exhibitions and music and theatrical events, with theparticipation of major artists, composers and musicians, aswell as literary and artistic events of national and internationalinterest.Radici del Presente - In December 2012 the Radici delPresente museum was opened in Rome, Italy. Themuseum is located on the second floor of the historichead offices of Assicurazioni Generali in Piazza Veneziafacing the Fori Imperiali and Trajan’s Column.The development of this museum, which exhibits theGroup’s collection of archaeological artefacts and ismainly targeted at the younger generations, througha significant and ongoing contribution to the nationalschool system, is part of a broader project that stemsfrom Generali’s desire to support and promote Italy’shistorical and archaeological heritage. In fact, connectedwith the museum is an education project of the samename aimed at primary school and lower secondaryschool pupils in Italian state schools. The aim of theproject is to promote the learning of ancient history andthe understanding of Italy’s historical and archaeologicalheritage.In the first hall, the museum reconstructs the events thatsaw Piazza Venezia assume its current guise, detailingthe construction of the Assicurazioni Generali building inthe early 1900’s before focusing on the archaeologicalfinds uncovered during the excavation of the site. Thecollection is made up of over 300 exhibits, all of whichRoman and dating to between the 2 nd and the 5 thcentury A.D. with the exception of a 4 th century A.D.Greek relief; the most valuable pieces include a bust ofthe Emperor Gallienus and a fragment of relief depictingAeneas fleeing from Troy. Thanks to the works, photosand documentary evidence, this exhibition will makeit possible to discover the history of this area for thefirst time, an area that has been central to life in Romesince ancient times. The educational dimension wasdeveloped with the aim of bringing visitors into closecontact with the exhibited materials, reconciling thefascinating complexity of the ancient artefacts with theirability to stir the curiosity of young visitors. To this end,the exhibition of the artefacts is broken up by five “livingdisplays”, spaces where the archaeological artefacts andthe archive documents make it possible toimmerse oneself in the past and retrace the2,000 years that separate us from the age ofAncient Rome.The educational project was launched in early2013. Based on a learning methodology thatprioritises a multidisciplinary approach, Radicidel Presente reaches out to all teachers, andnot only those that teach humanities, historyand art-related subjects, proposing a coursethat examines the historical roots of the localarea through classroom activities, in-depthmaterials, visits to archaeological sites andteaching activities specifically developed forthe project website www.radicidelpresente.it.Teaching materials are provided to supportclassroom lessons and the visits to thearchaeological sites of the Roman villasdotted around Italy. A team of researchersand archaeologists from Federico II Universityin Naples will support the teachers in thevarious activities proposed and a series ofonline seminars will offer the opportunity todiscuss the teaching methods at nationallevel. The project website will host in-depthteaching materials, documentary videos andthe results of the activities carried out by thepupils.Radici del presente Museum, Rome, Italy116 | Assicurazioni Generali - Sustainability Report 2012