23 April 2021

The UniCredit Photographic Archives tell the story of our bank 

from its early roots to today

2:00 min

The history contained in the photographic archives in many ways is the story of UniCredit. It also shows the evolution of the workplace and life in Italian banks throughout the years, since the company’s foundation in 1870 as Banca di Genova (later UniCredit). The archives contain the historical records of UniCredit/Credito Italiano, as well as many of those of the Italian banks acquired by the Group. Binding these stories together has saved hundreds of records that showcase the evolution of the UniCredit Group, now a pan-European commercial bank with a presence in 13 core markets across Europe. 


This photographic collection is composed of around 600 photo albums, 130,000 photo positives, 28,000 prints, matrices and photo negatives and is one of the most important business archive collections in Italy, demonstrating what employment and daily life at the bank looked like, the evolution of real estate and the most significant moments from events, recreational activities and promotional campaigns, which helped inspire the early drivers of UniCredit’s success.

UniCredit S.p.A.

Previous 1 of 10 Next
1 Credito Italiano, WWI Victory Celebration in front of the Milan Headquarters, 1918

UniCredit S.p.A.

Previous 1 of 10 Next
1 Banco di Roma, Damasco Branch, 1920
1 Banco di Roma, Istambul-Pera Branch, 1923
1 Banco di Roma, Rodi Branch, 1925
1 Banca Italiana per la Cina, Loongwha Temple, Shanghai, 1925
1 Banco Italo-Egiziano, Alexandria, the Minet el Bassal Cotton Exchange, 1930
1 Credito Romagnolo, Ravenna Branch Tam's Trip to Verona 1936
1 Banco di Santo Spirito, XI International Congress of Radiology, 1965
1 Credito Italiano, Alaska Mountaneering Expedition, 1971
1 Credito Italiano, 1972 Rome Expo - Distribution of brochures, 1972

The photographs were largely taken by the Bank’s staff, making up the three main collections within these archives: Credito Italiano, Banco di Roma, and Banco di Santo Spirito. To improve the accuracy of the descriptions, the UniCredit Historical Archives hold specific material to facilitate the understanding and interpretation of content. While some of these great photos have been distributed already, others have carefully been kept behind closed doors for years. 

More insights can be found in the article published on the Eabh Bulletin “Finance & Photography”, Vol. 1, 2021, written by our Historical Archives team , can be found at the following link: https://bankinghistory.org/wp-content/uploads/EABH37-Bulletin4-Web.pdf

 

The photographic archives are hosted in our UniCredit Historical Archives at the Lampugnano building in Milan and can be accessed by contacting: archiviostorico@unicredit.eu.