President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano opened the exhibition “1944-2014: i 70 anni della SIOI. Palazzetto Venezia racconta la storia della politica estera italiana”. In attendance were SIOI president and former foreign minister Franco Frattini and Farnesina secretary-general Michele Valensise.
Società Italiana per l’Organizzazione Internazionale (SIOI), the historic Italian post-war agency that has been most responsible for promoting international relations, celebrated its 70th anniversary on 4 October 2014. Over the course of those years, the SIOI has borne direct witness to Italy’s prominent role in the forging of alliances, accords and historic decisions.
Hundreds of photos from the 20th century to the present day
A vast historical and cultural tale that the SIOI decided to tell through hundreds of previously unpublished photos from the 20th century up to the present day, and which underscore how, immediately following the liberation of Rome, Palazzetto Venezia became a centre for ideas and global geopolitical debate.
The exhibit consists of approximately 40 panels that begin by recounting the building’s history, from its erection on the orders of Cardinal Pietro Barbo (1455), through its transformation from Palazzo della Serenissima (1638) to Palazzo degli Ambasciatori (1766), up to its being renamed Palazzetto Venezia (1840).
