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and SMI as the salotto buono not only of Italian but also of international industry. Luigi Orlando − the great-grandson and namesake of the founder, who was enamoured of Florence − undoubtedly gave a multinational dimension to the family empire, buying up activities in France, Germany, England, Spain and China. However, shortly before dying, in 2001, constrained by a financial crisis caused partly by the expansionist policies of the previous years, he decided to sell, among other things, Palazzo Della Gherardesca. GIM and SMI were incorporated respectively by Intek owned by Vincenzo Manes, and the KME group, which was also controlled by Intek. The presidency continued to be in the hands of a member of the Orlando family, Salvatore the son of Luigi, and the Milanese branch of the family is also still pres-
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ent in the company’s capital, but the new boss was now Manes.
Panels bearing symbols of the Southern Railways
If it is true that buildings, like people, have a destiny, that of Palazzo Della Gherardesca is characterized by its rela-
Company.
tionship with economic power, and its incorporation into the properties of the Orlando Group, between 1939 and 2001,
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is certainly a reflection of it. In those years strategic assets were guarded, sheltered by the discreet and protective walls of Room with stuccoes
Borgo Pinti: a slice of the national electrical industry; control of the Pirelli Group; shares decisive for the governance of
of the Southern Railways Company, now the corridor
Montedison (chemical, pharmaceutical and insurance sectors) and Gemina (Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera); in addition, nat-
and bathroom of a suite on the first floor of Palazzo Scala-
urally, to the nerve centre of the largest European industrial empire in specialized copper products that still represents 30%
Della Gherardesca, Florence.
of the market, with 3.5 billion euros in proceeds and seven thousand employees in 2007.
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Palazzo Della Gherardesca − today owned by RDM (Fingen Group) of the brothers Corrado and Marcello Fratini − has recently been converted into a luxury hotel run by the American Four Seasons chain. But even in spite of this, the transition from ‘rooms of economic power’ to luxury hotel suites is certainly not going to change the fact that the building will continue to be frequented by important people, for in its new role the Palazzo will continue to accommodate leading figures in the world of international economy and finance.
1
E. Scalfari, G. Turani, Razza padrona, Milano 1974.
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