THE UNIQUE SAVINGS MUSEUM OPENS IN TURIN

• The mechanisms of savings and investments explained in simple, accessible terms

• Technology, interactive displays and innovative resources help outline the themes of intelligent savings

Turin, 17 April 2012 - The Savings Museum, sponsored by Intesa Sanpaolo, opens in Turin. The project is designed to help the community reflect on savings-related issues, learn basic concepts in order to navigate the investment sector and improve Italian savers’ ability to understand and choose financial products. Italy has one of the highest rates of private savings in the world: net financial assets in the private sector are worth some 3,000 billion euro. Learning to manage personal assets intelligently is therefore crucial both for individual savers and the community as a whole.

Turin’s Savings Museum is one of a kind. It is set to become a new attraction both for tourists and local people as part of the city’s network of museums.
Due to open to the public at the end of May, the Savings Museum is based in the centre of Turin at Via San Francesco d’Assisi 8/A. It covers a surface area of 600 m2 with 5 separate rooms. These are designed to create an enjoyable, interesting itinerary with different concepts and audiovisual exhibits, drawing visitors in to a cultural sensory experience and encouraging them to reflect on how they manage their money. The exhibits will be consultable both in Italian and English.

Although the concept of a museum might appear dated in the age of the internet, a physical exhibition space provides visitors – individuals, groups of friends and whole families – with a first-hand learning experience and a chance to clear up their financial doubts. Trawling single-handedly through various savings products on the internet is certainly not easy, and requires knowledge and skills which not everyone has.

Learning is fun at the Savings Museum, with different itineraries for children, teenagers and adults. Information, videos and role plays enable visitors to learn and test their knowledge at the end of their visit. Technology is used to create “impossible” interviews with bankers who lived centuries ago; visitors can play with friends or against a computer to discover more about savings and risks, or watch video interviews with modern-day economists and boost their understanding of the history of money and how it can be used.

The Savings Museum has been made possible thanks to contributions from many internal and external figures. Ideas and contributions have come from numerous departments, services and offices within the Bank.

As the Chairman of Intesa Sanpaolo, Andrea Beltratti, has commented: “Through the Savings Museum, Intesa Sanpaolo aims to make a significant, original contribution to increasing financial awareness in Italy, creating a unique place where people can actively learn about money and how it can be used. The Museum will be open to everyone, particularly those who have never experienced other public and private projects, such as those run in schools. It will of course be open to school groups, with a programme of guided tours for pupils and teachers. One of our main goals,” continues Mr Beltratti, “is to boost the public’s curiosity and interest in this theme, to explain more or less simple concepts in clear terms and enable us all to plan our finances better.” “My hope,” he concludes, “is that the Museum will become a lively cultural centre for the city of Turin, a place where we can reflect on economic issues. I am hoping that national and international partnerships will make it possible to repeat the idea in other cities in Italy and beyond.”

The Mayor of Turin, Piero Fassino, has commented that “the Savings Museum is an important addition to Turin’s cultural heritage, highlighting once again the city’s experimental vocation. This unique project is even more significant when one considers the economic context we are seeing today. It is important for all of us to fully understand the causes of the financial crisis and to draw up a savings plan of our own. We therefore welcome a museum dedicated to financial education and awareness,” Mr Fassino continues, “particularly one which uses simple language which everyone can understand, providing us all with concrete resources to better understand the financial sector. I would like to thank Intesa Sanpaolo for giving the people of Turin this opportunity. The Museum’s social and cultural slant,” concludes the Mayor, “underlines the Bank’s close ties to the local community.”