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A Classroom Dedicated to Antonio Foglia in the Piazza Sraffa 13 Building

, by Fabio Todesco, translated by Jenna Walker
He is the first person to have to a classroom in the building named after him

Antonio Foglia (1891-1957), stock broker, entrepreneur and banker (he was, among other things, President of the Milan Stock Exchange and found of the Banca del Ceresio), is the illustrious Bocconi alumnus that received a classroom dedicated to him in the Piazza Sraffa 13 building, known as the Velodromo, designed by architect Ignazio Gardella.
Piero Barucci (currently at the Guarantor Authority for Competition and Market and former Minister of the Treasury) defined Friday as "a happy day for the Italian university", for the ability Bocconi has demonstrated in creating a dialogue with the business community during a historical moment in which the system is suffering due a lack of funds.
Sandro Gerbi, his biographer, discussed his life, as did Bocconi Chief Executive, Bruno Pavesi, who said "the distance that separates us from Antonio Foglia is not a distance of ideals," and the historian Giuseppe Berta, who described Foglia's characteristics as a search for autonomy, a cultivation of relationships and versatility.In the biography written by Gerbi (not currently on the market), a man is described who went abroad at the beginning of the last century to complete his graduate thesis (which was kept by Luigi Einaudi, who advised the thesis), who sought to support the war support at the beginning of World War I by opening a bullet factory, and who, in addition to the more well-known events relating to the Stock Exchange and the bank, also worked as an entrepreneur in Ethiopia and Latin America. His opposition to the Fascist regime and semi-clandestine activities during the years of the Italian resistance are also described.
Foglia's descendents participated in the debate and the ceremony. The plaque that was unveiled for the occasion and placed at the entrance of the classroom reads, "Antonio Foglia, 1891-1957, after graduating from Bocconi in 1919, he was a banker and stock broker. At the end of World War II, he was named President of the Milan Stockbrokers' Executive Committee. He was responsible for the establishment of this University's Istituto di studi sulle borse valori "A. Lorenzetti".

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