It is the first time that a singer-songwriter has been taken as a model and cultural reference in the austere rooms of the Italian central bank. In the new Bank of Italy led by Governor Fabio Panetta, the quote goes to Francesco De Gregori and his famous song “La Storia”. This is what the new secretary of the Via Nazionale Directorate, Gian Luca Trequattrini, did in front of employees of the Bologna office, Wednesday March 20, during his speech on the “short history of the governance of the Bank of Italy between tradition and current affairs”.
From the Roman bank scandal to the new Via Nazionale
With great efficiency and in a truly informative manner, Trequattrini concentrates the entire history of the Italian central bank in six pages, from the unification of Italy, through the Giolittian era and the scandal of the Roman Bank, the fascism, post-war. period, the Amato law, that of 2005 and the last modification of the structures of 2013. There is really everything inside and also well explained: it deserves to be included because it is written in a history textbook for Italian high schools. But it was to the employees of Bologna that the Secretary General was addressing and, for them, in the midst of so many changes, he underlined how, in the very different eras of the governance of the Italian central bank, this double option between the central higher council and local councils which allowed a more lively relationship with the reality of the territory.
The historical model that the singer-songwriter himself later denied
It is precisely at the end that the musical quote arrives, tickling the pride of the Bologna employees. “Defending,” began Trequattrini, “an organizational structure rooted in tradition might go against the grain, but ultimately, Local Councils can also claim a role in the history of the Institute, which is not still destined to end. As Francesco De Gregori says: “We are history, no one feels left out'”. A text that, in truth, the singer-songwriter himself critically revised years later. And to a journalist's question: “In short, we are the story or not?” De Gregori replied: “No. The debate can be broadened considerably: we should also talk about the problematic nature of the concept of democracy, the extent to which it has changed throughout history (…) However, history is always in crisis with itself. This is something that must be subject to continuous revision…”.
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