Reale Mutua was founded in 1828 and continues to grow together with Italy and the Italians. From Unity to the Republic, from the economic boom to globalisation, the Company has been a spectator and actor of all the most important events in national and international history.  

The Historical Museum thus becomes an opportunity to travel back in time and witness the events that have allowed the Company to evolve and to accompany the Members/Insured in their life stories.

2007, the first chapter

The Historical Museum of the Società Reale Mutua di Assicurazioni was inaugurated for the first time in March 2007 in the Sala delle Colonne of Palazzo Biandrate Aldobrandino in San Giorgio, in Via delle Orfane, Turin.

The traditional style layout, with wooden cases and tables, presented over 500 documents chosen from the Historical Archives, including the first Statute of the Company, dated 1828, the Royal Patents and policy no. 1, with which Carlo Felice of Savoy insured his residence in Turin, i.e. Palazzo Chiablese. Among the papers, objects, registers and even an original desk from the 1930s, the Company's history was told following a basic conceptual path, which was then partly inspiring the new layout. 

The Association "Amici del Museo di Reale Mutua" (Friends of the Reale Mutua Museum) was established in 2009 as a cultural, apolitical, non-religious and non-profit association.

Founded on the voluntary collaboration of the Operating Members (all former employees), it aims to spread knowledge of the Museum and to disseminate the Company's centuries-old history and its core values, first and foremost the value of mutuality.

Over the years the Association has contributed significantly to the success in terms of public, and has expanded its activities by organizing conferences, promoting study grants for high school students and offering an important support to the guided tours thanks to its volunteers.   

Amici del Museo di Reale Mutua

A new, multimedia based look  

Between 2010 and 2012 the Company decided to undertake an architectural enhancement and restoration of Palazzo Biandrate Aldobrandino di San Giorgio, which housed the Museum on the ground floor in the so-called “Sala delle Colonne” (Hall of Columns).

This project opened a new phase: in 2013 the Museum was expanded and renovated in a historic building restored to its former glory.  Selected documents, restored and displayed in showcases suitable for their preservation, a visit route with new exhibition criteria to enhance the historical and cultural heritage of the company; but the most spectacular novelty is certainly the layout, which accompanies the visitor in an emotional and multimedia experience.

A whole new look for a museum that tells the story of a company in its almost 200 years of life: the birth, the internal organization, the relationship between Members/Insured and employees, and the ability to cope with the events and changes forced upon us by history, and, as a reflection, to retell them.

In 2020 the Reale Mutua Historical Museum evolves beyond its borders, going beyond a physical place, becoming digital: in the freedom, speed and up-to-dateness of the web, it acquires different dimensions, different languages, it innovates ways and tools, but remains a true expression of a way of being, rooted in deep values, which is increasingly manifest in the choices of a Company that has become a group: Reale Group. 

The Museum, in its physical heart and in its digital innovation, is a multi-faceted reality modelled on the life of a constantly growing and evolving Company, which over the years has created a Group that is also present in Spain and Chile and has proved to be always in step with the times.  

Group: acting together that integrates cultures and habits, connects cities and States, allowing new stories to emerge; stories of inclusion. A true, real inclusion, expressed by voices, images and words, made increasingly available to the curiosity of all.  

A museum to be visited and observed, scrolled and clicked, multimedia based, accessible, and capable of renewing itself, because it is the fruit of a life experienced: a story made of people.

The Museum evolves

The history of Reale Group

  • 1828

    The beginnings

    Reale Mutua is born.
    Our story begins on 31th December 1828, when in Turin, capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the "Società Reale Assicurazione Generale e Mutua Contro gli Incendi" (Royal Company for General and Mutual Insurance against Fires) was established at the request of King Carlo Felice, who wanted to offer insurance cover against fire damage to the subjects of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

  • 1830

    The development

    Reale Mutua becomes operational. Having reached the capital base required to be fully operational, the "Società Reale d'assicurazione generale e mutua contro gli incendi" (Royal Company for general and mutual insurance against fire) began its journey, under the leadership of its first General Manager, the French lawyer Giuseppe Giulio Lorenzo Henry, a charismatic and forward-thinking man.

  • 1848

    The Wars of Independence

    The wars of Independence swept through Italy, changing the already consolidated order.
    In this period Reale Mutua did not stop: on the contrary, it financed the Savoy's military engagement against the Austrians and founded the first Agencies in the new territories of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

  • 1861

    The Unification of Italy

    Reale Mutua experiences the Unity of Italy.
    With Italy united, Reale Mutua maintained the bond of trust established with the Savoy family and committed itself to offering its insurance services to more and more subjects, from the North to the South of the Kingdom.

  • 1877

    An historic site

    Turin is the home of Reale Mutua.
    Tightly linked to the territory in which it was born, the Company purchased the historic Palazzo Biandrate Aldobrandino di San Giorgio, in Via delle Orfane 6, in the heart of the city, and turned it into its first prestigious headquarters.  

  • 1889

    The Southern Territories

    Reale Mutua expands.
    After the initial 40 agencies, opened under Henry's leadership in the first decade of activity, the Company extended its services to the whole peninsula, reaching Rome and Naples.

  • 1895

    Pope Pius X becomes a Member

    Giuseppe Sarto, who was to become Pope Pius X in 1903, insured his own home in Castelfranco Veneto, including all furniture and linen.
    This policy, like the disbursements in favour of parishes and religious charities, are evidence of the friendly relations between Reale Mutua and the religious authorities, despite the tensions between the State and the Church.

  • 1915

    1915-18: The Great War

    During the First World War Reale Mutua strengthened its social commitment.
    Support for charitable works and support for soldiers, families, war veterans and the Italian Red Cross - were the Company's main activities during the war.

  • 1924

    From 1924 to 1934

    Reale Mutua opens up to multi-risk.
    Accident, Public Liability, Theft, Life, Glass, Credit and Hail: the Company widens its range of products, protecting Italians from a wide range of risks.

  • 1926

    The first woman in Reale Mutua

    Egle Bertone was the first woman to be recruited, as a typist. Starting out in the Reinsurance Office, Ms Bertone saw her duties expand, thanks to her commitment.

  • 1927

    The 'Dopolavoro'

    The 'Dopolavoro', a recreational organisation for employees is born.
    Rowing, football, swimming, but also theatre and conferences, to offer its employees recreation and fun.

  • 1933

    The new headquarters

    The Company inaugurates its headquarters at Via Corte d'Appello 11.
    Built in front of the then Senate of Piedmont, the work of architect Melis de Villa reinterprets the classicist forms of the building, innovating the load-bearing structure, the first in electro-welded metal. Solidity, elegance and functionality of the spaces are the leitmotifs of the designer's "calm modernity".

  • 1943

    The bombings

    The Second World War devastated the peninsula.
    The danger of the bombings of Turin led Reale Mutua to evacuate its premises, distributing its staff to various locations in Piedmont.

  • 1946

    The Italian Republic

    With a referendum, Italy becomes a Republic.
    With the Savoy shield on its coat of arms, Reale Mutua opened a debate on its brand, wanting to evolve with Italian society but without losing its identity.

  • 1960

    On the way to Spain

    The first partnerships in Spain were launched.
    El Hércules Hispanos had always been a popular touch point for the Company, and in the mid-1960s it was sold to Reale Mutua, laying the foundations for a close cooperation between the two countries.

  • 1970

    The first computer

    Reale Mutua purchases its first IBM 370/145 computer.
    Information technology begins to enter the company's offices, enabling the Company to link its Turin headquarters to the Group's companies in Milan.

  • 1985

    The TV début

    Reale Mutua lands on television.
    The launch begins with an advert by Dolci that recalls the Gattopardo's Grand Ball, a first of a long series of messages: "There is a great insurance company that treats you like kings, or rather like Members: Reale Mutua Assicurazioni, Members not simply insured".

  • 1998

    Reale Seguros Generales

    Reale Seguros Generales enters the Group.
    Reale Mutua intensifies its relations with Spain by acquiring Reale Seguros Generales, thus expanding the network of services to policyholders.

  • 2006

    The Olympics

    Reale Mutua is the sponsor of the 20th Winter Olympic Games in Turin.
    The image of a skier flying over the Alps and the city, accompanied by the claim "Tutto questo è Reale”, stands out in Italian squares.("All this is Reale", where Royal and Real are an intended play on words in Italian).

  • 2007

    The Historical Museum

    Reale Mutua rediscovers its cultural heritage.
    Set up in the Hall of Columns in the historical headquarters of Palazzo Biandrate, the Museum shares with its visitors a selection of documents and evidence of the history of Reale Mutua and Reale Group, taken from the company's Historical Archive.

  • 2015

    The new brand

    One image for an entire Group.
    Blue, the colour of the Group. Yellow, the origins of the Parent Company. English, the language to be international.

  • 2017

    Reale Foundation is born

    The Group's Corporate Foundation.
    Given the experience of Fundación Reale, Reale Foundation was born with the aim of returning part of the generated value back into the territory from where it originates.

  • Immagine

    Immagine

    Immagine

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