Intesa Sanpaolo Banka dd Bosna i Hercgvn : The artworks of Venetian vedute Masters for the First Time Exhibited in Bosnia and Herzegovina 11.05.18

Sarajevo, 11 May 2018 - The exhibition Venetian vedute from the Intesa Sanpaolo Art Collection has had its gala opening on 10.05.2018 at the City Hall of Sarajevo.

The paintings of Canaletto, Guardi, Marieschi and van Lint have arrived from the Gallerie d'Italia - Palazzo Leoni Montanari, one of the most beautiful baroque palaces in Vicenza.

These four artworks will be exhibited until 03.06.2018 at the City Hall of Sarajevo to dedicate masters of this genre to the Bosnia and Herzegovina audience.

The Intesa Sanpaolo collection of Venetian baroque paintings also keeps the masterworks of Tiepolo, Pietro Longhi and other great names of the time, as well as fascinating collections of vases from ancient Greece and Russian icons. These collections and the baroque Leoni Montanari palacein Vicenza itself are part of a large cultural project of Intesa Sanpaolo called Progetto Cultura, within which there are the Gallerie d'Italiaat Piazza Scala in Milan presenting the nineteenth- and twentieth-century Italian artists, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano in Naples, where the last Caravaggio's masterpiece The Martyrdom of St. Ursula is exhibited, as well as the artworks from the South of Italy created between seventeenth and twentieth centuries.

Mr Almir Krkalić, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH, opened the exhibition while the greeting speech was held by Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Intesa Sanpaolo, Nicola Minasi, Ambassador of Italy to BiH and Esad Tanovic Director of JP Sarajevo.

Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, on the occasion of his first visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the opening of the exhibition, emphasized: 'I'm particularly glad to bring these four artworks, which are part of the Intesa Sanpaolo's art collections, to the City Hall of Sarajevo from Palazzo Leoni Montanari in Vicenza. Intesa Sanpaolo operates in countries rich of culture and heritage and believes that cultural activities are a way to foster friendship across communities; investing in culture encourages social progress and supports economic growth'.

Almir Krkalić, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH said: 'We are proud that Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH, as a member of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, takes part in the organization of this extremely valuable exhibition. We especially emphasize that the initiative for the exhibition of these artworks from the Intesa Sanpaolo Art Collection came from prof. Gian Maria Gros-Pietro personally, the Chairman of Intesa Sanpaolo, who, during his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in this way, wants to present a part of the Italian cultural heritage. We believe that this exhibition is also to encourage other forms of cooperation in the field of culture between Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina'.

The artworks from the Intesa Sanpaolo Art Collection:

Canaletto
(Venice 1697. - 1768.)
Capriccio with Gothic Church and Lagoon, about 1720.-21.
oil on canvas, 118,3 x 147,6 cm

Francesco Guardi
(Venice 1712. - 1793.)
Piazza San Marco towards San Geminiano, about 1775. - 1780.
oil on canvas, 81,7 x 125 cm

Michele Marieschi
(Venice 1710. - 1744.)
Veduta of the Grand Canal with the Rive del Vin and del Carbon, about 1730.-1735.
oil on canvas, 55,5 x 83 cm

Hendrik Frans van Lint
(Antwerp 1684 - Rome 1763)
Veduta of La Salute with the Punta della Dogana, about 1750.
oil on canvas, 46,5 x 71,5 cm

Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH

Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH is one of the leading banks on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a long continuity of banking operations. It is a commercial bank of the universal type, fully licensed for all types of banking transactions in domestic and foreign currencies. The range of services is focused both corporate and retail banking, the Bank offers a broad portfolio of traditional banking services (including different types of loans, documentary business, deposits and savings, payment transactions and money transfers, currency exchange transactions etc.), but it also performs a number of activities such as brokerage operations, custody operations, foreign exchange, and derivate trading.

Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH has 5 main regional branches and 49 operating units, as well as a network of ATMs and POS machines, and it operates on the whole territory of BiH, in the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska, and Brcko District. Though mostly branches are concentrated in the territory of the Federation of BiH, where Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH is ranked as #3 by total assets.

Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH keeps the leading position on the Bosnian market in terms of European Customer Satisfaction Index, with distinctive top rates as far as Company's Image, After Sale care of customers and Relationship with Personnel and Branch Organization.

Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa Sanpaolo is among the top banking groups in the euro zone, with a market capitalization of around 50 billion euro and leader in Italy in all business areas (retail, corporate, and wealth management). The Group offers its services to 12.3 million customers through a network of approximately 4,700 branches well distributed throughout the country with market shares no lower than 12% in most Italian regions.

The Group has a selected presence in Central Eastern Europe and Middle Eastern and North African areas with approximately 1,100 branches and 7.6 million customers belonging to the Group's subsidiaries operating in commercial banking in 12 countries.

Moreover, an international network of specialists in support of corporate customers spreads across 25 countries, in particular in the Middle East and North Africa and in those areas where Italian companies are most active, such as the United States, Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Sarajevo City Hall

Sarajevo City Hall is the most beautiful and most representative building built in Sarajevo during the Austro-

Hungarian period and serves as a symbol of the encounter of world civilizations. It was built in Neo-Moorish style -the perfect architectural unity of the East and the West.

After construction, the City Hall served as a residence of city administration. After the Second World War, it became the National and University Library of BiH. Since then City Hall is a synonym of culture and spirituality.

During the siege of Sarajevo, in the night between 25th and 26th of August 1992, the City Hall is shelled and burned. It is estimated that over 2 million books burned that night, including documents and manuscripts, representing over 80% of the library's fund. Barbarian intention to destroy complete culture of a nation failed because the most valuable books were preserved, and the building is credibly reconstructed. Vandalism attacks only contributed to the glory of the building itself, becoming a symbol of the indestructibility of Sarajevo.

The renovation of the City Hall lasted from 1996 to 2014 and was done according to the original documentation. It was officially reopened on May 9th on the Day of Europe and the Day of Victory over Fascism.

Today, the City Hall is one of the main tourist attractions in our city, which has a fascinating story about its origin, destruction and reconstruction. After the reconstruction, the City Hall's premises are mostly used for the organization of exhibitions, concerts, receptions and other ceremonial occasions.

Contacts for media:

Mrs. Lejla Dizdarević

Head of PR and Marketing Communication

Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH

e-mail: lejla.dizdarevic@intesasanpaolobanka.ba

phone + 387 33 497 618