BANCA DI ROMA
1 Logos and restyling over time
The current “Banca di Roma”, present in the credit and financial world since 1539, is one of the three banks of national interest and carries out its business in Italy and around the world. From the merger of the three oldest banks in the capital, “Cassa di Risparmio di Roma”, “Banco di Santo Spirito” and “Banco di Roma”, the “Banca di Roma” was born in 1992. The “Banco di Santo Spirito” was founded in 1605 by Pope Paul V Borghese; at the beginning of the twentieth century this institute had a seal clearly depicting the dove symbol of the Holy Spirit, while in the seventies a logo that depicted the letters of the acronym on the ledgers seen from the side. The “Cassa di Risparmio di Roma” was established by the best families of the Roman aristocracy in 1836; at the beginning of the twentieth century it was equipped with a seal with the Capitoline wolf and the beehive with bees, a sign of industriousness; then, at the beginning of the seventies, a logo appeared with the letters composed of modular elements.
In 1937, the “Monte di Pietà di Roma”, created in 1539 by Pope Paul III, was incorporated into the “Cassa di Risparmio di Roma”; the latter was represented by the symbol of the Pietà depicting Christ seated above the tomb. The “Banco di Roma” was established in 1880 with a strong international propensity and was the first Italian bank to open branches in foreign markets, particularly in the former Italian colonies. In the early years of the century the logo depicted the two letters with the typical intertwining of the Art Nouveau style; starting from the 1920s, the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus appeared on the advertising pages and on the facades of the banks.
In 1971 there was the “Europartners” operational collaboration agreement signed with Commerzbank and Crédit Lyonnais to which, in 1973, Banco Hispano Americano also joined; on that date the so-called logo of the four winds was created consisting of vector elements which, covering the arch of a semicircle, directed the gaze to a central point.
In 1992, the newly formed bank confirmed the colors and lettering of the “Banco di Roma” by replacing only the letter “A” and used the “Banco di Santo Spirito” logo with appropriate modifications to display the initials “BdR”.
In 2002 the Banca di Roma merged with the Bipop Carire group to give life to the Capitalia group based in Rome. The Capitalia logo was designed in 2003 by Inarea: an amaranth red square cut by a C-shaped curve; this symbol flanked all the logos of the banks of the group, as well as for the Banca di Roma.
In 2007 the Banca di Roma joined the Unicredit group; the group’s logo was conceived in 1998 by Interbrand and featured a red circle with the number 1 inside. In 2003 this logo underwent a restyling: the red circle became a sphere acquiring three-dimensionality and, inside, the number 1 as an arrow shot upwards to the right, a perceived symbol of growth and dynamic strength. The lettering was also designed specifically for the UniCredit group names in order to make the logo more distinctive and convey unity. Due to these changes, in 2008 the Banca di Roma logo also underwent this adjustment.