It has a number of features that set it apart from most of the other metals found in nature: in its pure state it is almost incorruptible, it does not rust or oxidize, it is easy to transport and store, and its great malleability makes it highly workable.
Throughout history, these features, along with gold's scarcity, have made it a useful unit for measuring the value of goods and an efficient means of payment. Because of gold's characteristics and functions central banks use it for a variety of purposes: they buy and sell it for financial reasons or to adjust the level of the reserves; they deposit it to earn income and use it as collateral to obtain loans.
The Bank acquired its gold reserves as a result of a series of events occurring throughout its years of existence. In , three issuing institutes - Banca Nazionale del Regno d'Italia, Banca Nazionale Toscana, and Banca Toscana di Credito - merged to create the Bank of Italy, which was initially endowed with its own reserve of gold.
These reserves increased progressively until the outbreak of World War II; by the end of the war they were seriously depleted, partly because some of its gold reserves had been removed by the occupying forces. After the war, Italy became an exporting country, receiving large inflows of foreign currency, principally dollars, some of which were converted into gold. This gold was used, for example, in to guarantee a loan from the Bundesbank.
At the end of the s, after the Bank had purchased the residual gold holdings of the former Italian Foreign Exchange Office UIC and transferred part of its reserves to the ECB upon the launch of the Economic and Monetary Union, the volume of gold reserves settled at the present 2, tonnes. Most of the Bank's gold reserves are housed in its vault and the rest deposited with a small number of central banks.
There are historical reasons for this decision the gold was purchased there , but it is also the result of a policy of diversification designed to minimize both costs and risks. A portion of the reserves is deposited close to the main bullion markets so that in case of need the gold can be sold quickly and transported inexpensively.
The present location of the gold reserves is judged to be satisfactory and no relocation is envisaged for the time being. The main physical market for gold is London, where the metal is traded between members of the London Bullion Market Association LBMA and where the official gold price used in most international gold futures contracts is set twice daily.
Thanks to these standards, professional buyers can accept gold bars without having to check the purity of the metal. Gold bars that fall short of it can still be traded, though at a discount on the official market price, usually equal to the cost of bringing them up to specification. The independent auditing company that certifies the Bank of Italy's annual accounts also verifies all the gold reserves in the vault in Via Nazionale, jointly with the Bank's Internal Audit Directorate.
Gold reserves held abroad are certified annually by the central banks where they are deposited. If the Bank wished to test directly the gold bullion on deposit with other central banks all of which have confirmed their willingness to cooperate , it would have to follow an agreed procedure to ensure that the utmost security and confidentiality were observed during the inspection. The Bank of Italy manages, in addition to the national official reserves gold and claims on non-euro-area residents denominated in foreign currency and assets relating to monetary policy operations, also the financial portfolio that comprises earmarked investments held against reserves and provisions, including those for staff pension obligations.
More than 90 per cent of the financial portfolio is invested in bonds, mainly Italian and other euro-area government securities; the rest is in equities and units of collective equity-investment undertakings. The equity component, which is for investment and portfolio diversification purposes, consists mostly of euro-area listed securities.
Investments in banking and insurance shares are excluded. The Bank also manages the defined-contribution supplementary pension fund for employees hired after 28 April ; its assets and liabilities are shown separately in the Bank's balance sheet.
The objective of the financial portfolio management is to contribute to covering the costs borne by the Bank and to preserve its capital strength. Investment activity is steered towards long-term objectives with a view to safeguarding the Bank's equity under both normal and adverse scenario assumptions that include the assessment of the risks on assets held and those associated with institutional activities.
The system used for the control of market risk, credit risk and liquidity risk supports operations and transmits real-time information on the flows of investment to the various units concerned. A passive style of management is adopted for the listed equity portfolio, which is geographically diversified across the euro area, the US and Japan.
For the Eurozone, a statistical model for in-house replication of a benchmark index is used, and for the US and Japan, collective investment products; for Italy the major market indices are tracked, with the exclusion of banking, insurance, financial services and media stocks.
Valenza itself - also a city of interest for the Milan Expo — will inaugurate its Museo del Gioiello or Jewelry Museum in Valenza, a small city in the Region of Piedmont, actually boasts the highest number of artisan gold and jewelry businesses in the country, as well as a solid high-quality artisan tradition and significant advancement in the way of technical, stylistic and material innovation.
The elevated level of design locally, fervent production, a fair and expo known on a global scale , and training academies and institutes of study rooted in the surrounding territory and tradition make Valenza a privileged destination for tourists, the curious and apasionados seeking out this different and rather particular thread of Made in Italy. Of course goldsmithery is an important profession all over the Bel Paese ; each Region has its own traits and specializations, where often the businesses are family-run.
Then, Arezzo, known for its longstanding importance in goldworks, and for its schools and research centers, historically supplied its pieces to Florence 's biggest jewelers. The Tuscan city hosts the annual trade fair and exhibition of " Oro Arezzo ," with thousands of operators from Italy and abroad participating.
Not to be counted out is Naples , with a 2,year-old district running from the ancient Neapolis to Torre del Greco. Other sector fair events include Vicenza Oro and Orogemma in Arezzo. Confindustria Federorafi. Comune di Valenza. About this site's cookies: The Bank of Italy uses its own cookies and third-party cookies to ensure the smooth functioning of its website: for more information and to find out how to disable them, users are invited to read our Privacy Policy.
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