Italy boasts many excellences of all kinds, which are not limited to naturalistic or natural wonders monuments historians. In fact, there are several prestigious universities, which have hosted illustrious and high-caliber personalities over the centuries. Knowledge has its weight, and it is from this that a country draws its luster and energy. Among these fantastic poles of culture, there is one really famous and important: the Bocconi University of Milan. Perhaps not everyone knows its truly curious and troubled history. Let's find out more!
Bocconi University: the incredible background
The peculiar history of Bocconi University began a long time ago, towards the end of the XNUMXth century. The city of Milan had just been annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, and the Lodi brothers Ferdinando and Luigi Bocconi they were two young people full of hope. Both had the aim of becoming important people, and were determined to make their way into the Milanese bourgeoisie. At first Ferdinando and Luigi dedicated themselves to the sale of used clothes, which they sold on a stall near Piazza Sant'Ambrogio. The rise in the business world came in a short time: in 1877 the two boys opened a emporium that sold accessories and clothes, for both men and women. Subsequently, wealth and fortune excitedly knocked on the Bocconi brothers' door!
Having become famous and wealthy, Luigi and Ferdinando once again wanted to prove that they were successful men. Their idea succeeded, in fact, in completely changing the appearance that Milan had at that time. Already in the early nineteenth century, the Frenchman Aristide Boucicaunt had inaugurated the department stores in the center of Paris, but the intuition of the Bocconi brothers was even more striking. In fact they thought of to create a building that was able to provide everything that was needed by the bourgeois families of the time, with a fixed price for each commodity. It was a real turning point for the economy of the time, where purchasing ancillary goods was not a priority. Luigi and Ferdinando bought a large piece of land cheaply, located on the corner of Via Santa Radegonda, and work began immediately to build the first Italian department store.
A rude awakening, and rebirth ...
So far so good, but what does the University have to do with it? Well, as in great stories, it is precisely in the most unexpected moments that things change. On 22 October 1889, in front of a packed crowd of spectators and onlookers, the Bocconi palace in Piazza Duomo was inaugurated. It was immediately called by the Milanese Bocconi Brothers, later becoming known as Italian warehouses, by the Mele brothers. The Bocconi fame and fortune did not last long, unfortunately. Ferdinando Bocconi lost his son and heir Luigi in the battle of Adua, killed by the merciless spear of an enemy. From that pain, however, something positive was born. The affliction of the loss of his beloved scion prompted Ferdinando to found, in 1902, theBocconi University.
This is still considered today one of the most prestigious institutions in Italy, and represents a pride for all the Italian people. Ferdinando Bocconi passed away at the age of 70, struck down by an incurable disease. His decision, however, had such a resonance that it still allows you to enjoy an excellence like few in the world. Bocconi University in Milan was the first university to offer a degree course in Economics and Commerce, and it is the product of an entrepreneur's dream, but above all of a man. Ferdinando Bocconi believed in the importance and value of knowledge, which would help train young professionals. Even today, this University has maintained the expected standards, improving itself and looking a little to the past, but also and above all to the future!
