Generali Square Garden hosts the largest vaccination hub in Lombardy

Milan – Generali has made available to the Regione Lombardia, free-of-charge, Generali Square Garden (Palazzo delle Scintille, formerly Pavilion 3 of Fiera Milano), for the largest vaccination hub in the Lombardy region. The hub was created thanks to the collaboration between the Fiera Milano Foundation and Generali (which carried out the engineering and air conditioning works to enable its operation), with the participation and support of private partners such as Cisco and Moncler, and it will be managed by Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico.

The initiative is part of Generali’s commitment to sustainability, which also translates into a tangible and long- lasting bond with the communities in which the Group operates and is one of the enablers of the Generali 2021 strategy, to create long-term value for all stakeholders. Among the initiatives related to its 190th anniversary, Generali also presented Fenice 190, a € 3.5 billion investment plan to support the recovery of the European economies impacted by Covid-19, aiming to increase their social and environmental sustainability.

GENERALI SQUARE GARDEN

In the Milan of the 1920s, upon the purchase of the city’s parade ground, the newly created Milano Fair Authority began the construction of a large permanent pavilion: the Palazzo dello Sport, today named Generali Square Garden (Palazzo delle Scintille, formerly Pavilion 3 of Fiera Milano). This space was designed to be multifunctional, accommodating exhibition stands as well as a home to host major sporting events. As a result, the Palazzo dello Sport was the premier venue in the city of Milan. Also known as Pavilion 3, it was designed by Paolo Vietti Violi and built in less than six months. It was inaugurated in April 1923, to mark the first trade fair to be held in the newly created exhibition quarter. Throughout its long history, it has hosted several major sporting competitions, from six-day cycling to boxing and basketball matches at the highest level. In 1946, the Palazzo dello Sport was forever linked to one particular event, as the Teatro alla Scala was unable to host its entire musical season due to damaged suffered during the War, therefore the Fiera di Milano offered its pavilion, the first to be rebuilt, which hosted the subsequent year of La Scala’s operas. On 20th July 1946, following the approval of the maestro Arturo Toscanini, the palace was transformed into a large theatre, with a capacity of 6,000. In 2005, as the fairgrounds of Milan transferred to Rho, the building was donated to the Comune di Milano and in 2017, CityLife S.p.A renovated the building before its acquisition by Generali Real Estate between 2019 and 2020.