La Fondiaria, the fixed-premium fire insurance company, was founded in Florence on 15 January 1879; the same year also saw the founding of the La Fondiaria fixed-premium life insurance company. The new companies were modelled on the Parisian company La Fonciére, whose president Jean Marie George de Soubeyran (also director of the Banque d'Escompte de Paris) was among the promoters of the initiative, together with Tuscan and Ligurian financiers and entrepreneurs. The French presence was very influential during the first decade of the company's existence and was clearly reflected in the appointment of Emilio Guitard as the first General Manager of La Fondiaria Incendio (1879-1893) and La Fondiaria Vita (1880-1893). The photograph depicts a group of top executives of La Fondiaria. Among them are: Emilio Guitard (centre, standing); Enrico Fantazzini (front row, seated), also General Manager of La Fondiaria Incendio and La Fondiaria Vita (1893-1907).
