Società Generale Immobiliare (SGI; en, The Society General fReal Estate) was once the largest real estate and construction company in Italy. It was founded in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

in 1862 but then relocated to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1870 with the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

. After relocating to

, the company became interested in the pastoral land around Rome and eventually bought some of it. With the growth of Rome, the company grew as real estate prices increased. With time, the company's activities changed from real estate business to construction. One of the people who developed the company's construction activities was Aldo Samaritani (1904–96) who joined the company in 1933. The company is famous for building numerous residential buildings throughout Italy. SGI's largest shareholder was formerly the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

, which had 15% of the shares. However, most of the Vatican's holdings in the company were sold during the late 1960s to the

Gulf and Western Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. Originally, the company focused on manufacturing and resource extraction. Beginning in 1966, and continuing throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the company ...

corporation. SGI is the predecessor of Group SGI which was controlled by Opus Dei during the early 1990s. The company was also involved in the scandal of

Banco Ambrosiano Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank that collapsed in 1982. At the centre of the bank's failure was its chairman, Roberto Calvi, and his membership in the illegal former Masonic Lodge Propaganda Due (aka P2). The Vatican-based Institute for t ...

. A possible reference to SGI, by the name of "Internazionale Immobiliare", is featured in ''

The Godfather Part III ''The Godfather Part III'' is a 1990 American crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from the screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo. The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegn ...

'' as part of main character

Michael Corleone Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. In the three ''Godfather'' films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portrayed by Al Pacino, for which he was twice-nominate ...

's efforts to legitimize his fortune.

Famous buildings

Watergate complex The Watergate complex is a group of six buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Covering a total of 10 acres (4 ha) just north of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the buildings incl ...

Cavalieri Hilton Hotel Cavalieri is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bonaventura Cavalieri (1598–1647), Italian mathematician * Caterina Cavalieri (1755–1801), Austrian opera soprano * Diego Cavalieri (born 1982), Brazilian foo ...

in Rome

References

Italian companies established in 1862 1987 disestablishments in Italy Companies based in Rome Companies established in 1862 Companies disestablished in 1987 {{Italy-company-stub