Money made from the stars
MUDEM will take part in 'On the road with Banca d'Italia' in Verona, on 5-6 December. This is the Bank's journey around Italy, which makes several stops and aims to promote financial culture by talking about the central bank and setting up a direct dialogue with people, firms and institutions.
The Money Museum will be there with its travelling exhibition called 'Money made from the stars. The myth of gold from the cosmos to the vault', which you can visit at the Verona branch on the Open Days scheduled as follows:
- 5 December, 15.00 - 18.00
- 6 December, 9.30 - 12.30
The exhibition tells the story of gold by means of precious relics that bear witness to its evolution, from its rough state, created by two neutron stars colliding, to its use as currency and then to storage in the vaults for Banca d'Italia's gold reserves.
Most of the world's populations still attribute great value to gold. The Varna culture (4400-4100 bce) is the earliest civilization known to have used gold for their funeral decorations, and gold has since played a fundamental role in many monetary systems over the course of history.
Gold used to be the undisputed key player in the most advanced monetary systems, especially in the nineteenth century. Currencies were pegged to the gold reserves held in the coffers of central banks, and gold was long a source of stability and trust, until the spell was broken in the early decades of the twentieth century.
Banca d'Italia currently holds 2,452 tons of gold in the form of ingots and coins, and has the third largest gold reserves in the world.
So what is all this gold for? Come and find out!
Look at the schedule here and write to verona.segreteria@bancaditalia.it for details.
