In a cramped square off central Milan's Piazza della Scala a security guard skulks by the entrance to a 17th-century palazzo. There's no nameplate on the door. None is needed. Number 10 Via Filodrammatici has long been known as the home of Mediobanca, Italy's premier investment bank.
But shortly after the death of Enrico Cuccia - from 1946 until last year the CEO of the bank - his successor and devotee, Vincenzo Maranghi, decided to set the fact in stone. He persuaded the city authorities to grant permission to name the spot. Three marble plaques bearing the dates of Cuccia's birth and death and the single word "Banker" now pronounce the square "Piazzetta Enrico Cuccia".
It's a grand gesture to a small, stooped man that many Milan residents remember glimpsing walking to work, as he did until his dying day. Cuccia's diminutive stature belied his standing. It's 15 months since his death...
