text: In 1869, Generali foresaw the significant impact of the Suez Canal's inauguration on world trade. Key figures within the company, including Pasquale Revoltella and Giuseppe Morpurgo, were involved in the historic event, with Revoltella becoming the vice president of the Universal Company of the Suez Canal.
  The opening of the canal brought about a favorable economic climate for Generali, leading to its expansion across various regions, from the eastern Mediterranean to North Africa, the Far East, and the Americas.
  Under the stewardship of Marco Besso, who managed the company from 1877 to 1920 and eventually became its president, Generali assumed an international dimension. The company opened agencies in the Mediterranean, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, the Americas, and the Far East, while also founding subsidiaries such as Erste Allgemeine Schaden und Unfallversicherung in Vienna, Generala in Romania, Anonima Grandine, and Anonima Infortuni in Italy.
  During this period, Generali's most prestigious Italian offices were constructed, including notable buildings in Florence, Trieste, Milan, Rome, and Turin. In 1914, the Procuratie Vecchie, the seat of the Venice administration, underwent restructuring. Amidst the challenges of the First World War, which pitted Italy against Austria-Hungary, Generali's Venetian and Trieste headquarters maintained their operational independence, allowing the company to navigate complex circumstances without taking political positions that could compromise its integrity.