The Intesa Sanpaolo Group have been honoured with their name inscribed on the 300-year-old Clarendon Arch, as a major benefactor of the University of Oxford.
The Intesa Sanpaolo Group, one of the top banking groups in Europe, received the honour at the unveiling of its name this week, followed by a solemn ceremony in the historic Convocation House. The celebration took place under the Hawksmoor-designed Clarendon Arch where the University’s greatest benefactors names are engraved onto slate tablets. This is a highly significant place for the University, at the entrance to the Bodleian Library complex and next to the iconic Sheldonian Theatre – at the heart of the 900-year-old institution.
Names inscribed on the arch include some of the University’s most prominent benefactors, including King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian library. Benefactors added within the last generation include Dame Stephanie Shirley, Mr George Soros, HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Wolfson Foundation.