Pasquale Revoltella, entrepreneur, financier and President of Assicurazioni Generali, built himself a splendid Neo-Renaissance residence between 1852 and 1858. The works of art that adorned the residence and that can still be seen there include the statue dedicated to the opening of the Suez Canal (an undertaking in which Revoltella played a major role), and the Fountain of the Nymph Aurisina. After his death, the building passed over to the Municipality of Trieste and subsequent purchases added works by Bartolini, Hayez, Palizzi, Guttuso, Fontana, sculptures by Giovanni Manzù and Arnaldo Pomodoro, and a sketch of Napoleon by Canova.