Gold Mercury President Meets Italian President Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace on Gold Mercury’s 65th Anniversary
Sixty-five years after Gold Mercury was founded at the dawn of the 1960s, its President Nicolas De Santis returned to the Quirinale — the historic setting of its Awards — to meet President Sergio Mattarella and reflect on the enduring importance of governance, the rule of law and the future.
Nicolas De Santis, Gold Mercury President, with Italian President Mattarella.
LONDON/ROME — 21 September 2026 — The President of Gold Mercury, Nicolas De Santis, attended an official audience with the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, during Gold Mercury’s 65th anniversary year.
A Historic Return to the Quirinale
The meeting took place in the historic Sala degli Specchi (Hall of Mirrors), one of the Quirinale’s principal state rooms and a setting for important institutional meetings and ceremonies.
For Gold Mercury, the room has an extraordinary historical significance. It is here that Gold Mercury Awards have been presented since the organisation’s founding by Nicolas De Santis’s father, Eduardo De Santis, in 1961 — including, in 1970, to Italian President Giuseppe Saragat.
Sixty-five years after Gold Mercury was founded, Nicolas De Santis returned to the same room to meet the President of the Italian Republic during the organisation’s 65th anniversary year.
Eduardo De Santis (left), founder of Gold Mercury International, at the Quirinale Palace
From Gold Mercury’s Legacy to the Advancement of the Rule of Law
The occasion brought together Gold Mercury’s historic legacy and contemporary questions of governance, law and the future.
President Mattarella received a delegation from the World Law Foundation, led by Javier Cremades. The delegation included Viviane Reding, former Vice-President of the European Commission; Fiona Papajorgji, President of the Constitutional Court of Albania; and Nicolas De Santis, a founding member of the World Law Foundation’s Board, participating in his capacity as a member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
In his address, President Mattarella stressed the central importance of the rule of law, the protection of fundamental rights and the relationship between law and the exercise of power. He also addressed the importance of international cooperation and multilateralism in confronting the challenges facing the international community.
Mattarella emphasised that the rule of law provides both the foundation for the legitimate exercise of power and the limits within which power must operate. He also addressed the challenges presented by technological development and artificial intelligence, underlining the importance of ensuring that technological progress remains grounded in human dignity, freedom and fundamental rights.
President Mattarella during his speech at the Quirinale Palace
“To be in the same room where my father presented Gold Mercury Awards over the decades — including to President Saragat in 1970 — and to return there in our 65th anniversary year to meet the President of the Italian Republic, had an enormous emotional impact on me. It carries a very significant and symbolic meaning for Gold Mercury and for my family.”
President Mattarella during his speech at the Sala degli Specchi (Hall of Mirrors) of the Quirinale Palace (2026).
A 65-Year Tradition of Visionary Governance
Italian President, Giuseppe Saragat, receiving the Gold Mercury Award at the Quirinale Palace in 1970 for his work promoting economic development and international cooperation.
For Gold Mercury, the occasion carried a particular resonance. Founded in Rome in 1961, Gold Mercury has spent more than six decades developing its work around questions of leadership, governance, peace, cooperation, and the future.
Rome holds deep historical significance for Gold Mercury International as the birthplace where the organization was founded in 1961 by Eduardo De Santis, with the early support of Italian President Giuseppe Saragat. Conceived in the Eternal City amidst the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War, Rome served as the original stage for Gold Mercury's pioneering vision of "Visionary Governance" and international cooperation through peaceful trade. In 1961, Rome's historic Palazzo del Campidoglio hosted the organization's inaugural awards and a landmark Conference for International Peace and Cooperation under the auspices of the Italian presidency. This anchored Gold Mercury’s foundational identity in Italian diplomatic heritage long before its headquarters relocated to London in the 1990s. Over the following decades, Rome's Quirinale Palace hosted several additional award ceremonies supported by Italian Presidents Giuseppe Saragat and Giovanni Leone.
Its Awards have recognized individuals whose contributions have reflected these principles across different periods of global change—from President Giuseppe Saragat in 1970 to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in 2025, alongside other figures who have made significant contributions to global affairs.
Italian President Giuseppe Saragat (5th President of the Republic, 1964–1971) during one of the many Gold Mercury Award ceremonies held at the Quirinale Palace, 1971. Photo: Quirinale Photo Archive.
Italian President Giovanni Leone in 1972, giving a speech during the Gold Mercury Award ceremonies held at the Quirinale Palace. Photo: Presidenza della Repubblica
Quirinale Palace, main entrance.
Connecting the Past with the Future
Returning to Rome in its 65th anniversary year therefore represented more than a commemorative moment. It connected Gold Mercury’s historic legacy with its continuing institutional purpose — from the presentation of its Awards at the Campidoglio and the Quirinale Palace to its engagement today with the major governance challenges shaping the future.
Sixty-five years on, Gold Mercury returned to Rome — connecting the institution’s historic legacy with its continuing mission for the future.
Italian President Giuseppe Saragat during the Gold Mercury ceremony at the Quirinale Palace, honouring women in the workforce, 1968. Photo: Quirinale Photo Archive.
The Cuirassiers Regiment (Italian: Reggimento corazzieri) is a Carabinieri cavalry regiment acting as the guard of honour of the President of the Italian Republic. Their motto is Virtus in periculis firmior.
About Gold Mercury International
Gold Mercury® is the global think tank for Visionary Governance® and Future Worldbuilding®, helping governments, international organisations and business leaders anticipate change and design solutions to the world's most complex challenges. Through research, strategic intelligence and policy analysis, Gold Mercury identifies innovative governance models and real-world case studies that advance peace, prosperity and sustainable human development. Since 1961, Gold Mercury has recognised outstanding leadership through the prestigious Gold Mercury Awards®, honouring individuals and organisations whose vision and actions have made a lasting contribution to humanity.