Italy is known to possess one of the biggest stashes of gold in the world, with more than 2,451 metric tons of bullion under its control. Now its central bank, the Bank of Italy, has published a scholarly paper confirming that gold has stood the test of time as a safe-haven asset during periods of economic volatility and turmoil.

Written in June, the paper is titled in English “Gold as a safe haven asset? Empirical evidence from a comparison of different financial assets.”