Since the end of the 18th century Giovanni Vianello was one of the most importants Venetian merchants of Thessaloniki. At that time Venice was under the rule of the Austrian Hungarian empire, so Giovanni was an Austrian citizen. Before the Greek revolution (1821) the family was among the richest in town. Their trades went from Vienna to Bremen, Frankfurt and Leipzig, Marseille and Trieste, mainly in colonial goods.

 The grandchild of Giovanni, Giorgio (Georges) Vianello was Consul of the Sardinian Kingdom from 1840 to 1861, when, together with the kingdom of the two Siciles, it became the first unified kingdom of Italy.