The following events occurred in the year

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Kingdom of Italy

*Monarch –

Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...

(1900–1946) *

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

– *#

Giuseppe Zanardelli Giuseppe Zanardelli (29 October 1826 26 December 1903) was an Italian jurist and political figure. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 15 February 1901 to 3 November 1903. An eloquent orator, he was also a Grand Master freemason. Zan ...

(1901–1903) *#

Giovanni Giolitti Giovanni Giolitti (; 27 October 1842 – 17 July 1928) was an Italian statesman. He was the prime minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921. He is the longest-serving democratically elected prime minister in Italian history, and the sec ...

(1903–1905) *

Population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

– 33,004,000

Events

The year is marked by the return of

as Prime Minister. He will dominate Italian politics until

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, a period known as the Giolittian Era in which Italy experienced an industrial expansion, the rise of organised labour and the emergence of an active Catholic political movement.

February

* February 13 –

Venezuelan crisis An ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis began in Venezuela during the presidency of Hugo Chávez and has worsened during the presidency of successor Nicolás Maduro. It has been marked by hyperinflation, escalating starvation, disease, c ...

. After agreeing to arbitration in Washington, Britain, Germany and Italy reach a settlement with Venezuela, resulting in the Washington Protocols. The naval blockade that began in December 1902 will be lifted, and Venezuela commit 30% of its customs duties to settling claims.

May

* May 31 – Law no. 254 is passed on aimed at improving living conditions for workers and to control housing speculation, with the establishment of a Public Housing Institute ( Istituto per la Case Popolari). The law was also known as the Luzzatti law, since it was introduced by the deputy

Luigi Luzzatti Luigi Luzzatti (; 11 March 1841 – 29 March 1927) was an Italian financier, political economist, social philosopher, and jurist. He served as the 20th prime minister of Italy between 1910 and 1911. Luzzatti came from a wealthy and cultured Jew ...

, a member of the opposition at that time.

June

* June 13 – Prime Minister

resigns after losing a vote in the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies () is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, the upper house being the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate of the Republic. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform ...

. However, after several attempts the Cabinet is reconstructed. The Interior Minister

is replaced.Work On Italian Cabinet; Premier Zanardelli Tries in Vain to Get Strengthening Material
The New York Times, June 21, 1903

July

* July 31 – Start of the

Papal conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

after the death of the 93-year-old

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

. Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto was elected on August 4 as

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

. Pius X's papacy would feature vigorous condemnation of what he termed '

modernists Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and social issues were all aspects of this moveme ...

' and ' relativists' whom he regarded as dangers to the

Catholic faith The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...

(see for example his

Oath Against Modernism The Oath Against Modernism was instituted by Pope Pius X in his ''motu proprio'' ''Sacrorum antistitum'' on September 1, 1910. The oath was required of "all clergy, pastors, confessors, preachers, religious superiors, and professors in phil ...

October

* October 12-17 – Visit of King Victor Emmanuel III and the Queen of Italy to Paris, accompanied by the Italian Foreign Minister

Tommaso Tittoni Tommaso Tittoni (; 16 November 1855 – 7 February 1931) was an Italian diplomat, politician and Knight of the Annunziata. He was Italy's foreign minister from 1903 until 1909, except for a five-month period. He also was interim prime minister f ...

, to mark the rapprochement between Italy and France, which could seriously affect the

Triple Alliance Triple Alliance may refer to: * Aztec Triple Alliance (1428–1521), Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan and in central Mexico * Triple Alliance (1596), England, France, and the Dutch Republic to counter Spain * Triple Alliance (1668), England, the ...

.Italian King's Journey; Paris Preparing a Hearty Welcome for Victor Emmanuel
''The New York Times'', October 11, 1903 * October 21 – Due to ill health Prime Minister

resigns.Italian Cabinet Resigns; Its Action Not the Result of the Political Situation but of the Premier's Failing Health
The New York Times, October 22, 1903 He dies two months later.

November

* November 3 –

forms his second government that would last until 12 March

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

.New Italian Cabinet; Signor Luzzatti, the Minister of the Treasury, a Friend of the United States
''The New York Times'', November 4, 1903 Giolitti tried to sign an alliance with the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...

, which was growing fast in the popular vote, but did not succeed. He strongly opposed the repression of labour union strikes. According to him, the government had to act as a mediator between entrepreneurs and workers.

Births

* January 9 –

Gioacchino Colombo Gioacchino Colombo (9 January 1903 – 24 April 1988) was an Italian automobile engine designer. Biography Born in Legnano, Colombo began work as an apprentice to Vittorio Jano at Alfa Romeo. In 1937, he designed the 158 engine for the Alfet ...

, Italian automobile engine designer for

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

and

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

(d. 1988) * February 16 –

Beniamino Segre Beniamino Segre (16 February 1903 – 2 October 1977) was an Italian mathematician who is remembered today as a major contributor to algebraic geometry and one of the founders of finite geometry. Life and career He was born and studied in Turin. ...

, Italian mathematician (d. 1977) * February 26 –

Giulio Natta Giulio Natta (; 26 February 1903 – 2 May 1979) was an Italian chemical engineer and Nobel laureate. He won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 with Karl Ziegler for work on high density polymers. He also received a Lomonosov Gold Medal in 19 ...

, Italian chemist,

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

laureate (d. 1979) * March 18 –

Galeazzo Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944), was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law ...

, Italian diplomat and

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

1936–1943 (d. 1944) * March 20 –

Maria Giuseppa Robucci Maria Giuseppa Robucci (20 March 1903 – 18 June 2019) was an Italian supercentenarian who was, prior to her death aged 116, the second-oldest living person in the world behind Kane Tanaka.Corrado Bafile Corrado Bafile (4 July 1903 – 3 February 2005) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1975 to 1980, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1976. At the time of hi ...

, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 2005) * July 16 –

Adalberto Libera Adalberto Libera (; 16 July 1903 – 17 March 1963) was one of the most representative architects of the Italian modern and contemporary architecture, Italian Modern movement.Adalberto Libera at DARC (Dept. of Architecture and Contemporary Art, ...

, Italian Modernist architect (d. 1963) * September 13 – Leopoldo Rubinacci, Italian politician, lawyer and trade unionist (d. 1969)

Deaths

* June 10 –

Luigi Cremona Antonio Luigi Gaudenzio Giuseppe Cremona (7 December 1830 – 10 June 1903) was an Italian mathematician. His life was devoted to the study of geometry and reforming advanced mathematical teaching in Italy. He worked on algebraic curves and alg ...

, Italian mathematician (b. 1830) * July 20 –

, Italian Roman Catholic Pope (b. 1810) * December 26 –

, Italian politician and Prime Minister (b. 1826)

References

* Mazzola, Ettore Maria (2016).
The sustainable city is possible: A possible strategy for recovering urban quality and local economies
'. Rome: Gangemi Editore * Sarti, Roland (2004).
Italy: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present
', New York: Facts on File Inc., {{DEFAULTSORT:1903 in Italy

Years of the 20th century in Italy