Ernesto Nathan (5 October 1848 – 9 April 1921) was an English-Italian politician who was the

mayor of Rome The mayor of Rome () is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of Rome, Rome City Council () of 48 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Rome. As Rome is a ''Comune, comune speciale'' since 2009, the office is d ...

from November 1907 to December 1913.

Biography

Nathan was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1845 to Sara Levi, an Italian from

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

, and Mayer Moses Nathan, a naturalised Briton of German origin, both of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

heritage. His father died when Ernesto was a teenager. He spent his youth in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

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Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

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, where he administered a

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

mill. He was attracted by the revolutionary ideas of

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, ; ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the ...

, and in 1870, at 25, he moved to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

as administrator of ''La Roma del Popolo''. His house in Rome became a centre of literarian and political debate, with figures like Giosuè Carducci and Francesco Crispi Nine years later he was a member

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for Crispi's left-wing party. In 1888 he obtained Italian citizenship. In 1887 he became a member of the

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

Grande Oriente d'Italia, of which he was named Grand Master in 1899 and later in 1917. In April 1889, Nathan was elected to the Town Council of Rome, and was elected mayor of the city in November

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

.Jew To Be Mayor of Rome; Outcome of Anti-Clerical Victory In Recent Election
The New York Times, November 22, 1907 He retained the charge until 1913, and was elected for a second time in November 1911. The first mayor of Rome who did not belong to the land-owning elite which had controlled politics in the city until then, and motivated by a deep belief in the importance of secular, ethical politics, Nathan tried to regulate as much as possible the intense building programs that had erupted all around the city after it became the capital of Italy in 1871. He also strove to promote a secular education system, at a time when education in Rome was still dominated by Catholic institutions. He opened more than 150 kindergartens. The 40th anniversary commemoration of the Capture of Porta Pia in 1910 heightened tension between Nathan's anticlerical administration and the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. With respect to public works, Nathan inaugurated the Vittoriano, the Palace of Justice (Palazzo di Giustizia), the Archaeological Walk on the Aventine and Caelian Hills, and the National Stadium, the current Stadio Flaminio, Rome's first modern building for sports events. A public transport network ( ATAC) was created in 1911, as well as a city energy company (ACEA), in 1912. He died on 9 April 1921.

References

*Claudio Rendina, ''Enciclopedia di Roma'', Newton Compton, Rome, 2000.

External links

David B. Green, "This Day in Jewish History 1907: A Jew Who Would Irk the Vatican Becomes Mayor of Rome"

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

, Nov 25, 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, Ernesto 1848 births 1921 deaths Politicians from London Mayors of Rome Jewish Italian politicians Jewish mayors British people of German-Jewish descent British people of Italian-Jewish descent British emigrants to Italy 19th-century Italian Jews Italian Freemasons Italian Radical Party politicians 20th-century Italian Jews Burials at Campo Verano