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The Florio family was a prominent entrepreneurial Italian family who started many lucrative activities in
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
involving the export of Sicilian products (such as
Marsala wine Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala first received ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) status in 1969. The European Union grants Protected d ...
) in the 19th century, in some ways redeeming Sicily from feudal immobility.Florio
Treccani Dizionario di Economia e Finanza (2012), (retrieved 10 April 2018)
The family extended its interests to shipping, shipbuilding, fisheries, mining, metallurgy and ceramics.L'Ora: la sua storia
Agave (Contributo allo studio delle fonti della storia dell'arte in Italia nel Novecento - Università degli Studi di Palermo)
The Florio economic dynasty was one of the wealthiest Italian families during the late 19th century. In the heyday of the Florio business empire reportedly some 16,000 people depended on the family, and the press sometimes referred to Palermo as 'Floriopolis'.Dickie, ''Cosa Nostra''
pp. 111-112
/ref>


Rise and decline


First generation: The beginning

The Florio family originally came from Bagnara, a town in the province of
Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
. Paolo Florio (1772-1807) saw no future in his hometown after an earthquake in 1783 and left in late 1799 with his wife Giuseppina Saffiotti, and their several-month-old son Vincenzo and Paolo's brother Ignazio (1776-1828) for
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
, where he started a shop selling herbs, spices and
quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg ...
. Cancila, ''Palermo'', pp. 45-53 The shop became a success because of the pure quinine they supplied. When Paolo died in 1807, Ignazio continued the business and took charge of Vincenzo's education. The financial legacy of Vincenzo and his uncle tripled in the decade between 1807 and 1817. The childless Ignazio died in 1829 and left all his assets to Paolo's son, his nephew Vincenzo Florio Sr. (1799-1868).


Second generation: Expansion

Vincenzo Florio Sr. immediately set a much faster pace in the family business, considerably expanding the scope of his activities well beyond the drug and spice shop. He gave an impulse to the family businesses by expanding the tuna fishing and its canned preparation in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
. In 1832 he established a factory of
Marsala wine Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala first received ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) status in 1969. The European Union grants Protected d ...
and, in 1841, the Oretea foundr
it
As a ship owner he promoted the development of maritime communications with the continent, building numerous steamers. Florio also invested in the
sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...
trade, mainly to the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. In 1840, he co-founded ''Anglo-Sicilian Sulfur Company Limited'' in Palermo with the British entrepreneurs Benjamin Ingham – also engaged in Marsala wineries – and Agostino Porry, for the production and marketing of sulfuric acid and sulfur derivatives. In 1841, he founded the Oretea
foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
. His business acumen was such that he became the intermediary for the city of Palermo of the bank of the
Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...
and as the founder of ''Banco Florio'', he himself became a renowned banker in Palermo and Sicily with many aristocratic families and the upper middle class.


Third generation: Consolidation

His son Ignazio Florio Sr. (1838-1891) considerably developed all the other industries founded by his father. After the death of his father, in 1868, he resolved the problems related to the division of inheritance that could have resulted in the liquidation of the flourishing enterprise.Florio, Ignazio, senior
by Simone Candela, Treccani Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 48 (1997)
In 1874, he purchased the island of
Favignana Favignana () is a ''comune'' including three islands (Favignana, Marettimo and Levanzo) of the Aegadian Islands, southern Italy. It is situated approximately west of the coast of Sicily, between Trapani and Marsala, the coastal area where the ...
and the whole
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
of the
Aegadian Islands The Aegadian Islands (; ; ; ; ) are a group of five small mountainous islands in the Mediterranean Sea off the northwest coast of Sicily, Italy, near the cities of Trapani and Marsala, with a total area of . The island of Favignana (''Aegusa'' ...
in order to expand the tuna business. With the merger of the Florio fleet into the
Navigazione Generale Italiana Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) was an Italian shipping company. History The company formed in 1881 by the merger of ''Florio, I & V. Florio'' of Palermo and ''Raffaele Rubattino'' of Genoa. At the time of the merger, the two companies both o ...
when ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' described the Florios as the "merchant princes of Europe",American Trade With Italy; A New Steam-Ship Line Started To Foster It
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, June 19, 1881, Page 8
the family was part of the narrow elite of the great Italian entrepreneurs and was at the top of the international high-society, a reference point in Palermo not only for the high aristocracy, but also for the rulers who increasingly visited the city in the second half of the 19th century. Cancila (2008), ''I Florio: storia di una dinastia imprenditoriale'', p. 9-10


Fourth generation: Decline

At his death in 1891 Ignazio Sr. left his two sons, Ignazio Florio Jr. and Vincenzo Florio, with assets valued at around 100 million lire.l tramonto dei Florio
Giuseppe Barone, Meridiana nr. 11-12, 1991
The eldest son, Ignazio Junior, succeeded his father in running the family business. He acted as a patron of the arts in Palermo, financing and monitoring the progress of various projects and making the Sicilian city an important meeting point for the international jet set of the time. His wife, Francesca Paola Jacona della Motta dei baroni di San Giuliano was known as the "''Queen of Palermo''", as she became a prominent protagonist of the
Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...
in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
. However, In the beginning of the 1900s, as international competition increased and the economic importance was moving to the north of Italy, to the cities of
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 ...
,
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
and
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
, the family had to face an increasingly deteriorated economic reality resulting in bankruptcies and closures of activity. Despite the increasing economic difficulties, the Florios maintained their expensive way of life. After the sale of Villa Florio all'Olivuzza in 1924, the family moved to Rome. Between 1925 and 1935 the economic collapse deprived Ignazio Junior of all his assets. In 1935 Donna Franca's jewels and their furniture and real estate were auctioned in Palermo.Ignazio Florio, il tramonto dell’impero che illuminò la Belle Epoque in Sicilia
''Il Gazzettino di Sicilia'', 1 September 2017
With the generation of the sons of Ignazio Jr., the third Ignazio and Vincenzo, the House of Florio reached the height of fame and prestige, but also the beginning of a dramatic decline. From the highs during the belle époque, with the splendours of the family and the triumphs of Ignazio's beautiful wife, the mythical Franca Florio, sung about by poets and immortalised by the most prestigious artists of the time. To the lows of the bankruptcy of the family's immense economic empire, which between revivals and relapses would slowly wear away between 1908 and 1935, finally leaving them in the most squalid and painful misery. The rise and decline of the Florio family is mentioned as a good example of the Buddenbrooks syndrome, referring to the novel
Buddenbrooks ''Buddenbrooks'' () is a 1901 novel by Thomas Mann, chronicling the decline of a wealthy north German merchant family over the course of four generations, incidentally portraying the manner of life and mores of the Hanseatic bourgeoisie in th ...
by German author
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
, the
1929 Nobel Prize in Literature The 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the German author Thomas Mann (1875–1955) "principally for his great novel, Buddenbrooks, which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the classic works of contemporary literature." He ...
, published in 1901. Cancila, ''I Florio: storia di una dinastia imprenditoriale'', p. 431 The Buddenbrooks syndrome is used by business historians to explain the inability of a family business dynasty to survive beyond the third generation:
The first generation of proprietors supposedly possesses the pioneering character, striving for money and creating a successful business. The second generation, it is alleged, exerts itself in strengthening the firm and increasing its recognition and social prestige. The third generation sometimes lacks dedication to the management of the family business, preferring leisure and non-productive activities. Fermín Allende
Poor Thomas Buddenbrook! Family Business in Literature
Business Economic History, Vol. 7, 2009


The Florio businesses


Florio winery

Founded in
Marsala Marsala (, ; ) is an Italian comune located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth largest in Sicily.The town is famous for the docking of Giuseppe Garibal ...
in 1832 by Vincenzo Florio Sr., the Florio winery (''Cantine Florio'') has been in continuous
Marsala wine Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala first received ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) status in 1969. The European Union grants Protected d ...
production since then. Florio became the first Italian producer of Marsala wine. His winery was in between the ones of John Woodhouse and Benjamin Ingham (1784-1861), the original British pioneers in the Marsala wine trade.Benjamin Ingham: Three men and Sicily’s ‘English’ wine
The Florentine, May 28, 2015
Florio
DiWineTaste, June 2007
He built splendid cellars in the town's tuff rock in which to produce and conserve the wine. The winery carries the emblem of a lion.


Tuna fishing

Vincenzo Sr. pioneered in
tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...
fishing and its canned preparation in Palermo. In 1841, he rented all the tuna fishing grounds, then an important sector of activity in Sicily, at the
Aegadian Islands The Aegadian Islands (; ; ; ; ) are a group of five small mountainous islands in the Mediterranean Sea off the northwest coast of Sicily, Italy, near the cities of Trapani and Marsala, with a total area of . The island of Favignana (''Aegusa'' ...
, launching what would become one of the most lucrative business activities of the Florio family.
Vincenzo Florio, mercante-imprenditore
' in: ''Il Mezzogiorno preunitario: economia, società e istituzioni'', pp. 260-68
Historians attribute Vincenzo Florio with introducing in Sicily the system of fishing with fixed nets and conservation under oil, thus increasing his trade and financial wealth. The Tonnara di Favignana was established in 1859 by the Florio family and was in operation until 1977. It was one of the largest tuna fisheries in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
. In 1874, Ignazio Florio Sr. purchased the island of
Favignana Favignana () is a ''comune'' including three islands (Favignana, Marettimo and Levanzo) of the Aegadian Islands, southern Italy. It is situated approximately west of the coast of Sicily, between Trapani and Marsala, the coastal area where the ...
and the whole
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
of the Aegadian Islands in order to expand the tuna business started by his father.Florio, Ignazio, senior
by Simone Candela, Treccani Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 48 (1997)


Shipping

In October 1861, soon after Sicily was incorporated into the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
, Vincenzo Florio Sr. founded the ''Societa in Accomandita Piroscafi Postali-Ignazio & Vicenzo Florio'' (Florio Line) with a fleet of nine steamers.Florio Line / Società in Accomandita Piroscafi Postali-Ignazio & Vicenzo Florio
TheShipsList (retrieved 13 April 2018)
In 1881, Ignazio Florio Sr. merged with the Rubattino company in
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
, giving rise to the
Navigazione Generale Italiana Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) was an Italian shipping company. History The company formed in 1881 by the merger of ''Florio, I & V. Florio'' of Palermo and ''Raffaele Rubattino'' of Genoa. At the time of the merger, the two companies both o ...
(NGI), which operated a line on
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The company also ran to
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
and
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
ports, Canada, India, the
Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
and South America.Navigazione Generale Italiana Line
TheShipsList (retrieved 13 April 2018)
At the time of the merger, the Florio Line was already a major company with a monopoly of the trade in the Mediterranean. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' described the Florios as the "merchant princes of Europe". The Florio Line brought 50 ships into the merger, while Rubattino contributed 40.American Trade With Italy; A New Steam-Ship Line Started To Foster It
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, June 19, 1881, Page 8
The Cantiere navale di Palermo (Palermo Shipyard) in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
, Sicily, was founded in 1897 by Ignazio Florio Jr., grandson of Vincenzo Florio. Construction was protracted and Florio was forced to sell his stake in the shipyard to
Attilio Odero Attilio, one of the legendary martyrs of the Theban Legion, is venerated as a saint in the area of Trino Vercellese, in Piedmont, north-west Italy and commemorated on 28 June. However his cult is no longer officially recognized by the Roman Ca ...
( it) in 1905, Florio's partner in NGI, and owner of ''Cantiere navale di Sestri Ponente'' and ''Cantiere della Foce'' in
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
, and a partner in Terni steelworks.


Newspaper

The newspaper '' L'Ora'' was founded on the initiative of the Florio family in Palermo. The first issue was published on April 22, 1900. The formal owner was Carlo Di Rudinì, the son of the former prime minister of Italy Antonio Di Rudinì, but the main shareholder and financier was Ignazio Florio Jr. The political direction of the newspaper was generally republican and progressive, representing the Sicilian entrepreneurial middle class.


Motor racing

Vincenzo Florio Jr., an automobile enthusiast, created a real racing team with
Felice Nazzaro Felice Nazzaro (4 December 1881 – 21 March 1940) was an Italian racecar driver, a native of Turin. He won the Kaiserpreis in 1907 as well as the French Grand Prix in 1907 and 1922 and Targa Florio in 1907, and 1913. His European wins in 1907 r ...
, and organised races that remained famous. He initiated the financial basis and the engineering plans for the "Brescia Motor Week" in
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
. He had finished third in the 1904 edition, and generously funded the 1905 race, which was renamed Coppa Florio. He donated 50,000 lire and a cup for the winner.Florio, Vincenzo
by Simone Candela - Treccani Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 48 (1997)
In 1906, he created the
Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo, Sicily, Palermo. Founded in 1906 Targa Florio, 1906, it was the oldest sports car ra ...
, one of the oldest endurance car races in the world. The first Targa Florio covered 277 miles through multiple hairpin curves on treacherous mountain roads where severe changes in climate frequently occurred and racers even faced bandits and irate shepherds. The race passed through many small villages, and fans lined up along the roads with no protection from the race cars. It was suspended in 1978 because of safety concerns. Today, the race continues with a different circuit as a minor racing event.


In popular culture

In 2019, Stefania Auci wrote an historical novel about the family, ''The Florios of Sicily'' (Italian: ''I leoni di Sicilia''), which was a surprise best seller, selling over one million copies and being released in 35 countries. In 2021, she released a sequel, ''The Triumph of the Lions'' (Italian: ''L'inverno dei leoni''). A streaming series adaption of Auci’s novel titled '' The Lions of Sicily'' was announced in 2022; produced by
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
and directed by
Paolo Genovese Paolo Genovese (born 20 August 1966) is an Italian director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Rome, after graduating in Economics and Business Genovese started his career at McCann Erickson, directing over one hundred commercials and w ...
, it stars Michele Riondino, Miriam Leone, Donatella Finocchiaro and Vinicio Marchioni.


References


Sources

* Cancila, Orazio (1999).
Palermo
', Roma/Bari: Laterza (coll. « Storia delle città italiane »), * Cancila, Orazio (2008).
I Florio: storia di una dinastia imprenditoriale
', Milan: Bompiano * Dickie, John (2004).
Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia
', London: Coronet {{DEFAULTSORT:Florio family Italian business families Wineries of Italy Marsala History of Sicily