Giuseppe Volpi, 1st Count of

Misurata Misrata ( ; , Libyan Arabic: ; also spelled Misratah and known by the Italian spelling Misurata) is a city in northwestern Libya located in the Misrata District, situated to the east of Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast near C ...

(19 November 1877 – 16 November 1947) was an Italian businessman and politician. Count Volpi developed utilities, which had brought electricity to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, northeastern

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and the

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by 1903. This was most notably Società Adriatica di Elettricità (the Adriatic Electricity Company, or SADE
it
In 1911–1912, he acted as a negotiator in ending the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

. He was the governor of the colony of

Tripolitania Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya. The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...

from 1921 until 1925. As 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 ...

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1925 until 1928, Volpi successfully negotiated Italy's

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 ...

debt repayment with the United States and with the United Kingdom, pegged the value of the lira to the value of gold, and implemented free trade policies. He was replaced in July 1928 by Antonio Mosconi. He was First Procurator of Saint Mark's, an influential position in Venice, from 1927 to 1947, involving the protection and historic preservation of

Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; ), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal Town Square, public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). The Piazzetta ("little Piazza/Square") is an ext ...

and Saint Mark's Basilica. Volpi also founded the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

. His son is the former automobile racing manager and

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

team owner Giovanni Volpi (b. 1938). His granddaughter via his daughter Countess Annamaria Volpi di Misurata was Countess Marina Cicogna (1934–2023) who ''

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 as "the first major female Italian film producer" and "one of the most powerful women in European cinema". Volpi was president of the

Confindustria The General Confederation of Italian Industry (), commonly known as Confindustria, is the Italy, Italian small, medium, and big enterprises federation, acting as a private and autonomous chamber of commerce, founded in 1910. The association netwo ...

from 1934 to 1943. He was removed from this position and expelled from the

Grand Council of Fascism The Grand Council of Fascism (, also translated "Fascist Grand Council") was the main body of Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy, which held and applied great power to control the institutions of government. It was created as a body of the ...

after he opposed the continuing of the war and Italy's alliance with

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. He was arrested by the SS after trying to escape to Switzerland. Volpi who was a leading figure of the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party (, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian fascism and as a reorganisation of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The party ruled the Kingdom of It ...

, underwent a series of legal proceedings for his responsibilities during the fascist regime after the war. His illness prevented him from appearing before the judges, but, thanks to the Togliatti amnesty he was acquitted of all charges, after a life spent at the top of the Fascist Party.Mario Guarino, I soldi dei vinti. La dolce vita della casta fascista e la fame per milioni di italiani. Documenti inediti sul Ventennio tra corruzione, ruberie e omicidi. L'elenco dei profittatori del regime, Cosenza, Pellegrini, 2008

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Volpi, Giuseppe 1877 births 1947 deaths Counts in Italy 20th-century Italian nobility People of former Italian colonies Mussolini Cabinet Ministers of finance of Italy Businesspeople from Venice Politicians from Venice Film festival founders Italian people of the Italo-Turkish War Presidents of Confindustria Italian colonial governors and administrators National Fascist Party politicians 19th-century Italian businesspeople

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