Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , 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 ...
, 16 December 1838 –
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , 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 ...
, 17 May 1891) was an Italian entrepreneur and politician, member of the rich
Florio
The Florio family is a prominent entrepreneurial Italian family who started many lucrative activities in Sicily involving above all the exportation of Sicilian products (such as Marsala wine) in the nineteenth century, in some ways redeeming Sici ...
economic dynasty, one of the wealthiest Italian families during the late 19th century.
Biography
The son of
Vincenzo Florio Sr.
Vincenzo Florio Sr. (Bagnara Calabra, 4 April 1799 – Palermo, 11 September 1868) was an Italian entrepreneur and politician, member of the rich Florio economic dynasty, one of the wealthiest Sicilian families during the late 19th century.
Ea ...
, the founder of the entrepreneurial Florio family dynasty, and of Giulia Portalupi, Ignazio was born in
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , 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 ...
on 17 December 1838. After the death of his father, in 1868, he resolved the problems of the division of the inheritance that could have meant the liquidation of the flourishing enterprise.Florio, Ignazio, senior by Simone Candela, Treccani Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 48 (1997)
The other heirs, his sisters Giuseppina and Angelina, were not interested in the family businesses and preferred the payment of their parts. This required cash outflows of over 4 million lire, corresponding to more than a third of the value of all assets. Ignazio succeeded in dealing with the financial effort without affecting the productive activities. Free from constraints, he set about to consolidate and further develop the business empire.
In 1874, Ignazio Florio Sr. purchased the island of
Favignana
Favignana ( scn, Faugnana) 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 ar ...
and the whole
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
of the
Aegadian Islands
The Aegadian Islands ( it, Isole Egadi; scn, Ìsuli Ègadi, la, Aegates Insulae; gr, Aἰγάται Νῆσοι, , the islands of goats) are a group of five small mountainous islands in the Mediterranean Sea off the northwest coast of Sicily, ...
in order to expand the
tuna
A 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 bullet tuna (max length: ...
business started by his family. Over time he brought the flotilla of the paternal shipping line ''Societa in Accomandita Piroscafi Postali-Ignazio & Vicenzo Florio'' (Florio Line) to a hundred units and in 1881 merged with the Rubattino company in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, 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 '' I & V. Florio'' of Palermo and ''Raffaele Rubattino'' of Genoa. At the time of the merger, the two companies both operate ...
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 north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
, June 19, 1881, Page 8
He also considerably developed all the other industries founded by his father.Flòrio Treccani Enciclopedie on line (retrieved 10 April 2018) In 1883 he was appointed
Senator of the Kingdom of Italy
The Senate of the Kingdom of Italy () was the upper house of the bicameral parliament of the Kingdom of Italy, officially created on 4 March 1848, acting as an evolution of the original Subalpine Senate. It was replaced on 1 January 1948 by the ...
, due to the fact that he had paid three thousand lire of direct taxation for three years because of his assets or industry.Ignazio Florio - Official site of the
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...
At his death in 1891 Ignazio Sr. left his two sons,
Ignazio Florio Jr.
Ignazio Florio Jr. (Palermo, 1 September 1869 – Palermo, 19 September 1957) was an Italian entrepreneur, heir of the rich Florio economic dynasty, one of the wealthiest Italian families during the late 19th century.
and
Vincenzo Florio
Vincenzo Florio Jr. (18 March 1883 – 6 January 1959) was an Italian entrepreneur, heir of the rich Florio entrepreneurial dynasty, one of the wealthiest Italian families during the late 19th century.l tramonto dei Florio Giuseppe Barone, Meridiana nr. 11-12, 1991
A public Monument to Ignazio Florio was erected in 1909 in the center of Piazza Florio of Palermo.
Issue
Ignazio Jr. and his wife – baroness Giovanna D'Ondes Trigona – had three children:
* Ignazio Jr. (1869–1957)
* Giulia (1870–1947)
*
Vincenzo
Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include:
Art
* Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor
*Vincenzo Bell ...
(1883–1959)
Further reading
* Candela, Simona. ''I Florio''. Sellerio (Palermo, 2008).
* Cancila, Orazio. ''I Florio: Storia di una dinastia imprenditoriale''. Giunti (Florence, 2010).
* Li Vigni, Benito. ''La dinastia dei Florio: romanzo storico''. Sovera (Rome, 2013).
* Lo Jacono, Vittorio & Zanda, Carmen. ''Franca Florio e Vincenzo Florio: due miti di Sicilia''. (2016).
RAI
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terr ...
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...