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 The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Co ...

between 1910 and 1911. Luzzatti came from a wealthy and cultured Jewish family and built a reputation as a social reformer dedicated to raise the working classes from ignorance and poverty.Soper, ''Building a Civil Society''
p. 45
/ref> He is remembered being the founder of the Italian

credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

movement and for his book ''Dio nella libertà'' (God in Freedom), in which he advocates

religious tolerance Religious tolerance or religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, ...

. This provoked an exchange of correspondence between him and

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce, ( , ; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography, and aesthetics. A Cultural liberalism, poli ...

Early life

Luzzatti was born to

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 ...

parents in Venice on 11 March 1841.Prof. Luzzatti Dies; Italian Ex-Premier; Famous Financier, Political Economist and Jurist Was 86 Years Old
The New York Times, March 30, 1927 After completing his studies in law at the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

, he attracted the attention of the Austrian police by his lectures on political economy, and was obliged to emigrate after starting a

mutual aid society A benefit society, fraternal benefit society, or fraternal benefit order is a voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit, for instance insurance for relief from sundry difficulties. Such organizations may be formally organized with ...

among

gondolier The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scul ...

s. In 1863 he obtained a professorship at the Milan Technical Institute; in 1867 he was appointed professor of constitutional law at Padua, whence he was transferred to the University of Rome. Gifted with eloquence and energy, he popularized the economic ideas of

Franz Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch Franz Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch, also Hermann Schulze, (29 August 1808 – 29 April 1883) was a German politician and economist. He was responsible for the organizing of the world's first credit unions. He was also co-founder of the German Progre ...

in Italy, worked for the establishment of a commercial college at Venice, and contributed to the spread of people's banks on a basis of limited liability throughout the country. In 1865 he founded the ''

Banca Popolare di Milano Banca Popolare di Milano S.p.A. also known as Bipiemme or just BPM is an Italian bank based in Milan, Lombardy. The bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco BPM. Banca Popolare di Milano S.c. a r.l., an urban area cooperative bank, was founded ...

'' in

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 ...

, the second cooperative bank in Italy (the first one was the Banca Popolare di Lodi). The popular banks, modelled after the credit unions Schulze-Delitzsch had introduced in the 1850s, aimed to provide credits to peasants, small shopkeepers and artisans whose only option for capital had been

pawnbroker A pawnbroker is an individual that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as Collateral (finance), collateral. A pawnbrokering business is called a pawnshop, and while many items can be pawned, pawnshops typic ...

s or usurious moneylenders.Soper, ''Building a Civil Society''
p. 52
/ref> In 1869 he was appointed by Minghetti under secretary of state to the ministry of agriculture and commerce, in which capacity he abolished government control over commercial companies and promoted a state inquiry into the conditions of industry. Though theoretically a free trader, he was largely instrumental in creating the Italian protective system. In 1877 he participated in the commercial negotiations with France, in 1878 compiled the Italian customs

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

, and subsequently took a leading part in the negotiations of all the commercial treaties between Italy and other countries.

Banca Romana scandal

Appointed minister of the treasury in the first Di Rudinì cabinet of 1891, he imprudently abolished the system of frequent clearings of

banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...

s between the state banks, a measure which facilitated the duplication of part of the paper currency and hastened the bank crisis of 1893 and the resulting

Banca Romana scandal The ''Banca Romana'' scandal surfaced in January 1893 in Italy, 1893 in Italy over the bankruptcy of the Banca Romana, one of the six national banks authorised at the time to issue currency. The scandal was the first of many Italian corruption sca ...

. A Parliamentary Commission that investigated the bank scandal concluded that former prime minister

Francesco Crispi Francesco Crispi (4 October 1818 – 11 August 1901) was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architect ...

, Prime Minister

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 ...

, and Luzzatti, had been aware of the conditions of the Banca Romana but had held back that information.The Italian Bank Scandal; Report of the Investigation Read To Parliament. Many Deputies and Other Public Men Implicated
The New York Times, November 24, 1893Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', pp. 154-56 In 1896 he entered the second Di Rudinì cabinet as minister of the treasury, and by timely legislation helped to save the bank of Naples from failure. Following the revolt and suppression of the

Fasci Siciliani The Fasci Siciliani (), short for Fasci Siciliani dei Lavoratori ('Sicilian Workers Leagues'), were a popular movement of Democracy, democratic and socialist inspiration that arose in Sicily in the years between 1889 and 1894. The Fasci gained ...

(1891–1894), Luzzatti introduced two measures of social legislation in 1898. The industrial workmen's compensation scheme from 1883 was made obligatory with the employer bearing all costs; and a voluntary fund for contributory disability and old age pensions was created.Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', pp. 185-86 After his fall from office in June 1898, his principal achievement was the negotiation of the Franco-Italian commercial treaty, though, as deputy, journalist and professor, he continued to take an active part in all political and economic manifestations. He was again minister of the treasury from November 1903 to March 1905 in Giolitti's second administration, and for the third time from February to May 1906, under

Sonnino Sonnino is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is the birthplace of Italian national team footballer Alessandro Altobelli, and Roman Catholic archbishop Velasio de Paolis. History Originati ...

's premiership. During the latter term of office he achieved the conversion of the Italian 5% debt (reduced to 4% by the tax) to 3¾% to be eventually lowered to 3½%, an operation which other ministers had attempted without success; although the actual conversion was not completed until after the fall of the cabinet of which he formed part the merit is entirely his. In 1907 he was president of the co-operative congress at

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

Prime minister

He was minister of agriculture in the second Sonnino Cabinet (December 2, 1909 - March 21, 1910), and on the resignation of the latter was called upon to form a cabinet himself. His administration, which lasted until March 18,

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

, was not very successful and fell over a proposed electoral reform.Italian Cabinet Resigns; Ministry Formed a Year Ago Yields to Storm Over Election Reform
The New York Times, March 20, 1911 Although a man of first-class financial ability, great honesty and wide culture, he had not the strength of character necessary to lead a government: he showed lack of energy in dealing with opposition and tried to avoid all measures likely to make him unpopular. Furthermore, he never realized that with the chamber, as it was then constituted, he only held office at Giolitti's good pleasure. During the

First World War 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 ...

, he was consistently pro-

Ally An ally is a member of an alliance. Ally may also refer to: Places * Ally, Cantal, France, a commune * Ally, Haute-Loire, France, a commune * Ally, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, a townland Arts and entertainment * Ally (novel), ''Ally'' (nove ...

and strongly supported Italian intervention, but his tone was on the whole pessimistic. Although he did not take office while the war lasted, he was always consulted on all financial matters, and his sound advice was generally followed. He became treasury minister in the second incarnation of the Nitti cabinet (March 12 - May 10, 1920), but did not resume office in the third. At the general elections of May 1921, he decided not to stand for parliament again, and was made a senator. In spite of his advanced age, he continued to write on economic and financial problems with his accustomed lucidity and soundness of judgment, insisting on the necessity for Italy to return to

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

and to reduce government interference in business matters to a minimum.

Death and legacy

He died in

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, ...

on March 29, 1927, at the age of 86. He pioneered social legislation in Italy and initiated important social reforms, such as compulsory accident insurance. He also promoted workers' cooperatives, credit unions and voluntary insurance schemes that allowed people to take charge of their future. Luzzatti, nevertheless, remained a typical liberal of his time: he believed that government action to help the poor should be carefully restricted, and that the government should only intervene when private initiative proved inadequate; welfare schemes should not exonerate workers from investing effort in their own moral and economic regeneration.Ashley, ''Making Liberalism Work''
pp. 75-76
/ref> After becoming Treasury Minister in 1896, he is credited to have saved Italy from bankruptcy.Nestor of Italy Labors On at 85
The New York Times, February 28, 1926 He supported the

Zionist movement Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly co ...

, specifically agricultural settlements in Palestine.

Honours

* : Grand Cross of the

Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

References

Sources

* * * Ashley, Susan A. (2003).
Making Liberalism Work: The Italian Experience, 1860-1914
', Westport (CT): Praeger Publishers, * * Soper, Steven C. (2013).
Building a Civil Society: Associations, Public Life, and the Origins of Modern Italy
', Toronto: University of Toronto Press,

External links