Michele Coppino (1 April 1822 – 25 April 1901) was an Italian professor and politician.

Biography

Coppino was born to a poor family in

Alba, Piedmont Alba (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of Piedmont, Italy, in the Province of Cuneo. It is one of the main cities in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato. The town is famous for its white t ...

, where he later died. He was professor of Italian literature at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

and rector of the same from 1868 to 1870, when 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, ...

(which had been declared capital of 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 ...

) to follow his political roles. Coppino participated to the elections for the Chamber of Deputies of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

for the first time in 1857, but was defeated at the ballot. He was elected in 1860 and re-elected to the first legislature of the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies () is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, the upper house being the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate of the Republic. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform ...

one year later. He was subsequently a member of the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...

for some 40 years, interrupted, and twice President of the Chamber (both times succeeding Domenico Farini). Coppino was Minister of Education in the two first Depretis cabinets (1876-1878). He introduced the so-called ''Legge Coppino'' ("Coppino Law"), which made elementary schools mandatory and free of charge, with, in particular, no religious teaching. He was again Minister of Education under Depretis and Crispi between 1884 and 1888. Laws issued during his tenure include one for economical support for teachers, reorganization of kindergartens and of classic instructions.

Sources

Page at ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani''
by

Enciclopedia Italiana Institute Giovanni Treccani for the publication of the Italian Encyclopedia (), also known as Treccani Institute or simply Treccani, is a cultural institution of national interest, active in the publishing field, founded by Giovanni Treccani ...