3
Abstract
The XX century has been the core of the formation of Italy as both a state and a nation. By the first
expression, we mean its territorial affirmation and stabilization from 1861 up to modern times, while
by the second one, we mean the formation of its cultural and popular identity.
The research investigates these elements by looking at the political mandates of four characters that
shaped, more than others, Italian history. These are namely Giovanni Giolitti, Benito Mussolini,
Alcide De Gasperi and Silvio Berlusconi.
The aim of this research is to retrace some particular aspects of their way of doing politics in
different fields. More specifically, the domains under analysis will regard their historical
background, their political ideals and the way in which the population reacted to that. Moreover,
they will also deal with their relationship with the Catholic Church and the public works that were
realised under their mandates.
By doing so, the final thesis would like to demonstrate how their influence shaped the Italian
personality both from a political and social point of view. We are interested in seeing how some of
the aspects they introduced could still be efficient and actual if applied to the modern Italian state
in order to refresh the actual political world, which seems to be more and more passive and
ineffective.
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Introduction
The aim of this research is to entertain a long and deep journey throughout the Italian political
history of the XX century in order to try theorizing an ideological conceptualization that could suit
and improve the actual national diplomatic scenario.
Although this project may seem utopian and ambitious, the author believes that the research could
rise interesting observations that may help us reflecting about the modern institutional
administration, its accountability, responsiveness and the subsequent reaction of the population. In
order to do so, historical knowledge is fundamental for understanding the present, planning the
future and avoiding committing the errors of the past. In this research, the points of reference for
this process of understanding are represented by four political characters that, more than others,
contributed to shape the Italian political and social scenario from its unification in 1861 up to
modern times. These men are namely Giovanni Giolitti, Benito Mussolini, Alcide De Gasperi and
Silvio Berlusconi.
The author chose them according to their historical and administrative importance in the
development of some of the most salient aspects of the country. The research has been divided in
four main chapters, each one highlighting a specific theme, common characteristics and
divergencies.
In the first one, the characters are framed in their historical context and presented to the readers one
by one. In this part it is still difficult to concretely touch the common characteristics that constituted
their historical and political continuity. The author believed that this general framing was necessary
for a deeper understanding of the following parts of the research.
The second chapter aims at comparing the political personalities of the protagonists. Here, it is
possible to start connecting their roles and provisions due to the historical introduction that was
made in the first part.
The third chapter enters into a concrete confrontation due to the fact that it concerns the public
works realised by our characters. In fact, the section is divided in three parts that describe building
provisions, economic and social reforms. In this part it will be possible to enter into a deeper analysis
of the different attitudes that the characters shown according to the historical period in which they
found themselves. As an example, Giolitti and De Gasperi were more focused on the practical
necessity of constructing facilities and infrastructures that could make the country more
5
homogenous, whereas Mussolini and Berlusconi were more concentrated on the exaltation of the
nation and of their personal ideologies.
Then, the fourth chapter analyses the relationship between the State and the Church during the
different mandates of the four characters. The author believed that, while investigating about Italian
history, it was not possible to omit the great significance that the Vatican holds in the administrative
realm of the country. Even here, our protagonists appear to have controversial reactions. In this
sections, readers will understand how much they were disposed to dare in order to maintain either
their stable power or their convictions.
Finally, the conclusion appears to be quite different from a usual final evaluation. As a matter of
fact, it required the writing of almost a further chapter. The aim of this study is to deeply understand
which are the mechanisms that let Italy becoming a more developed and homogenous country
throughout the XX century in order to see the effects that it produced and that could still be produced
in the future. Nevertheless, modern times are characterised by partial divisions, discontent and
disadvantages. So, it will be optimal to see if we can learn something from the history and ability of
these characters. In particular, it will be interesting to see how the collaboration that they earned
from the population helped them in the realisation of their aspirations.
The installation of this virtuous relationship was the key element for the successful achievement of
such ambitions. This shows us that the political class needs to be an example for the population,
giving them the instruments and possibilities to improve society. In our conclusions, we hope to
give some useful hints for showing people how they could become the main characters of their own
destiny, as our four protagonists did.
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Chapter 1 – Historical context
In order to make our analysis clearer and straightforward, it is necessary to circumscribe the four
protagonists of this research. The national and international political context the country
experienced during their mandates and the kind of decisive influence they had on it makes their
personalities as the ones that maybe, more than others, marked the historical transitions the Italian
state went through.
Initially, it is fundamental to understand what class of country are we talking about. This can be
helped by the analysis of Guido Melis’
1
work, Fare lo Stato per fare gli Italiani. Throughout the
book, the author analyses the communication and linkage problem between the Italian State, its
institutions and the population.
These gaps dividing our country have always been present in the history of the Italian peninsula.
One of the best examples of this relies in the pre-unity situation, when it was divided in nine
2
different States, which were partly dominated by the Austrian Empire. Within these territories, there
existed distinct traditions, dialects, habits, levels of industrialization and development. But most
importantly, once the unification was realised in 1861, each slice of the population wanted to affirm
its characteristics to the whole territory.
The conservative attitude of the various realities coexisting in Italy has always been object of a
certain number of classic literature and academic studies. One of the most famous examples is
shown in the work Il Gattopardo
3
which was set in the period between the unification of Italy and
the 1910s. Here, the prince of Lampedusa describes the attitude of the Sicilian population during
the tiring process of homogenization of the country. One of the most famous quotes of the whole
work is: “In order to be sure that things do not change, we have to make sure that everything
changes”
4
. This sentence contains a multitude of meanings. The prince was inviting his people to
pretend to adapt to the social changes that the unification of Italy would have brought. He was
convinced that by pursuing this behaviour, the Sicilian population would have been allowed to keep
up with their social habits.
This was just an example to describe the general attitude of the Italian people when it comes to obey
some rules, having a leading figure or institution. It is our task then, to observe how the four
1
(Melis, Fare lo Stato per fare gli Italiani, 2015).
2
Piedmont, Parma, Modena, Tuscany, Massa and Carrara, Vatican Territories, Kingdom of Naples, Lombardy and
Veneto. These two last regions were dominated by the Austrian Empire.
3
(Lampedusa, 1958).
4
(Lampedusa, 1958).
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characters we are interested in managed to shape the Italian population throughout the XX century
and up to present times.
1 . 1 Giovanni Giolitti and the humped
5
country
Our first character of interest is Giovanni Giolitti (1842-1928). The period in which he dominated
Italian politics saw him as direct leader under the figure of Prime Minister but also without
personally leading the executive. This is known under the name of Età Giolittiana
6
, which officially
lasted from 1892 to 1921, even if this is conventionally indicated as being from 1903 to 1921. He is
considered to be one of the most important figures in the development of the conception of the
Italian State, even if he has also been severely contested.
One of the reasons of his questioned political personality relies in his involvement in the scandal
occurred during his mandate as Minister of the Treasury, which led him to resign and abandon the
political arena for some years. The episode is known under the name of Scandalo della Banca
Romana.
7
In contrast, he was the supporter of several reforms that characterized the ideological and political
modernization of Italy. Since he was the first Italian leader that did not participate to the Italian
Risorgimento
8
, his figure is associated with a greater degree of pragmatism in making the country
evolve. As a matter of fact, his predecessors were mostly concentrated in the ideological and
sentimental nature of the unification of the country. In his work Memorie della mia vita, Giolitti
affirmed that humanity was divided between two scopes: the political and the economic one. On the
first side, legislators would always try to modify the assets of institutions in order to attract as many
voters as they could. On the other side, politicians should always aim at the homogenization of the
division of goods and capital among the population, in order to improve the condition of the weaker
ones.
9
Throughout his mandates, this is exactly what he strained to realise. From the title of this paragraph,
we can see the expression “humped”. This is how Giolitti labelled the Italian attitude and his
5
Citation from Giovanni Giolitti, Memorie della mia vita, Milano, F.lli Treves, 1922, cap. X. p.209.
6
Età Giolittiana: period identifying the almost uninterrupted central mandate of Giolitti, which lasted from 1903 to
1921, although his first mandate occurred between 1892 and 1893.
7
Scandalo della Banca Romana (1892): political/financial issue revealing illegal activities of the governor of the Bank
and the complicity of the political figures around him, such as Giolitti, in vanishing the proves.
8
Risorgimento: Italian movement that gave rise to the final unification and independence in 1861.
9
Giovanni Giolitti, Memorie della mia vita, Milano, F.lli Treves, 1922.
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subsequent role. He described himself as a tailor, who should not force the country to become
something it was not, but rather, he had to be good at tailoring the right reforms and measures for a
State which was still weak and humped, and with no intention to straighten nor correct itself. By
this expression he meant all the aspects cited at the beginning of the chapter, such as the strong
intention of the several realities of the Italian population to maintain their principles and traditions.
Hence, he had to be able to install the accurate liaison that could have allowed the State and its
institutions to pierce into the population.
He was truly concerned with the industrial empowerment and modernization of the country.
Moreover, he was the first one after the authoritarian leadership of his predecessor Francesco
Crispi
10
, who avoided methods of harsh repression and tried to make several efforts towards the
comprehension of the requests of the population. As an example, many regulatory norms for women
and children’s work
11
were introduced exactly during his mandates.
The most remarkable novelty of his directive has surely been the introduction of the universal male
suffrage in 1912.
12
As cited before, the mission of homogenization between the different parts of
the population relied primarily on this. Giolitti believed that the enlargement of the electorate would
have represented a cue for economic and social growth. Even though socialism was spreading in a
considerably fast way at the time, he was not frightened by the enlargement of the political rights of
the opposition. On the contrary, he was able to see the socio-economic growth that this would have
triggered, operating in a very liberal and innovative way.
His figure was particularly important even with the upcoming of the First World War. Those years
were characterised by a brief interruption of his leading position. The role of Prime Minister was in
fact covered by Antonio Salandra
13
, who was pushed to overcome the decisional power of the
Parliament and declare war. Even though Giolitti was outside the political picture of the time, he
tried to defend and remark the rights and importance of the Parliament, when the king delivered the
declaration of war. Giolitti knew that the country was too weak to take part to a similar conflict and
that it did not have the obligation to do so, due to the rules established by the Triple Alliance
14
. As
a matter of fact, this last one established the obligation of Italy to intervene in case of a defensive
10
Francesco Crispi (1818-1901): Italian Prime Minister from 1887 to 1891 and again from 1893 to 1896. He was also
one of the main protagonists of the Italian Risorgimento (Crispi, 1912).
11
12 hours per day if the person had reached the 12 years of age, as reported in (Lacche, 2008, p. 33)
12
Provision recommended by the Minister Luzzatti, in 1912, aiming at conquering the support and collaboration of the
socialist party into the Italian Parliament.
13
Antonio Salandra: 33
rd
Prime Minister of Italy between 1914 and 1916 (Salandra, 1977).
14
Triple Alliance: 1882 pact between Italy, Germany and Austro-Hungary. The countries should have intervened in
case of a defensive action in favour of one of the components of the alliance.
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