Giuseppe Volpi

This article is about the politician. For the Italian sailor, see Giuseppe Volpi (sailor).

Giuseppe Volpi
Volpi in 1925
Minister of Finance
In office
10 July 1925 – 9 July 1928
Prime MinisterBenito Mussolini
Preceded byAlberto De Stefani
Succeeded byAntonio Mosconi
Governor of Tripolitania
In office
16 July 1921 – 3 July 1925
Preceded byLuigi Mercatelli
Succeeded byEmilio De Bono
Member of the Senate of the Kingdom
In office
18 November 1922 – 5 August 1943
Appointed byVictor Emmanuel III
Personal details
Born19 November 1877
Venice, Italy
Died16 November 1947 (aged 69)
Rome, Italy
Resting placeSanta Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
Political partyPNF
Tomb in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

Giuseppe Volpi, 1st Count of Misurata (19 November 1877 – 16 November 1947) was an Italian businessman and politician.

Count Volpi developed utilities, which had brought electricity to Venice, northeastern Italy and the Balkans by 1903.[1] In 1911–1912, he acted as a negotiator in ending the Italo-Turkish War.[2] He was the governor of the colony of Tripolitania[3] from 1921 until 1925.

As the Kingdom of Italy's Minister of Finance from 1925 until 1928, Volpi successfully negotiated Italy's World War I debt repayment with the United States[4] and with the United Kingdom,[5] pegged the value of the lira to the value of gold, and implemented free trade policies.[6] He was replaced in July 1928 by Antonio Mosconi.[7] 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 and Saint Mark's Basilica. [8]

Volpi also founded the Venice Film Festival. His son is the former automobile racing manager and Formula 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 described as "the first major female Italian film producer" and "one of the most powerful women in European cinema".[9]

Volpi was president of the Confindustria from 1934 to 1943.[10] He was removed from this position and expelled from the Grand Council of Fascism after he opposed the continuing of the war and Italy's alliance with Hitler. He was arrested by the SS after trying to escape to Switzerland.

Volpi who was a leading figure of the National Fascist Party, 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.[11]

  1. ^ Berendt, John (26 September 2006). John Berendt, The City of Fallen Angels. Penguin. ISBN 9780143036937. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Volpi's Commission". Time. 2 November 1925. Archived from the original on 27 October 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Italy: Cabinet Changes". Time. 20 July 1925. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  4. ^ "The Cabinet: Italy's Debt". Time. 23 November 1925. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  5. ^ "Ratified". Time. 15 February 1926. Archived from the original on 31 January 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  6. ^ "Italy: Back on Gold". Time. 2 January 1928. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  7. ^ "Italy: Volpi Out". Time. 16 July 1928. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  8. ^ "Venezia, Tesserin lascia ruolo di Primo Procuratore di San Marco". 27 March 2024.
  9. ^ Williams, Alex (10 November 2023). "Marina Cicogna, Italy's First Major Female Film Producer, Dies at 89". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Volpi di Misurata, Giuseppe (1937). Economic progress of fascist Italy. Roma: Usila.
  11. ^ 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