1893 in Italy

Years in Italy:	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896
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Decades:	1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s
Years:	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896

See also: 1892 in Italy, other events of 1893, 1894 in Italy.

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Events from the year 1893 in Italy.

Kingdom of Italy

• Monarch – Umberto I (1878–1900)
• Prime Minister -
  1. Giovanni Giolitti (1892–1893)
  2. Francesco Crispi (1893–1896)

Events

Prints reproducing the massacre at Lercara Friddi in December 1893 during the Fasci Siciliani revolt

• January 18 – An official report confirms the serious state of affairs in the Banca Romana: a deficiency of cash, cooked accounts, a note circulation of 135 million lire instead of the 75 million permitted by law, a great quantity of bad debts due to building speculation. The next day the governor of the bank, Bernardo Tanlongo, and several of his subordinates are arrested.
• January 20 – Caltavuturo massacre in Caltavuturo in the Province of Palermo (Sicily), where local authorities killed 13 and wounded 21 peasants that occupied communal land they claimed was theirs. The claim for land reform was one of the demands of the Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues), a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891–1894.^[1]
• February 1 – Murder of Emanuele Notarbartolo, former mayor of Palermo and former director general of the Banco di Sicilia by the Mafia. Raffaele Palizzolo, a member of Parliament, was regarded as the mastermind of the assassination. The series of trials over the following decade split Sicilian society in two and astonished public opinion.
• May 21–22 – Congress of the Fasci Siciliani in Palermo attended by 500 delegates from nearly 90 leagues and socialist circles.^[2]
• August 10 – A new Bank Act liquidates the Banca Romana and reforms the whole system of note issue, restricting the privilege to the new Banca d'Italia – mandated to liquidate the Banca Romana – and to the Banco di Napoli and the Banco di Sicilia, and providing for stricter state control.^[3]
• August 16–17 – Massacre of Italian workers of the Compagnie des Salins du Midi in Aigues-Mortes (France) by French villagers and workers. The New York Times, reporting from the trial of ringleaders later in the year, reported that "ten men were killed and twenty-six wounded".^[4] Anti-French riots erupt in Italy. In Rome the windows of the French Embassy were smashed and for a while the angry mob seemed to get out of hand.
• November 24 – The government headed by Giovanni Giolitti has to resign as a result of the Banca Romana scandal.^[5]
• December 10 – Eleven people are killed in Giardinello during the revolt of the Fasci Siciliani.^[6]
• December 15 – The new government headed by Francesco Crispi takes office.
• December 21 – Battle of Agordat between Italian colonial troops and Mahdists from the Sudan. Emir Ahmed Ali campaigned against the Europeans in eastern Sudan. The Italian victory is the first decisive victory yet won by Europeans against the Sudanese revolutionaries.
• December 25 – Eleven people are killed in Lercara Friddi during the revolt of the Fasci Siciliani. In December 1893, 92 peasants lost their lives in clashes with the police and army.^[6]

Sports

• September 7 – The Genoa Cricket & Athletics Club, the oldest Italian soccer club, is formed by British expatriates. In its earliest years, it principally competed in athletics and cricket. Association football was secondarily practised.

Births

• January 11 – Tancredi Pasero, Italian bass singer (died 1983)
• January 26 – Giuseppe Genco Russo, Italian Mafia boss from Mussomeli (Sicily) (died 1976)
• February 12 – Giovanni Muzio, Italian architect closely associated with Novecento Italiano (died 1982)
• March 9 – Alessio De Paolis, Italian opera tenor (died 1964)
• March 14 – Franco Lo Giudice, Italian tenor (died 1990)
• March 18 – Costante Girardengo, Italian professional road bicycle racer (died 1978)
• March 24 – Gastone Brilli-Peri, Italian racing driver (died 1930)
• March 26 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party (died 1964)
• March 27 – Ugo Agostoni, Italian professional road bicycle racer (died 1941)
• April 13 – Augusto De Marsanich, Italian fascist politician and leader of the Italian Social Movement (MSI) (died 1973)
• April 21 – Romeo Bertini, Italian Marathon runner (died 1973)
• May 12 – Silvio Scaroni, Italian World War I fighter pilot (died 1977)
• June 27 – Antonietta Meneghel, Italian soprano better known by her stage name Toti Dal Monte (died 1975)
• July 1 – Mario de Bernardi, Italian World War I fighter pilot and seaplane air racer of the 1920s (died 1959)
• July 25 – Carlo Confalonieri, Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
• August 31 – Francesco Jacomoni di San Savino, Italian diplomat and governor of Albania before and during World War II (died 1973)
• September 12 – Giuseppe Castellano, Italian general who negotiated the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces on September 8, 1943 (died 1977)
• October 17 – Raffaele Bendandi, Italian pseudoscientist known for his predictions of earthquakes (died 1979)
• November 2 – Battista Farina, Italian automobile designer (died 1966)
• November 14 – Leonarda Cianciulli, Italian serial killer (died 1970)
• November 14 – Carlo Emilio Gadda, Italian writer and poet (died 1973)
• November 19 – Checco Durante, Italian film actor (died 1976)
• November 30 – Ettore Margadonna, Italian screenwriter (died 1975)

Deaths

• April 17 – Giovanni Passerini, Italian botanist and entomologist (born 1816)
• May 11 – Tommaso Maria Zigliara, Roman Catholic cardinal, theologian and philosopher (born 1833)
• July 16 – Antonio Ghislanzoni, Italian politician and journalist (born 1833)
• July 5 – Antonio Superchi Italian opera baritone (born 1816)
• August 7 – Alfredo Catalani, Italian composer (born 1854)
• October 16 – Carlo Pedrotti, Italian conductor and composer (born 1817)
• October 23 – Luigi Nazari di Calabiana, Italian churchman and politician; a senator of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Archbishop of Milan (born 1808)
• October 28 – Angelo Minich, pathologist and professor of surgery at the University of Padua (born 1817)
• November 2 – Carlo Laurenzi Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church (born 1821)

References

1. (Italian) L’eccidio di «San Sebastiano», La Sicilia, February 8, 2009
2. (Italian) Il «battesimo» del socialismo, La Sicilia, May 24, 2009
3. Alfredo Gigliobianco and Claire Giordano, Economic Theory and Banking Regulation: The Italian Case (1861-1930s), Quaderni di Storia Economica (Economic History Working Papers), Nr. 5, November 2010
4. The Aigues-Mortes Massacre: Story of the Assaults Upon Italian Workmen Told Anew", The New York Times, December 29, 1893
5. Cabinet Forced To Resign; Italian Ministers Called "Thieves" by the People, The New York Times, November 25, 1893
6. (Italian) La strage di Giardinello, La Sicilia, December 11, 2011