Can elites make a difference? The building up of prerequisites for modernisation in Lombardy and Venetia (1814-66)

Chiara Natalie Focacci*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The long-term socio-economic divergence between Venetia and Lombardy after the Restoration period (1814-66) is generally attributed to their Habsburg rulers, but alternative explanations are also possible. Drawing inspiration from Macry's idea of 19th-century transformations revolving around elites, in analysing primary sources from Italian archives we reveal the existence of two very different privileged groups in Lombardy and Venetia. Albeit within the same framework of Habsburg rule, the two elites encouraged technical culture and change in quite distinct ways. Section 1 introduces the centrality of elites within the Lombard-Venetian Kingdom, transcending the negative bias against Venetia. Sections 2 and 3 provide practical examples of the divergence between the Lombard and Venetian elites concerning the main economic activities of the time, namely agriculture and the silk industry. Sections 4-6 offer possible explanations for the existence of two types of elite within the same Kingdom. Section 7 concludes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9-43
Number of pages35
JournalJournal of European Economic History
Volume48
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Journal of European Economic History. All rights reserved.

Research programs

  • SAI 2008-06 BACT

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Can elites make a difference? The building up of prerequisites for modernisation in Lombardy and Venetia (1814-66)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this