1897 in Italy

Decades:	1870s; 1880s; 1890s; 1900s; 1910s;
See also:	History of Italy; Timeline of Italian history; List of years in Italy;

Events from the year 1897 in Italy

Kingdom of Italy

Monarch – Umberto I (1878–1900)
Prime Minister – Antonio di Rudinì (1896–1898)

Events

In 1897 the wheat harvest in Italy was substantially lower than the years before; it fell from on average 3.5 million tons in 1891–95 to 2.4 million tons that year.^[1]^[2] Increasing wheat prices caused social unrest.

February

2 February – Despite the guarantees given by the Great Powers on the Ottoman sovereignty over Crete, Colonel Timoleon Vassos unilaterally proclaimed the union of the island with Greece. The Powers reacted by demanding that the Greek Prime Minister Theodoros Deligiannis immediately withdraw Greek forces from the island in exchange for a statute of autonomy. The demand was rejected, and on 7 February the first full-scale battle between Greeks and Turks occurred, when the Greek expeditionary force in Crete defeated a 4,000-strong Ottoman force at the Battle of Livadeia, Crete. The bold action of the Greeks excites popular admiration in Italy and sympathy with the Cretan Christians.^[3]
17 February – Vice Admiral Felice Napoleone Canevaro, commanding the Italian warships in Cretan waters, is chosen to command the combined naval forces of the Great Powers, as the senior admiral of the united fleet, known as the International Squadron. He warns Greece and Cretan insurgents to cease all hostile actions against the Turks.^[4]
21 February – Popular manifestations in Rome and other towns in Italy in favour of the union of Greece and Crete, which is under Ottoman rule.^[5]

March

16 March – An agreement for the construction of the careening dock and the shipyard Cantiere navale di Palermo was signed between the government and the Ignazio Florio Jr., scion of the wealthy Florio family, and shipowner and owner of the Navigazione Generale Italiana company, which provided regular services within Sicily and to the ports of Naples and Marseille. The financing of the work was divided between the Florio family (66%), the Italian State, the Municipality of Palermo and the Province of Palermo, as well as a small subsidy from the Cassa di Risparmio of Palermo.^[6]
21 March – First round of the Italian general election.^[7]
28 March – Second round of the Italian general election, 1897. The "Ministerial" left-wing bloc, led by Giovanni Giolitti remained the largest in Parliament, winning 327 of the 508 seats. The Di Rudini government continues.

April

5 April – 8 May – Greco-Turkish War over the status of the Ottoman province of Crete, whose Greek majority long desired union with Greece. Italian volunteers under the command of Ricciotti Garibaldi go to Crete to fight for the unification of Crete with Greece.^[8] Greece will suffer a heavy defeat and the Great Powers will force the Greek army to abandon the island.
12 April – After four days of debate Prime Minister Antonio di Rudinì survives a vote of confidence over the policy towards Greece in relation with the Cretan State.^[9]
22 April – King Umberto I is attacked by an unemployed anarchist ironsmith, Pietro Acciarito, who tried to stab him near Rome.

May

16 May – The Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Sicily, the third largest opera house—after the Palais Garnier in Paris and the K. K. Hof-Opernhaus in Vienna—was inaugurated with a performance of Verdi's Falstaff conducted by Leopoldo Mugnone.

December

5 December – Minister of War, General Luigi Pelloux, resigns over a conflict about army promotions.^[10] Prime Minister Di Rudini is tasked with forming a new Cabinet. The previous one was riddled with irreconcilable positions, Di Rudini now tries to form a more unified government.^[11]
14 December – Prime Minister Di Rudini forms a new Cabinet, which includes the Liberal Giuseppe Zanardelli as Minister of Justice.^[12]^[13]

Sports

10 April – James Richardson Spensley opened the footballing section for the Genoa Cricket & Athletics Club, a cricket and athletics club formed by British expatriates, and was put in place as its first ever manager.^[14]
1 November – Juventus FC founded as Sport-Club Juventus by a group of young students from Turin.

Births

21 January – Jole Bovio Marconi, archaeologist and prehistorian (died 1986)
27 February – Edmond Amateis, sculptor (died 1981)
15 June – Carlo Scorza, Fascist leader (died 1988)
25 October – Luigi Pavese, actor (died 1969)
5 December – Tina Lattanzi, actress (died 1997)
19 December – Vasco Ronchi, physicist (died 1988)
30 December – Alfredo Bracchi, Italian author (died 1976)

Deaths

7 February – Galileo Ferraris, physicist (born 1847)
10 March – Teodulo Mabellini, composer (born 1817)
16 March – Bernardino Grimaldi, Italian politician (b. 1837)
27 March – Paolo Angelo Ballerini, prelate (born 1814)
20 August – Michele Angiolillo, anarchist (born 1871)
13 December – Francesco Brioschi, mathematician (born 1825).

References

^ Clark, Modern Italy, pp. 126–28
^ "Fatti di maggio" in: Sarti, Italy: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present, p. 271
^ Italy Indorses Greece; Her Action Regarded as a Bold Stroke for Humanity, The New York Times, February 17, 1897
^ The Powers Take Action; Sharp Warning Issued to Prince George Against Hostilities, The New York Times, February 18, 1897
^ Sympathy for Greece in Italy; The Position of the Government Made Daily More Difficult, The New York Times, February 22, 1897
^ Stanchieri, Luca (June 2004). "Il Cantiere Navale di Palermo. Dalla nascita alle prime agitazioni operaie". Mediterranea (in Italian) (1). Associazione no profit Mediterranea: 75–120. ISSN 1828-230X. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
^ Elections Held in Italy; The Government Will Have a Good Majority in the New Chamber, The New York Times, March 22, 1897
^ Italians Embark for Greece; Garibaldi's Son Among the Men to Help Against the Turks, The New York Times, April 22, 1897
^ Vote of Confidence in Italy; Her Position on the Cretan question Approved by the Deputies, The New York Times, April 13, 1897
^ Italian Cabinet Crisis; Gen Pelloux, the Minister of War, Insists Upon Leaving the Ministry, The New York Times, December 6, 1897
^ Italian Cabinet Crisis; The Marquis di Rudini Declared in an Official Note Unable to Form a Ministry, The New York Times, December 13, 1897
^ Rudini Forms a Cabinet; Italy's Ministry Reconstructed After Several Changes, The New York Times, December 15, 1897
^ The Italian Crisis, The New York Times, December 23, 1897
^ "Genoa". Channel4.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27.

Clark, Martin (1984/2014). Modern Italy, 1871 to the Present, New York: Routledge, ISBN 978-1-4058-2352-4

[clark-1] Clark, Modern Italy, pp. 126–28

[sarti-2] "Fatti di maggio" in: Sarti, Italy: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present, p. 271

[nyt170297-3] Italy Indorses Greece; Her Action Regarded as a Bold Stroke for Humanity, The New York Times, February 17, 1897

[nyt180297-4] The Powers Take Action; Sharp Warning Issued to Prince George Against Hostilities, The New York Times, February 18, 1897

[nyt220297-5] Sympathy for Greece in Italy; The Position of the Government Made Daily More Difficult, The New York Times, February 22, 1897

[stanchieri-6] Stanchieri, Luca (June 2004). "Il Cantiere Navale di Palermo. Dalla nascita alle prime agitazioni operaie". Mediterranea (in Italian) (1). Associazione no profit Mediterranea: 75–120. ISSN 1828-230X. Retrieved 27 September 2024.

[nyt220397-7] Elections Held in Italy; The Government Will Have a Good Majority in the New Chamber, The New York Times, March 22, 1897

[nyt220497-8] Italians Embark for Greece; Garibaldi's Son Among the Men to Help Against the Turks, The New York Times, April 22, 1897

[nyt130497-9] Vote of Confidence in Italy; Her Position on the Cretan question Approved by the Deputies, The New York Times, April 13, 1897

[nyt061297-10] Italian Cabinet Crisis; Gen Pelloux, the Minister of War, Insists Upon Leaving the Ministry, The New York Times, December 6, 1897

[nyt131297-11] Italian Cabinet Crisis; The Marquis di Rudini Declared in an Official Note Unable to Form a Ministry, The New York Times, December 13, 1897

[nyt151297-12] Rudini Forms a Cabinet; Italy's Ministry Reconstructed After Several Changes, The New York Times, December 15, 1897

[nyt231297-13] The Italian Crisis, The New York Times, December 23, 1897

[14] "Genoa". Channel4.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27.

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v t e Years in Italy (1861–present)
19th century	Pre-1861 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
20th century	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e 1897 in Europe
Sovereign states	Andorra Austria-Hungary Baden Belgium Bulgaria Denmark France Germany Greece Italy Liechtenstein Luxembourg Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Ottoman Empire Portugal Prussia Romania Russia San Marino Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom
Dependencies, colonies and other territories	Cyprus Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Malta