Ignazio Florio Sr.

Ignazio Florio Sr. (Palermo, 16 December 1838 – Palermo, 17 May 1891) was an Italian entrepreneur and politician, member of the rich Florio economic dynasty, one of the wealthiest Italian families during the late 19th century.

Ignazio Florio Sr.
Ignazio Florio Sr. in 1891.
Born(1838-12-16)16 December 1838
Palermo, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Died17 May 1891(1891-05-17) (aged 52)
Palermo, Kingdom of Italy
NationalityItalian
OccupationEntrepreneur and politician
Known forMember of the Florio family

Biography

The son of Vincenzo Florio Sr., the founder of the economic family dynasty, and of Giulia Portalupi, Ignazio was born in Palermo on 17 December 1838. After the death of his father, in 1868, he resolved the problems of the division of the inheritance that could have meant the liquidation of the flourishing enterprise.[1]

The other heirs, his sisters Giuseppina and Angelina, were not interested in the family businesses and preferred the payment of their parts. This required cash outflows of over 4 million lire, corresponding to more than a third of the value of all assets. Ignazio succeeded in dealing with the financial effort without affecting the productive activities. Free from constraints, he set about to consolidate and further develop the business empire.[1]

In 1874, Ignazio Florio Sr. purchased the island of Favignana and the whole archipelago of the Aegadian Islands in order to expand the tuna business started by his family.[1] Over time he brought the flotilla of the paternal shipping line Societa in Accomandita Piroscafi Postali-Ignazio & Vicenzo Florio (Florio Line) to a hundred units and in 1881 merged with the Rubattino company in Genoa, giving rise to the Navigazione Generale Italiana.[2] At the time of the merger, the Florio Line was already a major company with a monopoly of the trade in the Mediterranean. The New York Times described the Florios as the "merchant princes of Europe". The Florio Line brought 50 ships into the merger, while Rubattino contributed 40.[3]

He also considerably developed all the other industries founded by his father.[4] In 1883 he was appointed Senator of the Kingdom of Italy, due to the fact that he had paid three thousand lire of direct taxation for three years because of his assets or industry.[5] At his death in 1891 Ignazio Sr. left his two sons, Ignazio Florio Jr. and Vincenzo Florio, with assets valued at around 100 million lire.[6]

Issue

Ignazio Jr. and his wife – baroness Giovanna D'Ondes Trigona – had three children:

Further reading
  • Candela, Simona. I Florio. Sellerio (Palermo, 2008).
  • Cancila, Orazio. I Florio: Storia di una dinastia imprenditoriale. Giunti (Florence, 2010).
  • Li Vigni, Benito. La dinastia dei Florio: romanzo storico. Sovera (Rome, 2013).
  • Lo Jacono, Vittorio & Zanda, Carmen. Franca Florio e Vincenzo Florio: due miti di Sicilia. (2016).
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References
  1. (in Italian) Florio, Ignazio, senior, by Simone Candela, Treccani Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 48 (1997)
  2. Florio Line / Società in Accomandita Piroscafi Postali-Ignazio & Vicenzo Florio, TheShipsList (retrieved 13 April 2018)
  3. American Trade With Italy; A New Steam-Ship Line Started To Foster It, The New York Times, June 19, 1881, Page 8
  4. (in Italian) Flòrio, Treccani Enciclopedie on line (retrieved 10 April 2018)
  5. (in Italian) Ignazio Florio - Official site of the Italian Senate
  6. (in Italian) l tramonto dei Florio, Giuseppe Barone, Meridiana nr. 11-12, 1991
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