Leonida Bissolati
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2014) |
Leonida Bissolati | |
---|---|
Born | Cremona | 20 February 1857
Died | 6 May 1920 Rome | (aged 63)
Occupation | politician |
Leonida Bissolati (20 February 1857 in Cremona – 6 May 1920 in Rome) was a leading exponent of the Italian socialist movement at the turn of the nineteenth century.
Biography
He was born from the liaison of Paolina Bergamaschi, a nurse, with Stefano Bissolati, a priest who left the Church in 1859, at age 37, and later became director of Cremona's city library and a noted scholar. At birth the child was named Leonida Bergamaschi; his name was changed at age 18, when Stefano Bissolati legally adopted him (after marrying Paolina in 1868, five years after she had become a widow). With this family background, it is scarcely surprising that Leonida turned to leftist politics as a student at the University of Bologna, where he earned his law degree at the age of 20. Returning to Cremona, he practiced law as an attorney and published many articles in journals and newspapers. In 1876 he was elected to the City Council of Cremona, at first in the ranks of the Radicals, then gradually moving closer to the Socialists. Altogether he served in the council for 18 years, notably by being in charge of Public Education. He married Ginevra Coggi, who soon fell chronically ill and died in 1894; later, his soulmate and companion was Carolina Cassola, whom he eventually married in 1913.
From 1889 to 1895, Bissolati organized peasant demonstrations and the social struggle for better living conditions in the countryside. In 1889 he founded L'eco del popolo (The Echo of the People), which subsequently became the local organ in Cremona of the
Meanwhile Bissolati was active as a legislator. In 1897 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament, representing the college of Cremona. His refusal to oppose the war on Turkey for the conquest of Libya triggered his resignation as socialist Member of Parliament in February 1912; five months later he was expelled from the PSI. He promptly went on to found the Italian Reformist Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Riformista Italiano), with Ivanoe Bonomi (a future prime minister) and Angiolo Cabrini.
Bissolati strongly advocated Italy's entry into World War I on the side of the Triple Entente, while his former socialist friends favored neutrality. He volunteered for the front and served with distinction, receiving a medal. Back in Rome, he served in two successive Italian Governments (those headed by Paolo Boselli and Vittorio Emanuele Orlando). He was responsible for supplying troops as well as for liaising between cabinet and the generals.
At the end of the war, Bissolati supported the
In August 2018, the regular
References
- ^ "La Massoneria rivendica i grandi personaggi della storia cremonese" (in Italian). August 22, 2018. Archived from the original on August 23, 2018.
- ^ "La Massoneria a Cremona" [The Freemasonry in Cremona] (in Italian). Archived from the original on April 18, 2016.
Bibliography
- Alfassio Grimaldi, Ugoberto; Gherardo Bozzetti (1983). Bissolati (in Italian). Milan: Rizzoli Press.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. .