La 2ª RIVOLUZIONE INDUSTRIALE in ITALIA

Summary

From the late 19th century, Italy underwent its first major industrial take-off. Although it started behind Europe’s great powers, national unification and subsequent economic policies helped create the foundations for industrial growth.

How industrialization developed

• Railways and national integration: During the Historical Right’s time in government, a railway network began connecting the peninsula’s major cities.
• Protection for industry: In 1887, the Historical Left adopted protectionist tariffs. These helped establish a modern steel industry, including the Terni steelworks, and supported iron-processing plants in places such as Savona, Piombino, and Bagnoli.
• Financial reform and investment: Following a major banking scandal, reforms reshaped the financial sector. The creation of the Bank of Italy and the establishment of major banks with German capital helped channel private savings into industry.
• Expansion across sectors:
  • Steel and iron benefited substantially from tariffs and state support.
  • Mechanical engineering grew, including Ernesto Breda’s Milan-based firm, which made locomotives, railway cars, and agricultural machinery.
  • The cotton textile industry became more mechanized and was protected by tariffs.
  • Sugar-beet production expanded, with sugar among the protected products.
  • Chemical and rubber production developed, including at Pirelli’s Milan factories.
  • Fiat was founded in Turin in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli. Despite a limited domestic market, it gained prominence in the mechanical sector.

Growth and changing living standards

Between 1896 and 1914, the subtitles report average annual economic growth of 6.7%, a doubling of industrial output, and the secondary sector reaching 25% of the economy. Per-capita income rose by about 30% from the beginning of the 20th century to the First World War.

Per-capita income is explained as national output—the goods and services produced—divided by the population. Rising income suggests greater average prosperity, and economic growth allowed some people to afford new expenses. However, Italy remained well behind the most advanced European countries: in 1914, Italian per-capita income was reportedly half Germany’s, and illiteracy remained high.

Emigration and its effects

Despite economic expansion, agriculture still employed 55% of Italian workers, leaving too few jobs for the available workforce. Between 1900 and 1914, eight million Italians left the country, and two million did not return.

Migration differed by region:

• From the North, migration was often temporary and directed toward other European countries.
• For many people in the South, emigration—especially to North and South America—was seen as a route to a better life.

Emigration eased population pressure and social tensions, while money sent home helped families and local economies. But it also deprived some areas, especially the South, of young and energetic people.

The North–South divide

The benefits of industrialization were concentrated in the industrial triangle of Turin, Genoa, and Milan. The subtitles state that it contained 57% of industrial workers, compared with 25% in the South. Large, technologically advanced companies were largely absent from southern Italy, and agricultural improvements were concentrated in the North, especially the Po Valley, where more capital was available.

The South faced particularly severe problems:

• Illiteracy in 1911 was reported at 60%, compared with 15% in the North.
• A small middle class was often subordinate to large landowners.
• Political life was shaped by patronage and personal ties.
• Public-sector employment became a sought-after goal for many better-off young southerners as the administration began to become less exclusively northern and Piedmontese.

The video presents Italy as a country of real industrial progress but persistent contradictions: growing prosperity coexisted with poverty, mass emigration, and deep regional inequalities. It closes by introducing Giovanni Giolitti, who would dominate Italian politics in the following years.

Speakers and sources featured

• Unnamed narrator: The subtitles contain one continuous voiceover; no other speaking voices are identifiable.
• Historical figures mentioned, but not heard speaking: Giovanni Agnelli, Ernesto Breda, and Giovanni Giolitti.