ARRIVABENE, GIOVANNI

GIOVANNI ARRIVABENE. - Patriot and economist, born into a noble family in Mantua on 24 June 1787, died there on 11 January 1881. He studied economic and agrarian problems, opposed Austrian rule, and was involved in the Pellico trial; condemned to death on 21 January 1824, he went into exile in Switzerland, France, England, and Belgium. Senator of the new kingdom on 29 February 1860, he played a significant role in resolving difficult issues concerning the abolition of monopolistic privileges in the arts and crafts and the lifting of restrictions on grain exports. A free-trader in politics, he always maintained from a religious standpoint his Catholic sentiments. He had formed ties of friendship with Leo XIII during the latter’s nunciature in Brussels. Among other works, he left highly interesting autobiographical memoirs (Memorie della vita, Florence 1884).