MATTEI GENTILI, PAOLO

MATTEI GENTILI, PAOLO. – Journalist and politician, born in Pennabilli (Pesaro) on 15 October 1874, died in Rome on 28 November 1935. As a very young man, he joined the Catholic University Circle founded by R. Murri and contributed to La vita nova and Cultura sociale; later he assumed the direction of L'Ateneo. After taking a degree in law, in 1907 he became director of Corriere d'Italia.

When the great regrouping of the Catholic press was established, thanks above all to Count Giovanni Grosoli Pironi, he headed the group and founded L'Italia of Milan. He subsequently resumed the direction of Corriere d'Italia, which he maintained until the newspaper ceased publication in 1929. Entering political life, he was among the founders of Democrazia Italiana, later the Partito Popolare Italiano. Deputy for Ancona in the 25th legislature, he also represented the Marches in the 26th, 27th, and 28th legislatures. In 1923, during the discussion of the electoral law, having dissented from the Party’s policy, he was expelled from II. In 1924, following the Aventine secession, he founded the Centro Cattolico Nazionale with E. Martire and Carapelle. In July 1924, as undersecretary

(photo Albarri)
MATTEO D'ACQUASPARTA – Tomb. Work by Giovanni di Cosma (1302). The fresco in the background, with the Virgin enthroned and the cardinal presented to her by S. Francesco, is attributed to Pietro Cavallini – Rome, church of S. Maria in Aracoeli.

as Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Justice and Religious Affairs, he promoted the reform of civil legislation concerning ecclesiastical matters, and under his presidency established a commission of jurists and experts, whose work was attended, although not in an official capacity, by three representatives of the Roman Curia, in order to study together the political and administrative problems relating to relations between the State and the Church: a preamble to the Lateran Pacts, which had always been the objective of M. G.’s journalistic and political activity. He was appointed senator of the Kingdom on 1 March 1934. His work as a writer is represented by numerous articles in newspapers and journals and by 3 novels: I Cenci (Milan 1901; 2nd ed. Treviso 1908); Verso la nuova aurora (Florence 1901); Attraverso il prisma (Milan 1904). Alessandro Mattei Gentili