L'OSSERVATORE CATTOLICO
Founded on 2 January 1864 by the Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Caccia Dominioni, *L'Osservatore Cattolico* had as its first directors Monsignor G. Marinoni and Father F. Vittadini. It immediately distinguished itself by its uncompromising attachment to the Holy See and its vigorous polemics against both adversaries and so-called "moderate" Catholics.
Born in the same year as the *Syllabus*, the newspaper bore its imprint for thirty years. Its greatest fame came from 1869 to 1898, when Father D. Albertari (q.v.) directed it, waging fierce polemics against liberals, clerical-moderates, and Rosminians. During this period, the newspaper grew, and in 1898 it was suspended for four months by the political authorities, while Father Albertari was arrested and sentenced. With Albertari’s death in 1902 and the transfer of the directorship to Filippo Meda (already a contributor alongside Father Vercesi, G. Mauri, P. Arcari, G. Molteni, and others, who later became prominent journalists and politicians), the newspaper, without abandoning its tradition of fidelity to the Holy See, entered a new phase in which it promoted the preparation of Catholics for participation in public life, whenever ecclesiastical authorities permitted II.
In 1907, Filippo Meda and Marquis Cornaggia, under the auspices of Cardinal Archbishop Ferrari, merged their respective newspapers (*L'Osservatore Cattolico* and *La Lega Lombarda*) to create *L'Unione*, which after five years became the current Milanese Catholic daily, *L'Italia*.
---
L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO
A political-religious daily of the Vatican City.
Under this title, a newspaper directed by Abbot Battelli appeared in Rome (1848-50) and was suppressed by order of the Turin government. In 1860, the papal government decided to establish a polemical religious daily under strict supervision:
**L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO** – Portraits of past directors: Cesare Crispolti, G. Battista Casoni, Giuseppe Angelini.
*L'Amico della verità*; and in 1861, the substitute Minister of the Interior, M. A. Pacelli, entrusted its creation to two exiles from Romagna—N. Zanchini and G. Bastia—expanding the newspaper’s polemical mission to include politics. It was named *L'Osservatore Romano*.
Financed by private individuals but subsidized and privileged by the government, it published its first issue on 10 July 1861. In 1863, Marquis Augusto Baviera became its director and eventually took full control of its management. Around 1873, the French group behind the *Journal de Rome* attempted to take over *L'Osservatore Romano*, but the Holy See reasserted its full control and thwarted the attempt. The semi-official nature that resulted from this control was periodically concealed behind the appearance of being an organ of various Catholic institutions.
After 1870, the Holy See decided to complement *L'Osservatore Romano* with a Milanese daily: *L'Osservatore Cattolico* (q.v.), and a pre-existing Florentine one: *L'Unità Cattolica* (q.v.).
Throughout the pontificate of Leo XIII, the newspaper published daily notices protesting the occupation of Rome. During World War I, its bulletins—supplied solely by Stefani—featured a daily preamble affirming the newspaper’s impartiality. On 4 November 1920, *L'Osservatore Romano* moved into Vatican City; since 1934, an illustrated weekly edition has been derived from II. After the three aforementioned directors, the editors were C. Crispolti, G. B. Casoni, and C. Angelini. Since 1920, it has been directed by Count G. Della Torre di Sanguinetto. For the most recent history of the newspaper, see GIORNALISMO CATTOLICO.