Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì
A conservative Sicilian prince who led Italy through the turbulent 1890s, his premierships were defined by austerity and harsh crackdowns on civil unrest.
1839–1908 (age 69)·Italian noble and politician·Birthday: April 16
Biography
Antonio Starabba, the Marquess of Rudinì, served twice as Italy's Prime Minister in the 1890s, inheriting the disastrous aftermath of the Battle of Adwa. A southern Italian aristocrat from Palermo, he led a unified Italy dominated by northern interests. His second term, from 1896 to 1898, was marked by crisis. He imposed severe austerity to balance the budget, cutting military and social spending. When protests erupted over bread prices in Milan in 1898, his government responded with brutal military force in the 'Fatti di Maggio'. This repression led to his fall. He is remembered as a defender of order and fiscal rigor, regardless of the human cost.
#1 When Antonio Was Born
The biggest hits of 1839
Antonio's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1839Born
1844Started school
1852Became a teenager
1855Could drive
1857Could vote
1860Turned 21
1869Turned 30
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1879Turned 40
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1889Turned 50
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1899Turned 60
President: William McKinley
1908Died at 69
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President: Theodore Roosevelt
Key Achievements
- Served as the Prime Minister of Italy for two separate terms, from 1891–1892 and 1896–1898.
- As Mayor of Palermo, he helped suppress the anti-Bourbon revolt known as the "Seven and a Half" in 1866.
- Oversaw the signing of the Treaty of Addis Ababa in 1896, which formally ended the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
Did You Know?
He was one of the few Prime Ministers of Italy to come from Sicily.
Before entering national politics, he was a successful Mayor of Palermo.
His government's harsh suppression of the 1898 bread riots in Milan used artillery against civilians.
He was a key figure in the Historical Right, the conservative parliamentary grouping.
“The state must be administered, not governed by utopian fantasies.”
