A private elite. Economic strategies and professional choices of the nobility in the Milanese area from Italian Unification to Fascism

Abstract

The essay examines the economic and social role of the Milanese nobility from the Unification of Italy to the fascist regime, highlighting the adaptability of an elite that, despite losing its ancien régime privileges, maintained a leading position in Lombard capitalism. Drawing on notarial records, archival documents, and representative biographies, the study shows how noble families diversified their investments across agriculture, banking, and industry, forged alliances with the entrepreneurial bour­geoisie, and occupied influential positions within financial and industrial institutions. Far from being a declining class, the Milanese nobility emerged as a dynamic private elite capable of renewal, incorporating new members from the business world and actively contributing to Italy’s economic modernization up to the Fascist era.