Noblemen in business

The chapter reconsiders the contribution made by members of the nobility to Lombardy’s economy in the 19th century, which historiography has traditionally tended to underestimate. Their role is reassessed in a comparative perspective, based on the results of lengthy research. For much of the period, the nobility’s enduring social and economic power was still based on large-scale land ownership, which usually represented the majority of their assets and was in many cases expanded or reinforced. For a large segment of the aristocracy, land ownership was the object of investments and improvements, and management of all their assets appears highly oriented towards making profits from emerging economic activities and investment opportunities. Investments involving the nobility’s capital assets gradually changed during the century, moving from land into industry, railways, and banks. After Unification, the nobility provided an increasing amount of capital to finance new infrastructures, the national debt, urban development and public facilities, the foundation of national and local banks, and a growing number of large joint stock companies, following the economic fluctuations of the period. Consequently, it is possible to speak of members of the nobility as capitalists and entrepreneurs, and also to consider eventual economic failures from this possible perspective. In short, many members of Lombardy’s aristocracy appear to have been fully involved in the region’s economic development, taking an active part and often a leading role in shaping 19th century capitalism, and continuing to represent the richest social elite for many years to come. The Lombard nobility forged an alliance with the emerging bourgeoisie, sharing a common broad programme of political, social and economic progress, moving in the same social circles, strengthening business ties and, as they did traditionally, co-opting new members into their ranks through intermarriage with the families of the newly rich.