Abstract

This study examines Giosuè Carducci's influence on the Italian Ministry of Education. We focus especially on the period (1879-1893) when key positions in the Ministry were occupied by intellectuals and close friends of Carducci, such as Giuseppe Chiarini, Guido Mazzoni, and Ferdinando Martini. Despite their availability, and that of the Grand Master of Freemasonry Adriano Lemmi, the numerous interventions by Carducci, concerning competitions, promotions, grants and transfers, were not always successful. Therefore, our analysis seems to establish that Carducci's influence on ministerial decisions has been in fact narrower than what most scholars of his period used to think.