Abstract

The establishment of the Royal Italian oceanographic committee represents an emblematic case of post-unification institutional evolution in Italy. On the initiative of a group of scientists and government leaders, a scientific and technical body was founded whose purpose was to further the development of the fishing industry and whose original architecture was, in embryonic form, the basis upon which the modern system of independent regulatory authorities would later develop. This article retraces the events that led to the creation of what was a newly-conceived form of institution, against the backdrop of the sweeping transformations that were taking place in the administrative and bureaucratic apparatus of the emerging nation-state.