Index
Foreword
Acknowledgements
The heading «Gavazzi» in the «Biographical Dictionary of Italians»
1
5
7
Chapter 1
The Gavazzi family in the first documents
from the 16th century
Nicknames of the various branches of the family in the 16th century
From the «State of the souls» census of 1578
From the «State of the souls» census of 1596
15
17
17
Chapter 2
The first six generations
Canzo: the silk route
The first Gavazzis and the evolution of the family
The novel «Ghita of Carrobbio», by Giovanni Biffi
The economic crisis and recovery
19
22
24
25
Chapter 3
The two ancient branches of the family
The ancient Gavazzi homes in Canzo
The division of property and the formation of the two family branches
The Gavazzi-Balossi Restelli Villa
The various changes of ownership
The architecture of the villa
The Gavazzi branch of Canzo - the yellow and orange line
The origins
The professions of tax-collector - Giovanni Battista I (1688-1763)
and Carlo Francesco (1723-1775)
A return to commerce - The son of Carlo Francesco
29
31
31
31
32
33
33
33
34
index
VIII
The marriage between cousins Giovanni Battista III and Emilia
The House in via Montenapoleone
The villa of San Pietro all’Olmo
The wealth of Giovanni Battista III – The Countess Samoyloff
The surname Spech
Family Tree of the noble De Spech family
A Gavazzi nobleman: Giovanni Gavazzi Spech (1845-1887)
The extinction of the branch
Restelli Family Tree
37
38
39
40
42
43
44
45
46
Emilia Gavazzi Spech
Chapter 4
The sixth generation
The Morelli family of Caslino and the Gavazzis
Family tree of the Morelli family of Caslino
The Pellizzoni family of Canzo and the Gavazzis
47
48
49
Chapter 5
Modesto Miro Gavazzi
The seventh generation and the blue line
Carlo Francesco Gavazzi (1688-1733)
Commerce in Chiavenna
The marriage with Ludovica Schumacher
Children
The «business sense» of Carlo’s descendants
Don Pietro Francesco Gavazzi (1689-1765)
Blue line
Filippo Gavazzi (1692-1763)
Miro Gavazzi (1746-1815)
The silk mill of Canzo
The marriage with Anna Maria Sormani
Trade relations with Germany - Filippo, Giuseppe and Costantino (the sons)
The wills of Miro and his wife Anna Maria
Casimiro Costante (Costantino) Gavazzi (1790-1857)
Miro Antonio Marco (Antonio) Gavazzi (1826-1873)
Cremation
Modesto Miro Gavazzi (1828-1868) Patriot, traveller and adventurer
The «Five Days» battle of Milan
The expedition to Bukhara
Travel companions
51
51
52
53
54
54
42
56
58
58
58
59
60
62
63
64
64
64
64
66
67
index
IX
Bukhara
Preparations for the expedition
The departure
The journey to Bukhara
In the Khanship of Bukhara - The long march
In Bukhara territory
Beneath the walls of Bukhara
In the city of Bukhara - the beginning of business
The long imprisonment
Release
Freedom
The journey home
The outcome of the expedition
The death of Modesto
Giuseppina Bossi Gavazzi (1830-?)
Eva Roversi Gavazzi (1850-1933)
70
71
73
74
75
80
82
84
87
92
93
94
96
96
97
98
Chapter 6
The eighth generation
Pietro Antonio Gavazzi (1729-1797)
The death of his parents
In the custody of uncle Filippo
The profession of tax-collector
The division of property
The move to the Lodi district
Return to Brianza and the silk manufacturer’s profession
The Pietro Gavazzi Company
Other occupations
99
100
100
100
101
102
103
106
108
Chapter 7
Giuseppe Antonio Gavazzi
The ninth generation
Carlo Gavazzi (1761-1832)
The Bignami Bank
His death
Giuseppe Antonio Gavazzi (1768-1835)
Valmadrera - the «People’s Town»
The villa
The chapel
The silk mill (known as the «Filandone»)
109
109
113
114
116
119
121
122
index
The Bonacina House dormitories
The park
The spinning mill
The transformation of Valmadrera
The Valmadrera silk mill as described by Louis Blondel
Descriptions of the Gavazzi Villa in Valmadrera by Cantù, Amati and Curti
The Bellano silk mill The silk mill of Bellano as described by Louis Blondel
The Pioverna River and the Bellano Gorge
Other property of the Gavazzi family in Bellano
The theatre of Lecco
The marriage with Luigia Verza
The relationship between Luigia Verza Gavazzi and Beatrice Verza Gavazzi
The death of Giuseppe Antonio
Mira Paleari Gavazzi (1766-?)
Anna Maria Prina Gavazzi (1770-1843)
126
127
130
131
135
138
139
141
143
146
147
148
149
153
153
154
Chapter 8
Pietro Gavazzi
The tenth generation
Pietro Gavazzi (1803-1875)
Pietro «the Great»
Ernestina Pascal, the natural daughter of Viceroy Eugene Beauharnais
The move to Milan
Technological innovations
Free trade and paternalism
Notes on the silk-throwing process and the conditions of its workers
The silk mills of Bellano and Valmadrera
The silk mill of Albese
The silk mill of Desio
The Pietro Gavazzi Company
The banking business: The Bank of Lecco and the Lombardy Silk Bank
Silk merchant and banker
The Gavazzi and Quinterio Company
The Lombard Lakes Steamboat Company
Other businesses
Public works and the rearrangement of the «Piazza del Duomo» in Milan
The Milan Chamber of Commerce
Cholera
The death of Pietro
Carlo Giuseppe Gavazzi (1805-1823)
Enrichetta Dolzino Gavazzi (1808-?)
Giuseppina Ponti Gavazzi (1811-1877)
Maria Badoni Gavazzi (1814-1866)
157
157
158
171
172
173
179
181
182
183
184
185
186
190
191
198
199
201
201
202
204
205
205
206
index
XI
The entrepreneurial activities of Giuseppe Badoni
The financial support of the Gavazzis
Giuseppe Badoni the patriot
Other positions and activities
Antonio Gavazzi (1815-1885)
The «Gavazzi Brothers» Company
The Society for the Encouragement of Arts and Trades (SIAM)
The Italian Industrial Association
Other activities
Cypress Island
The death of Antonio
Luigia Simonetta Gavazzi (1817-1853)
Egidio Gavazzi (1818-1877)
Business activities
The Lombard Horticultural Society Cypress Island
Egidio and Antonio
Rosalinda Dell'Orto Gavazzi (1820-1855)
Family tree of the Dell'Orto family 206
206
207
208
209
209
210
213
213
214
214
215
216
216
216
218
220
221
222
Chapter 9
Egidio Luigi Gavazzi
The eleventh generation
Giuseppe Gavazzi (1831-1913)
Visit to the Suez Canal
Mayor of Valmadrera
The Valmadrera Fire Brigade
The Valmadrera Band
The Como-Lecco Railway
Strikes in Bellano
The Election Committee of Lecco
A passion for numismatics
The Fire Insurance Company
The Consumers’ Co-operative of Bellano
School education policies
The Association of Italian Industrialists for the prevention of accidents in the workplace
Other activities
Carlo Gavazzi (1832-1878)
Adele Mazza Gavazzi (1835-1896)
Riccardo Gavazzi (1836-1903)
The salon of Emma Gavazzi Althause and the epigraphs of Antonio Fogazzaro
Egidio Luigi Gavazzi (1846-1910)
The Egidio & Pio Gavazzi Company
223
224
225
225
226
230
230
231
231
232
232
232
233
233
234
235
236
238
238
239
index
XII
The Queen Margherita Steam Engine
Initiatives and business in Desio
Mayor of Desio
Relations with parish priest Don Mossolini
The People’s Co-operative Bank of Seregno and District
The Bank of Desio
Involvement in other banks
The lumber industry and other industrial initiatives
Other offices and business
The residences of Egidio
The marriage with Peppina Biella
The death of Egidio
A profile of Egidio
Pio Gavazzi (1848-1927)
Mayor of Desio
Other activities
The villa in Desio
The Egidio & Pio Gavazzi Company: its policy struggles and decline
The Gavazzi family and Pope Pius XI
245
248
251
252
253
256
274
274
275
276
277
280
282
286
286
287
288
289
291
Chapter 10
Lodovico Gavazzi
The twelfth generation
Piero Gavazzi (1854-1932)
The Gavazzi & Co. Ribbon Manufacturers
The Italian Insurance Company and the Accident Insurance Company
Other activities
The marriage with Orsola Stabilini
Lodovico Gavazzi (1857-1941)
Election as a Member of Parliament
The Gavazzi-Cermenati duel
The bells of Lecco
The nomination as Senator
Free Trade and the People’s Circle
The denouncement of the Roman Bank
Decentralisation and the Liberal Economic Association
The anti-Crispism of Lodovico
Parliamentary and political activities
Lodovico’s anti-Fascist stance
What people said about him
The Mutual Aid Society
The Egidio & Pio Gavazzi
The Agricultural Bank of Desio
Industry businesses
297
297
299
299
300
301
302
305
311
311
312
313
315
316
317
318
318
321
321
322
322
index
XIII
Ernestina Barbiano di Belgiojoso
Gavazzi (Aunt Mamà)
Giuseppe Gavazzi
The Italian Discount Bank
The Vonwiller Bank
The Italian Silk Association and the Industrial Federation of Lombardy
A portrait of Lodovico from the memories of his daughter Adele
The 1918 letter to the workers
Lodovico’s reputation Antonia Gavazzi (1859-1912)
Ernestina Barbiano di Belgiojoso Gavazzi (Aunt Mamà) (1872-1949)
The marriage with Giuseppe Belgiojoso
«Aunt Mamà»
Ernestina’s homes
Household management
The thriftiness of Aunt Mamà
The will
Sleeping in company
A profile of Ernestina
Other anecdotes
Giuseppe Barbiano di Belgiojoso poems
Beatrice Chierichetti Gavazzi (Bice) (1873-1959)
The marriage with Guido Chierichetti
Her daughter Lia
The homes of Guido Chierichetti A profile of Bice
Adolfo Gavazzi (1873-1950) Antonio Gavazzi (1875-1948)
The marriage with Egidia Ponti
Antonio’s homes
Antonio the art lover
Giuseppe Gavazzi (1877-1949)
Entrepreneurial activities
The Rossi Wool Manufacturing Company The struggle against the Marzotto family
Sector-representing positions
The Industrial Foreign Trade Company (CICE)
The «Brotherhood» and the mining industries – The silver mines
The Women’s Health Clinic (the Zucchi Clinics)
The Irtrans
The Bemberg
The nomination as Senator Public offices and honours
Other offices
Giuseppe’s homes
A lost world
Desio: childhood memories
The marriage with Pia Gnecchi Ruscone
The household staff 323
326
327
327
337
341
342
342
342
343
343
344
346
346
347
347
349
352
356
356
356
356
358
363
363
363
364
365
365
366
367
369
374
374
376
381
382
383
383
385
385
385
386
388
388
390
index
XIV
The death of Giuseppe
Inheritance
A profile of Giuseppe Poetry written between 1911 and 1914 by Pia Gavazzi Gnecchi Ruscone about her children
Carlo Gavazzi (1877-1944)
Entrepreneurial activities
Carlo’s passion for numismatics
The death of Carlo and his inheritance
Simone Gavazzi (1878-1963)
The First World War
The Egidio & Pio Gavazzi Company
The Bank of Desio
A profile of Simone
Adele Bigatti Gavazzi (1880-1972)
Riccardo Gavazzi (1881-1919)
Giovanni Battista Gavazzi (Gino) (1882-1935)
The Milan Football Club
The marriage with Rosa Pirelli
Felice Gavazzi (1883-1940)
Work and entrepreneurial activities
The marriage with Ada Terragni
The death of Felice and his testament
A profile of Felice
Giulio Gavazzi (1884-1932)
Francesca Dubini Gavazzi (Fanny) (1885-1979)
Laura Borgia Gavazzi (1886-1959) Piero Gavazzi (1886-1938)
Marriages between the Gavazzi family and the Treccani degli Alfieri family
Maria Piera Lado Manca Gavazzi (Pea) (1891-1982)
The three «Little Pieras»
The marriage with Luigi Lado Manca
A profile of Pea
391
392
392
396
397
397
398
398
399
399
399
401
402
402
403
403
403
404
405
406
406
407
408
409
410
411
411
412
412
412
413
414
Chapter 11
Anna Kuliscioff
From revolutionary anarchists to saints:
Three extraordinary generations
Luigi Gavazzi (1880-1917)
Anna Kuliscioff (1857-1925)
Birth and adolescence
Change of name
The meeting with Andrea Costa
First arrest
Second and third arrests in Italy
417
418
418
418
419
419
420
index
XV
The birth of Andreina Costa Kuliscioff
420
The meeting with Filippo Turati
421
The fourth arrest
422
Andreina Costa Kuliscioff (1881-1959)
424
The relationship with her mother and Filippo Turati and the marriage with Luigi Gavazzi
424
A profile of Andreina
442
Guido Gavazzi (1905-1990) (Luigi from 1918 to 1931; Don Egidio after 1931) 443
The religious calling
443
Relations with Filippo Turati
445
A profile of Don Egidio
447
Anna Maria Gavazzi (Sister Maria Angela) (1907-1975)
448
Life in Milan
449
Her religious calling
450
Chapter 12
The thirteenth and fourteenth generations
Giuseppe Gavazzi (1883-1957)
The Valmadrera Fire Brigade
The Valmadrera Band
Angela Dubini Gavazzi (1882-1968)
Carla Dubini Gavazzi (1883-1978)
Emanuele Gavazzi (1885-1950)
Pio Gavazzi (1888-1970)
Pio’s homes
The Bank of Commerce and Industry
The Pietro Gavazzi Company
Carlo Gavazzi (1894-1957)
The Carlo Gavazzi Company
The «first» Carlo Gavazzi Company
The «second» Carlo Gavazzi Company
The «third» Carlo Gavazzi Company
The financing of international expansion
Organization and management of human resources
Economic results and development prospects
Maria Merati Gavazzi (1896-1970)
Pia Ulrich-Bansa Gavazzi (1900-1992)
Uberto Gavazzi (1902-1986)
Giulio Balossi Restelli (B. 1902 - ?) Piera Dell'Orto Gavazzi (1902-1998)
The marriage with Uberto Dell’Orto
The farm at Truccazzano
The property at Civate
453
454
455
455
455
456
456
456
462
462
463
463
464
466
468
471
472
474
475
475
476
477
477
477
477
478
index
XVI
Franco Gavazzi
Margherita Majnoni d’Intignano
The death of Piera
A profile of Piera
My father: Franco Gavazzi (1904-1984)
Childhood and family life
Conflicts with Aunt Mamà, Aunt Fanny and other relatives
Relations with the family
Relations with his father
Business initiatives
Egidio & Pio Gavazzi
The Zucchi Clinics
Cultural and military activities
Other appointments and activities
Incomes and wealth
Titles and honours
Military service
Experience as a pilot
Political ideas
A profile of my father
The marriage with Margherita Majnoni d’Intignano
The children
Franco’s homes
Household staff
My maternal grandparents
Memories written by my mother: Margherita Majnoni d'Intignano (b. 1911)
Education
The Majnoni household staff
Grumello
A few memoirs
The Majnoni household
Monza – Villa Tacoli
The everyday life of a young girl at the beginning of the 1900s
The old ladies
Egidio Gavazzi (1907-1987)
The marriage with Ippolita Cicogna Mozzoni
A profile of Egidio
Rodolfo Gavazzi (1908-1995)
The Rossi Wool Manufacturing Co.
The death of Rodolfo
Pietro Gavazzi (1913-1983)
Egidio & Pio Gavazzi
The Bank of Desio
A profile of Pietro
Vittoria Beneduce Gavazzi (1914-1987)
The marriage with Ernesto Beneduce
The homes of Ernesto and Vittoria
A profile of Vittoria
478
478
480
480
482
484
486
487
488
489
490
490
491
492
493
493
497
500
502
503
503
504
505
509
509
510
511
511
511
513
515
517
518
519
519
520
521
523
523
524
528
528
529
529
530
531
index
XVII
Pio Gavazzi (1922-1994)
XIV generation
Lodovico (Vico) Gavazzi (1913-1996)
Alessandro Gavazzi (1922-1961)
531
532
532
534
POEMS by Franco Gavazzi
POEMS by Margherita Majnoni d'Intignano
Children’s poems written for the children and for family performances
535
547
Chapter 13
Some curious facts about the Gavazzi family
Evolution of the surname Gavazzi in documents relating to the
16th, 17th and 18th centuries
Presumed etymology of the Gavazzi surname
Names most frequently appearing in the family tree
The name of Miro
The name of Egidio
Streets named after Gavazzis
Public Offices held by Gavazzis
The Gavazzi and the Dubini families
The Gavazzis and the Italian Red Cross
The Gavazzis as engineers
The Gavazzis and the Union Club
Gavazzi industries, banks and businesses
The Gavazzis and art
Painting
Architecture
Sculpture
Writings and poetry
The Gavazzi surname and its distribution in 305 Italian municipalities
553
554
557
557
558
559
560
561
561
562
562
570
576
577
582
582
584
585
Appendix 1
Silk processing
Mulberry tree cultivation and silkworm-raising
The birth of the silkworms
Growth
Gathering the cocoons
Sale
The processing stages
Extracting the silk
587
587
588
589
591
592
593
593
index
XVIII
Throwing
Maturation
Weaving
The silk mills
Dyeing
Printing
595
596
597
597
598
599
Appendix 2
The silk industry in Brianza
Origins
The growth of thew silk industry - the Brianza Gold»
Industrial development in the Lecco district
The golden age of silk and the silk industry in the italian economy
The decline
601
604
609
616
617
conclusion
The Gavazzi today
619
Bibliography
621
Index of the names 625
Family Tree (enclosure)