Quintino Sella - economist, scientist and mountaineer

Statesman who laid financial foundations for unified Italy

Quintino Sella had a major
influence on the unified Italy

Quintino Sella, a politician and economist widely credited with building the foundations for economic stability in post-unification Italy, was born on this day in 1827 in Mosso, a small town in the province of Biella in northern Piedmont.

Sella served as Minister of Finance under three governments between 1862 and 1872.

The newly unified Italy inherited an enormous budget deficit from the collection of disparate regional states that preceded it, but Sella was instrumental in steering the country toward fiscal stability by enforcing major public spending cuts, securing early land tax payments, and pushing through the controversial "grist tax" - a tax on flour - to balance the national budget.

He also influenced the shape of the new nation by persuading the king, Victor Emmanuel II, to seize control of Rome in 1870 when the French garrison that was protecting the independence of the city under Pope Pius IX was withdrawn to fight in the Franco-Prussian War.

Piedmontese troops led by General Raffaele Cadorna broke through the city walls near Porta Pia, enabling Victor Emmanuel to take up residence in the Quirinale Palace and declare unification complete.

Away from politics, Sella was a passionate climber. He founded the Italian Alpine Club in Turin in 1863, helping to popularise mountaineering in Italy.

A scientist with a detailed knowledge of mining and minerals, he also promoted and helped found the Italian Geological Society.

Sella was born in the hamlet of Sella di Valle Superiore in the municipality of Mosso, about 20km (12 miles) from the small city of Biella and just over 90km (54 miles) northeast of the regional capital of Turin.

He was the eighth of 20 children born to Maurizio and Rosa Sella. The Sella family had been active in the wool processing industry since the 17th century. The family had a strong religious vocation and after Maurizio acquired some land on the bank of the Cervo stream in Biella in 1835, he opened silk and woolen mills which provided employment and a refuge for young women who found themselves in difficult circumstances.

The Sella family had their own living quarters within the mill.

Quintino’s father earmarked him as a future head of the mechanical sector of the company and steered him towards the study of hydraulic engineering. After obtaining his degree with honours at the University of Turin, he furthered his education at the prestigious École des Mines in Paris.

Sella served as Minister of
Finance in three governments

He remained in the academic world as a distinguished professor of mathematics and mineralogy at the Polytechnic University of Turin, gaining an international reputation in crystallography.

Sella’s political career began with his participation in councils and commissions in the education sector before he was encouraged to stand for election to the Chamber of Deputies for Cossato, near Biella.

Once elected, he quickly established himself as one of the most prominent figures aligned with the Historical Right. After a spell as secretary general at the Ministry of Education, he was appointed Minister of Finance on three occasions, in the governments of Urbano Rattazzi (1862), Alfonso La Marmora (1864-65) and Giovanni Lanza (1869-7).

It was under Marmora that he devoted himself to balancing the state budget, implementing the necessary policy of economies and tax increases on consumption and income, sometimes resorting to unpopular measures.

Easily the most controversial of these was the so-called grist tax - Tassa sul Macinato - introduced in 1868. A tax on milling grain, it applied to wheat, corn, rye, and oats.

However, the tax provoked a huge public backlash. It was labelled a tax on poverty, disproportionately harming the poor. After violent protests erupted across Italy in 1869, the government deployed the military to crush the uprisings. More 250 protestors were killed, another 1,000 wounded and thousands arrested.

Saluzzo in Piedmont, with the distinctive shape
of the Monviso peak in the background

The grist tax caused the fall of the La Marmora government but remained in force until it was abolished under the left-wing government of Agostino Depretis in 1883. Sella was ultimately credited with achieving his objective of pulling the newly unified Kingdom of Italy out of near-bankruptcy and putting it on a stable financial path.

Despite his involvement in politics, Sella always made time for his mountaineering hobby. In 1863, he led the first all-Italian team to reach the summit of Mont Viso, also known as Monviso, the pyramid-shaped highest peak of the Cottian Alps in Piedmont at 3,841m (12,601ft). This feat proved Italian climbers could compete with British alpinists.

In the same year as his Monviso success, Sella founded the Club Alpino Italiano (Italian Alpine Club) in Turin. It aimed to map the Alps and foster national pride. He used his climbs to study Alpine geology, mineralogy, and glaciers.

Married with seven children, Quintino Sella died 1884 at the age of 56 in his home inside the wool mill and was buried in the monumental cemetery of Oropa, about 15km (nine miles) from Biella, in a monumental family tomb in the shape of a pyramid.

Piazza della Cisterna is a beautiful square in
Biella's elevated Biella Piazzo area

Travel tip:

Biella, the nearest city to Sella’s home, is a well-established municipality of almost 45,000 inhabitants in the foothills of the Biellese Alps, about 85km (53 miles) northeast of Turin and slightly more than 100m (62 miles) west of Milan. The city is divided into two levels: Biella Piano (the lower, bustling plain) and Biella Piazzo (the elevated, medieval heart), the latter accessible by a free funicular railway, giving access to its cobbled streets, terraced panoramic views, and aristocratic palaces such as Palazzo La Marmora and Palazzo Gromo Losa. The lower town is not without attractions, which include a Roman baptistery from the early 1000s - Battistero di San Giovanni Battista - in Piazza Duomo, adjacent to the church and convent of San Sebastian. Wool and textiles have been associated with the town since the 13th century and it was once described as ‘the Manchester of Italy’. Although the best years of the industry have now passed, with many mills and factories closed, brands such as Cerruti 1881, Ermenegildo Zegna, Vitale Barberis Canonico and Fila still have a presence.

Book your stay in Biella with Hotels.com

One of the Ricetto di Candelo's
typical cobbled streets

Travel tip:

Cossato, where Quintino Sella stood for the Chamber of Deputies, is a prominent town in the province of Biella, the second-largest town in the province by both land area and population, housing roughly 14,000 residents. Over the centuries, Cossato’s identity became intertwined with Northern Italy's textile boom. The town evolved into a centre for wool and textile processing. While it has modernised over time - evidenced by a major recent architectural renovation of its central town square - it maintains traditional Piedmontese charm, with its town centre extending along major roadways and giving way to numerous historic hamlets scattered across the surrounding hills. Cossato serves as a gateway to the unique landscapes of the Biellese territory, popular for mountain biking and hiking, characterized by dramatic, heavily-eroded orange-red rock formations. Located just five minutes away, the Ricetto di Candelo is a remarkably preserved 14th-century fortified medieval village, complete with pebbled streets, ancient turrets, and artisan shops. Cossato sits on the Biella-to-Novara railway line, which keeps the town well-connected for commuters and tourists.