History
The office was first established in 1848 in Italy's predecessor state, the Kingdom of Sardinia—although it was not mentioned in the constitution, the Albertine Statute. The candidate for office was appointed by the king, and presided over a very unstable political system. In its first 60 years of existence (1861-1921), Italy changed its prime minister 37 times. Regarding this situation, the first goal of Benito Mussolini, appointed in 1922, was to abolish the Parliament's ability to put him to a vote of no confidence, thus basing his power on the will of the king and the National Fascist Party alone. With the proclamation of the Italian Republic in 1946, the office received constitutional recognition and 25 men assumed the office in 66 years.
Read more about this topic: Prime Minister Of Italy
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“The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present. History is a hill or high point of vantage, from which alone men see the town in which they live or the age in which they are living.”
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“The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?”
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