Roman Censuses since 1871

When Italy was unified in 1861, the most important city was missing: Rome. It was the seat of the Ecclesiastical State, which in that year also included large parts of the region of Lazio. On 20 September 1870, the Italian royal army took the city in spectacular fashion (read the story here), putting an end to the Pope’s worldly power. The kingdom of Italy had achieved unification on this day. With the Vatican, the pope was given his own territory. Rome became the formally the capital of Italy in February 1871. The consequences were very far-reaching: the court and the government apparatus moved from Florence to Rome. The city’s new political status promised economic growth. This double perspective led countless job seekers to migrate to Rome. This created a sustained population growth that was measured by the Roman censuses since 1871.

The tables

The data below come from two sources. Sanfilippo in the third column stands for the historian Mario Sanfilippo, while the abbreviation ISTAT refers to the National Institute of Statistics in Rome. The table gives the Roman Censuses of Population since 1871 up to 1951. Only the Istat also gives a percentage for growth plus the date of the census.

 

Jaar Datum Sanfilippo ISTAT %
1871 31/12 244.844 209.222 –
1881 31/12 300.467 269.813 29.0 %
1891 – 386.626 – –
1901 10/02 462.783 416.028 52.2 %
1911 10/06 542.123 511.076 22.8 %
1921 01/12 691.661 650.258 27.2 %
1931 21/04 1.008.083 916.858 41.0 %
1941 – 1.403.307 – –
1945 – 1.500.513 – –
1951 04/11 – 1.626.793 43.6 %

 

Sanfilippo mentions that the years 1881, 1941 and 1945 he gives are not based on censuses. He calculated the numbers based on data in the Municipal Archives. Compared to the Istat censuses, the numbers he provides are considerably higher. He offers no explanation for it.

The censuses from 1871 onwards were based on the concept of the family. Only in 1901 did each member of the family have to fill in their own form.

 

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Notes on Roman Censuses since 1871

  • Mario Sanfilippo, Le tre città di Roma. Lo sviluppo urbano dalle origini a oggi. Bari-Roma: Laterza, 1993.
  • ISTAT = Istituto nazionale di statistica. The website is in Italian and in English.

 

14 September 2023

Rome 1870-1946 Yearly Calendar

This series provides an overview of the main events that took place annually in the Italian Capital from 1870 to 1946. Each year has its own page with a short introduction and a list of the most important days. The page concludes with notes on bibliographic information and links. The columns following here below sum up each individual year. Open the year of your choice that is linked and has the number between brackets: the quantity of days listed in that calendar year. The Rome 1870-1946 Yearly Calendar is a work in progress.

From 1870 to 1909

1870 (34)
1871 (12) Dutch
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879

1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889

1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
1898
1899 (10)

1900 (13)
1901 (11)
1902 (6)
1903 (17)
1904 (13)
1905 (14)
1906 (20)
1907 (8)
1908 (8)
1909 (8)

From 1910 to 1945

1910 (10)
1911 (21)
1912 (7)
1913 (9)
1914 (16)
1915 (11)
1916 (6)
1917 (9)
1918 (7)
1919 (10)

1920 (14)
1921 (13)
1922 (14)
1923 (25)
1924 (16)
1925 (18)
1926
1927
1928
1929

1930 (8)
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939

1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946

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Rome 1870-1945 per jaar een kalender

The Etruscan bronze wolf is attributed to the sculptor Vulca. The artwork dates from the VI-V century BC.

Justification

Italy completes its statehood in 1870 with the capture of the city. 1870 is thus the ideal beginning of this series, because that is when the socalled Third Rome begins. I conclude the series in 1946, the last year of the Italian kingdom. On 2 June 1942 Italy becaume officailly a Republic.

Although Rome is the central theme of this Kalendarium, the visitor will notice that there are many lines running to other parts of the country.

Out of respect, the names of individuals are written in their original form. For that reason the reader will find king Vittorio Emanuele and not Victor Emanuel.

 

Notes on Rome 1870-1946 Yearly Calendar

  • The staircase to the Capitol Line is also known as ‘cordonata’ in Italian, because it can be ascended by horse as well as on foot. Not many horses will be seen clinbing the cordonata in our days!
  • The material to set up the annual lists comes from historical standard works and monographs. Also helpful is the Enciclopedia Treccani, both the online version and paper edition. Useful is of course wikipedia. Claudio Rendina’s book, Roma giorno per giorno, Rome: Newton & Compton, 2008. This book was the initial trigger and source. I checked the data, added and revised the information. Articles are regularly updated.
  • See here for a Wikipedia article on Chronology as an auxiliary science for historians. And here for a useful overview of Timelines.

 

13 September 2023