The Escape from Administration: the Rise and Fall of Technical Experts in the History of Italian Administration

The slow involution of the State’s technical administrative bodies, leading actors in the construction of unified Italy, then inexorably pushed to the margins by the “inevitable rise” of law school graduates. The decisive moment occurred during the age of Giolitti, coinciding with the definitive hegemony of the administrative law school led by Orlando over the sciences of the State. Certain episodes (such as the laws reserving the highest positions in Civil and Public Works bodies to law graduates, or the investigation on public education that led to the measures adopted in 1910) seal the «turning point». Subsequent attempts to defend the technical dimension in careers within State institutions will not be successful.