Giovanni de Ciotta
Encyclopedia
Giovanni de Ciotta was the first-born son of Lorenzo de Ciotta and Adriana Maria de Adamich, daughter of the foremost Fiuman merchant and father of modernisation in Fiume Andrea Lodovico de Adamich
. The family de Ciotta originated from Livorno
where Giovanni served the Austrian army in quality of engineer. As an officer of the Austrian engineer corps, he fought in Italy in the 1848-49 campaigns and remained in the army until 1859. He arrived in Fiume in 1859 from Livorno, after having resigned from the Austrian army, reputedly for political reasons. In Fiume initially he lived as a landlord and commercial agent for his brother Lorenzo who runs a trading company in Livorno, but soon turned to engineering. Nevertheless, his personal life remains a mystery.
Giovanni de Ciotta will rapidly become the most influential political representative in the City, incarnating the policies of Ferenc Deák
in Hungary. Initially, Ferenc Deák had few open supporters in Fiume, where Lajos Kossuth
was preferred, given the agitation done by his local exponent Gaspare Matcovich
but a faction led by Luigi Francovich gradually emerged and coalesced around Deák's program in the 1860s.
In 1869, as a fiuman citizen, Ciotta was elected member of Parliament in Budapest. In the same year he became the head of the Associazione politica Club Deak (a section of the Deák Circles that was to become the local branch of the Hungarian Liberal Party and as such the first modern party organisation in Fiume).
Hungarian support proved to be crucial to the development of the port of Fiume and Ciotta was the key person in assuring it. From 1872 to 1896 (apart from a short interruption in 1884) he was the mayor of the city. Following the financial crisis of 1873, that culminated in 1875, the conservative liberal Deák Party had to face a crisis from which it survived only with a merger with the more numerous conservative Left Center of Kálmán Tisza
. The “new” Liberal Party of Hungary, was to rule Hungary (and Fiume) from 1875 to 1890, marking the golden years of Ciotta, later known as the Idyll.
Under his lead an impressive phase of expansion of the city started, marked by the completion of the railway Fiume - Budapest, the construction of the modern port and the initiation of modern industrial and commercial enterprises such as the Royal Hungarian Sea Navigation Company "Adria", and the Whitehead Torpedo Works, where his contribution was crucial as he financed Robert Whitehead
's efforts in producing a viable torpedo. In 1885 the sumptuous new theatre was finished modelled on that of Budapest and Vienna, costing him a political crisis in 1884 for the raising building costs.
While on army service he met John Leard, another fiuman of English origins. Ciotta with Leard in 1889 pushed forward the Piano regolatore the comprehensive urbanisation plan for the city. The new plan laid down the plan for a modern commercial city, destroying most of the older buildings and roads and introducing the regular planning as it was done in Budapest and other cites of the time. In 1891 the Acquedotto Ciotta was finished providing the city with modern sewage and water supply system. He was also a founder of several philanthropic initiatives and institutions.
The “system Ciotta” underwent crisis in 1896 when Hungarian Prime Minister Dezső Bánffy
started a centralizing policy towards Fiume. Ciotta, being unable to assure the equilibrium between Fiume and Hungary, resigned and retired to private life, following the Governor Lajos gróf Batthyány de Nemetujvár
. As a response Michele Maylender
, backed by Luigi Ossoinack
(initiator of the Royal Hungarian Sea Navigation Company "Adria"), founded a new party, the Autonomist Association
, ending the rule of the Liberal Party of Hungary in Fiume.
Andrija Ljudevit Adamic
Andrija Ljudevit Adamić was a Croatian trader from Rijeka, builder, supporter of economical and cultural development....
. The family de Ciotta originated from Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
where Giovanni served the Austrian army in quality of engineer. As an officer of the Austrian engineer corps, he fought in Italy in the 1848-49 campaigns and remained in the army until 1859. He arrived in Fiume in 1859 from Livorno, after having resigned from the Austrian army, reputedly for political reasons. In Fiume initially he lived as a landlord and commercial agent for his brother Lorenzo who runs a trading company in Livorno, but soon turned to engineering. Nevertheless, his personal life remains a mystery.
Giovanni de Ciotta will rapidly become the most influential political representative in the City, incarnating the policies of Ferenc Deák
Ferenc Deák
Ferenc Deák de Kehida , , was a Hungarian statesman and Minister of Justice. He was known as "The Wise Man of the Nation".-Early life and law career:...
in Hungary. Initially, Ferenc Deák had few open supporters in Fiume, where Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Regent-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a freedom fighter and bellwether of democracy in Europe.-Family:Lajos...
was preferred, given the agitation done by his local exponent Gaspare Matcovich
Gaspare Matcovich
Gaspare Matcovich , local leader of the Kossuthists in Fiume. Emarginated after 1867 the Deákist faction of Giovanni de Ciotta become dominant in Fiume...
but a faction led by Luigi Francovich gradually emerged and coalesced around Deák's program in the 1860s.
In 1869, as a fiuman citizen, Ciotta was elected member of Parliament in Budapest. In the same year he became the head of the Associazione politica Club Deak (a section of the Deák Circles that was to become the local branch of the Hungarian Liberal Party and as such the first modern party organisation in Fiume).
Hungarian support proved to be crucial to the development of the port of Fiume and Ciotta was the key person in assuring it. From 1872 to 1896 (apart from a short interruption in 1884) he was the mayor of the city. Following the financial crisis of 1873, that culminated in 1875, the conservative liberal Deák Party had to face a crisis from which it survived only with a merger with the more numerous conservative Left Center of Kálmán Tisza
Kálmán Tisza
Kálmán Tisza de Borosjenő was the Hungarian prime minister between 1875 and 1890. He is credited for the formation of a consolidated Magyar government, the foundation of the new Liberal Party and major economic reforms that would both save and eventually lead to a government with popular...
. The “new” Liberal Party of Hungary, was to rule Hungary (and Fiume) from 1875 to 1890, marking the golden years of Ciotta, later known as the Idyll.
Under his lead an impressive phase of expansion of the city started, marked by the completion of the railway Fiume - Budapest, the construction of the modern port and the initiation of modern industrial and commercial enterprises such as the Royal Hungarian Sea Navigation Company "Adria", and the Whitehead Torpedo Works, where his contribution was crucial as he financed Robert Whitehead
Robert Whitehead
Robert Whitehead was an English engineer. He developed the first effective self-propelled naval torpedo. His company, located in the Austrian naval centre in Fiume, was the world leader in torpedo development and production up to the First World War.- Early life:He was born the son of a...
's efforts in producing a viable torpedo. In 1885 the sumptuous new theatre was finished modelled on that of Budapest and Vienna, costing him a political crisis in 1884 for the raising building costs.
While on army service he met John Leard, another fiuman of English origins. Ciotta with Leard in 1889 pushed forward the Piano regolatore the comprehensive urbanisation plan for the city. The new plan laid down the plan for a modern commercial city, destroying most of the older buildings and roads and introducing the regular planning as it was done in Budapest and other cites of the time. In 1891 the Acquedotto Ciotta was finished providing the city with modern sewage and water supply system. He was also a founder of several philanthropic initiatives and institutions.
The “system Ciotta” underwent crisis in 1896 when Hungarian Prime Minister Dezső Bánffy
Dezso Bánffy
Dezső Baron Bánffy de Losoncz was a Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1895 to 1899.-Biography:...
started a centralizing policy towards Fiume. Ciotta, being unable to assure the equilibrium between Fiume and Hungary, resigned and retired to private life, following the Governor Lajos gróf Batthyány de Nemetujvár
Lajos gróf Batthyány de Nemetujvár
Count Lajos Batthyány de Németújvár was the main county head of Győr , Governor of Fiume, and Győr parliamentary representative....
. As a response Michele Maylender
Michele Maylender
Michele Maylender was a Hungarian politician who was the founder of the Autonomist Association, known also as Autonomist Party in Fiume....
, backed by Luigi Ossoinack
Luigi Ossoinack
Luigi Ossoinack . Born in Fiume, studied in Ljubljana, Graz and Vienna, where he graduates at the commercial academy. He practised trade in Trieste, Odessa, London and “North America”....
(initiator of the Royal Hungarian Sea Navigation Company "Adria"), founded a new party, the Autonomist Association
Autonomist Association
The Autonomist Association was a political party in Fiume, that existed continuously from 1896 to 1914. Its goal was to maintain the autonomy of the corpus separatum of Fiume within the Hungarian Kingdom.- Origins :...
, ending the rule of the Liberal Party of Hungary in Fiume.
Sources
- Ciotta, Giovanni. (J.C.) Fiume und Seine Eisenbahnfrage, Fiume Stabilimento Tipolitografico, 1864.
- Matcovich, Gaspare, Alla popolazione di Fiume : risposta alle parole del Conte Andrassy : relative alla S. Peter-Fiume e circa l'ultima elezione dietale / Gaspare Matcovich Trieste : [s.n.], 1869 (Tipografia C. V. Rupnick & Comp.)
- Mohovich, Emidio. 1869. Fiume negli anni 1867 e 1868, Fiume Mohovich, Ed.