– 1914, Milano) was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, the first dean

Dean (education)

In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...

 and president of Bocconi University

Bocconi University

Bocconi University is a private university located in central Milan, beside Parco Ravizza. Bocconi provides undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education, in addition to a range of double degree programs, in the fields of economics, management, finance and law. According to many university...

, the first business school

Business school

A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in Business Administration. It teaches topics such as accounting, administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, public relations, strategy, human resource...

 in Italy.

His parents were Eugenio Sabbatini and Silvia Piermarini. He started to study law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 in 1879 at the University of Pisa

University of Pisa

The University of Pisa , located in Pisa, Tuscany, is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century...

, graduating with a thesis on commercial law

Commercial law

Commercial law is the body of law that governs business and commercial transactions...

 in 1883. He also married very young, in 1880. Soon after that, he was admitted as vice-secretary of the Commerce Chamber of Milano, where he was instrumental in achieving the first comprehensive survey and publication of statistics about commerce and industry in Milano. In his free time, Sabbatini collaborated with Antonio Maffi in the management of popular schools for adults of both sexes, which had been founded on 1875 by workers and artisans associations.

In the year 1897, Sabbatini was presented to Ferdinando Bocconi, an important entrepreneur in the city, who was the founder and owner of a chain of big magazines, Alle città d'Italia. He wanted to pay homage to his son Luigi, who had been killed at the Battle of Adua, during the Italian-Ethiopian War in 1896, by establishing a school of commerce with his name. Ferdinando Bocconi's brother was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and introduced him to Sabbatini. Bocconi wanted a radical departure from the traditional Italian universities, which were too much theoretical and very little pragmatic in business education. Sabbatini took the bait and presented to Bocconi a school where economic sciences would be the key discipline, which would permeate the entire cycle of studies, in order to provide the future business leaders the tools to understand and to practice in the real world. Sabbatini stated that the University's mission should be to "promote harmony between school and life".
The proposal was very well received by Bocconi and other Milanesi businessmen and within two years the Universitá Commerciale "Luigi Bocconi" was founded. Sabbatini became president and later dean of the University, where he worked indefatigably and with great management acumen until his premature death, in 1914.

Leopoldo Sabbatini was also an important player in the creation of a federation of all chambers of commerce of Italy, the Unioncamere, on June 7. 1901. He participated as a vice-president until 1912, when he resigned.

External links

• Marzio A. Romani. Costruire le istituzioni: un'intervista immaginaria a Leopoldo Sabbatini Impresa & Stato n°43