Giuseppe Grassi (8 May 1883 in

Martano Martano (Griko: , translit. ; Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' of 9,573 inhabitants in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy, from Lecce and from Otranto. It is the biggest town of Grecìa Salentina, a Greek-speaking area where some i ...

– 25 August 1950) was a 20th-century

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Member of the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor party ...

, he served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

Alcide De Gasperi Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 to 1953. De Gasp ...

's fourth and fifth cabinets between 1947 and 1950. He signed, as

Keeper of the Seals The title keeper of the seals or equivalent is used in several contexts, denoting the person entitled to keep and authorize use of the great seal of a given country. The title may or may not be linked to a particular cabinet or ministerial offi ...

, the

Constitution of Italy The Constitution of the Italian Republic ( it, Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana) was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, ...

in 1948.

Biography

Giuseppe Grassi was born of noble origins: ''Grassi'' was an ancient family of 1100 AD derived from

William VI, Duke of Aquitaine William VI (1004 – March 1038), called the Fat, was Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou (as William IV) between 1030 and his death. He was the eldest son of William V the Great by his first wife, Adalmode of Limoges. Throughout his reign, ...

(descendant of one of the twelve sons of

Tancred of Hauteville Tancred of Hauteville (c. 980 – 1041) was an 11th-century Norman petty lord about whom little is known. He was a minor noble near Coutances in the Cotentin. Tancred is also known by the achievements of his twelve sons. Various legends arose ...

) and was a feudal lord of Alessano under King

William II of Sicily William II (December 115311 November 1189), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. From surviving sources William's character is indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from his ...

. The original family from Otranto branched out and enjoyed nobility with the predicate of Martano (Lecce). Giuseppe was adopted by his uncle Prince Sebastiano (brother of his mother who died very young) and added to his surname that of Apostolico Orsini Ducas. He was the son of Michelina Apostolico and Pasquale.GRASSI, Giuseppe di Gaetano Quagliarello - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 58 (2002)
/ref> His cultural training originated in the Argento college of

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

, where he studied within the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, following in the footsteps of the Apostolic family. Son of the evolutionary process of Lecce's political Catholicism, his intellectual maturation was of a liberal type. He then studied law at the University of Rome, where he developed a passion for politics and an interest in research in the field of public law. He graduated in 1905 with a thesis in constitutional law. In 1907 Grassi married Isabella Carissimo, with whom he would later have four children: Mary, Guglielmo, Fabio and Vittoria. He hosted the Savoy family in his estate in Materdomini before exile.

References

1883 births 1950 deaths People from the Province of Lecce Italian Liberal Party politicians Italian Ministers of Justice Deputies of Legislature XXIV of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXV of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVI of the Kingdom of Italy Members of the National Council (Italy) Members of the Constituent Assembly of Italy Deputies of Legislature I of Italy Politicians of Apulia {{Italy-politician-stub