Pietro Bucalossi (9 August 1905 – 15 March 1992) was an Italian physician and politician. He is remembered for his

cancer research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate and ...

, and for his

austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

and

small government Libertarian conservatism, also referred to as conservative libertarianism and conservatarianism, is a political and social philosophy that combines conservatism and libertarianism, representing the libertarian wing of conservatism and vice ver ...

policies while

Mayor of Milan The mayor of Milan ( it, sindaco di Milano) is the first citizen and head of the municipal government of the city of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. The current office holder is Giuseppe Sala, a centre-left independent who has been in charge since 2016 M ...

in the 1960s.

Biography

Medical career

Born in

San Miniato San Miniato is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. San Miniato sits at an historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley, between the valleys of Ego ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Pietro Bucalossi was a graduate in medicine and surgery from the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

. He became a prominent

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

and an associate of the National Institute of Cancer (''Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori''; INT), and moved to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in 1934. He was a lifelong member of the "Italian League for the Fight against Cancer", and was also Director of the INT from 1956 to 1974. Additionally, he wrote several medical books with his ''protégé'',

Umberto Veronesi Umberto Veronesi (; 28 November 1925 – 8 November 2016) was an Italian oncologist, physician, scientist and politician, internationally known for his contributions on prevention and treatment of breast cancer throughout a career spanning ove ...

War record

In 1940, at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he began service as a medical captain in the

Italian Royal Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

. Following the events of 25 July (

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's deposition) in 1943, he left the army and entered both the

Italian resistance movement The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

and the

National Liberation Committee The National Liberation Committee ( it, Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, CLN) was a political umbrella organization and the main representative of the Italian resistance movement fighting against Nazi Germany’s forces during the German occup ...

as a member of the Action Party (''Partito d'Azione''; PdA). Although a committed partisan, by the end of the war he harboured a profound distrust of the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...

(''Partito Comunista Italiano''; PCI) for its role in concealing the

death of Mussolini The death of Benito Mussolini, the deposed Italian fascist dictator, occurred on 28 April 1945, in the final days of World War II in Europe, when he was summarily executed by an Italian partisan in the small village of Giulino di Mezzegra in ...

Political career

In 1947, the Action Party disbanded and Bucalossi joined the Socialist Party of Italian Workers (''Partito Socialista dei Lavoratori Italiani''; PSLI), a breakaway from the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...

(''Partito Socialista Italiano''; PSI) that later became the

Italian Democratic Socialist Party The Italian Democratic Socialist Party (, PSDI), also known as Italian Social Democratic Party, was a minor social-democratic political party in Italy. The longest serving partner in government for Christian Democracy, the PSDI had been an im ...

(''Partito Socialista Democratico Italiano''; PSDI). In 1958 he was elected on the PSDI list to represent Milan in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, where he remained for six years before resigning to become

in 1964. Known for his strong personality and short temper, Bucalossi was a sincere believer in

(despite his party's statist, social-democratic philosophy), similar to that of an American

fiscal conservative Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., ''A ...

. He introduced

balanced budget A balanced budget (particularly that of a government) is a budget in which revenues are equal to expenditures. Thus, neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus exists (the accounts "balance"). More generally, it is a budget that has no budge ...

and

policies, which cut the city administration's spending drastically, and opposed the creation of regional councils, sarcastically dubbing them "''parlamentini''" ("small parliaments"). However, he also secured enough funding to ensure the opening of several public parks, the expansion of

Linate Airport Milan Linate Airport is the third international airport of Milan, the second-largest city and largest urban area of Italy, behind Malpensa Airport and Orio al Serio Airport. It served 9,233,475 passengers in 2018, being the fifth busiest air ...

, and the inauguration of the first

Milan Metro The Milan Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Milano) is the rapid transit system serving Milan, Italy, operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi. The network consists of 5 lines, identified by different numbers and colours, with a total network length of ...

underground railway line. In 1967, he resigned as mayor due to a lack of support from his party colleagues, who were discomfited by his opposition to the pact then in place between the PSI and PSDI. He was re-elected a year later to the Chamber of Deputies as a representative of the

Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party ( it, Partito Repubblicano Italiano, PRI) is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Italy. Founded in 1895, the PRI is the oldest political party still active in Italy. The PRI has old roots and a long histo ...

(''Partito Repubblicano Italiano''; PRI). Bucalossi subsequently became the

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

Aldo Moro Aldo Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July 1 ...

's fourth Cabinet from 1974 to 1976, where he introduced a

construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

law that sought to quell the rapid increase in illegal property construction ("''abusivismo''"). In 1977, Bucalossi left the PRI in disagreement over the party's support for

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, joining 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 ...

(''Partito Liberale Italiano''; PLI) soon afterwards. By this stage, he had become a leading critic of the Historic Compromise between the PCI and the

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

(''Democrazia Cristiana''; DC), arguing that the experience of having Communists in the governmental majority had brought about a decline in the wellbeing of the country.Robert Leonardi, 'The Victors: The Smaller Parties in the 1979 Italian Elections', in Howard R. Penniman (ed), ''Italy at the Polls, 1979: A Study of the Parliamentary Elections'' (Washington D.C., American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1981), p. 178. After his time as a deputy came to an end in 1979, he left Italian politics and returned to his job as an oncologist. He died in 1992.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bucalossi, Pietro 1905 births 1992 deaths People from San Miniato Action Party (Italy) politicians Italian Democratic Socialist Party politicians Italian Republican Party politicians Italian Liberal Party politicians Deputies of Legislature III of Italy Deputies of Legislature IV of Italy Deputies of Legislature V of Italy Deputies of Legislature VI of Italy Deputies of Legislature VII of Italy Mayors of Milan Politicians of Tuscany Italian oncologists University of Pisa alumni Italian resistance movement members Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic