Leopoldo de Gregorio, 1st Marquess of Esquilache, OWE (Messina, December 23, 1699 – Venice, September 15, 1785), known in Spanish as ''Marqués de Esquilache'' and in Italian as ''Marchese di Squilliace'', was a Sicilian-born Spanish statesman who was Minister of Finance of Spain between 1759 and 1766.

Biography

Born in

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

, de Gregorio was one of Enlightenment Spain's leading statesmen from the arrival of Charles III to the Marquis's death in 1785. His ability as a military supplier for the Neapolitan army impressed the king and raised him to royal prominence. He was created "Marquess of Squillace" in 1755. Charles III had been introduced to reform by his mentor in Sicily,

Bernardo Tanucci Bernardo Tanucci (20 February 1698 – 29 April 1783) was an Italian jurist and statesman, who brought an enlightened absolutism style of government to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for Charles III and his son Ferdinand IV. Biography Early ...

. Although Tanucci remained behind in the

Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and land are ...

to advise Charles's son, King

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (Italian language, Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand I ...

, as the two thrones could not be united by consequence of treaty, Charles carried with him a cadre of Italian reformers who saw potential in the Spanish bureaucracy for modernization. De Gregorio was one of them, and was the architect of the first phase of Charles' reforms. His attempt to modernize the apparel of the average Spaniard resulted in the Esquilache Riots and in his dismissal. Charles was forced to make Esquilache ambassador to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. It was a move that both Charles and Esquilache lamented. Esquilache felt that his measures in Spain had deserved a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

, and would comment that he had cleaned and paved the city streets and had created

boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district. In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...

s, and had nevertheless been dismissed. He died in

References

Leopoldo de Gregorio, Marquis of Squillace Leopoldo de Gregorio, Marquis of Squillace Squillace, marchese Spanish people of Italian descent Economy and finance ministers of Spain Leopoldo de Gregorio, Marquis of Squillace Ambassadors of Spain to the Republic of Venice Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) {{spain-diplomat-stub