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Federico Sclopis
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was born in January 1798 by a noble family of Turin. Sclopis graduated in Law and was soon called by Prospero Balbo among the direct co-operators of the Secretariat of Interiors.
In 1822 Sclopis entered the Savoy magistracy and later he became president of the Court of Cassation.
In 1828, when he wad thirty years only, Sclopis became a member of the Academy of Sciences. In 1831 the king Carlo Alberto nominated Sclopis into the limited commission for drawing the civil code up. In those years, between Europe and America a discussion was standing for preserving or not Napoleon's model of coded law.
In 1833 still Carlo Alberto wanted that Sclopis gave birth together with other researchers to the Royal Deputation of Home-Country History, a commission of historic research considering the Kingdom of Sardinia among the main European States.
From 1853 to 1878 Sclopis was president of the Deputation. In 1840 the first volume of his main work was released. It was the Storia della legislazione italiana (History of the Italian legislation), translated into French, English, and German. In 1848 Sclopis managed to achieve the concession of the Albertine Statute by the King. After the grant of the Statute, Sclopis was chosen by the king for constituting the first constitutional government. But Sclopis gave this task to his friend, the jurist Cesare Balbo. Elected in the first subalpine Parliament, Sclopis entered into contrast with his more moderate friend the most lively initiatives.
In 1849 he entered the Senate with the royal nomination. In 1864, year of the Convention of September, by which Italy engaged to move its capital town from Turin to Firenze, Sclopis, linked to values of the most genuine Piedmontese tradition, resigned from his office of president of the Senate. In the same year he became president of the Academy of Sciences.
In 1871 he was appointed president of the International Board of Geneva for solving the English-American controvecy named as Alabama Arbitartion. Sclopis acted as a skilled mediator solving a severe internation issue without applying to arms. In last years of life Sclopis took part to the cultural and political debate on the identity of the Royal Industrial Museum. He died in 1878, leaving his will to gift all his works and his rich library to the Academy of Sciences.
From the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Trade to the Count Federico Sclopis of Salerano, Senator of the Kingdom, Turin
Rome 30th June 1875
Your Excellency
I am not astonished nor am I sorry that you attracted the public attention by the press on the Industrial Museum, and truly I have no reason to feel astonished or sorry. In fact the Ministry did not start any measures to studies the proposals made by the Commission duly chaired by you and I did not even reply to the letter sent to me on 28th February 1874.
In a letter of mine dated on 12th February I did not give to you any replies to your questions, as my intention was to reply only after finding a solution to my doubts which could be more satisfactory to you. I made many apologies, but if at that time I could not find words excusing me what could I say now as now other five months passed by? Please believe that the long delay is due to the study I wanted to do for solving pending questions, without refusing the Commission's proposals that on my opinion were even more valuable as they were acceptated by you after speaking with very lectured people and consider that every matter turns to be helpful to this lovely town. I quite got convinced that a reconciliation solution of those matters is impossible.
The privilege to the Industrial Museum to give certificates of Professors to chairs of Chemistry, Physics, industrial Mechanics and Drawing in technical Institutes and in Art and Job Schools, seemed to me, and always seems to me, as inconciliable with intrerests, habits and traditions of Italy. How could we say that a Degree granted by an Application School for Engineers, for instance this very famous school of Valentino, is not a valid title and a sufficient evidence for capabilities to teach the sciences stated above in a secondary Institute?.
Please consider that a Royal Decree dated on 9th September 1873 when settling the Application School for Engineers here in Rome approved the Regulation where, at article 1 is written that the above School aims at offering a scientific and technical education necessary also for getting the certificate of Maths, plysics, chemistry and natural history teacher at the technical institutes of the Kingdom.
Certain that on a recent article on L'Opinione (The Opinion) dated on 25th June the reader could believe that the privilege is granted to the teaching of drawing, however, in addition to this that is not, please consider that in the above Application School there should not be also Fine Arts and Drawing Schools that in major centres of Italian artistic traditions, truly claim against an exclusion that certailnly would consider as offensive.
On my opinion, it should not be right to make a Privilege, first of all because it will be known and also because I think that in Government matter people must act openly. In case I should think as right to follow the Commission's proposal I would prefer next changes which were thought, that is at articles 12 and 14 of the original project.
On my opinion, the Industrial Museum must attract young researchers for the validity of teaching, the copy of practical means of education, the excellence of teaching. By these values it should reach the summit and should be rich in helpfulness that vainly one could think to reach by offering a compulsory course of his classes.
This is the first aspect in which I cannot follow the project. On the other hand, the following seems a conditio sine qua non to the promised competition of Municipality and province. This point would impact also on the article 26 of the very project. In fact, without speaking of other matters, the above article would abolish the normal School connected to the Application School of Engineers in Rome and the school already within the Superior Technical Institute of Milan.
On all other aspects, the agrement is easy and I thank you for your wise suggestions, wishing to make a pleasure to you and a helpful matter to the Museum is great that in spite of the fact the Commission did not pronounce on the convenience to separate the office of the Director from the office of Professor, I should take the responsibility to solve this matter as suggested by you without expecting any advice by the Superior Council that the settling of the Museum even if I think as disgusting to be the author of a measure dangerous to the educated man that... in Public teaching.
Referring to the last part of your letter, please thank on my account to Mr. Luigi Battioli (solicitor) whose services you made a good witness making in the same time, that of this service I informed the Minister by whom it depends. Instead, I sent a money order in your favour for 300 lire.
With the highest and most reverent esteem, I am
Yours very truly G. XXXX
(Academy of Sciences of Turin, Historical Archive Storico, mss. Sclopis, 1699)
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