Luigi Einaudi Foundation

The Luigi Einaudi Foundation (Fondazione Luigi Einaudi di Torino) is an Italian cultural foundation headquartered at Palazzo d'Azeglio in Turin. It was established in 1964 by the heirs of Luigi Einaudi — the economist, journalist, and statesman who served as the second President of the Italian Republic — together with the Province and Municipality of Turin, Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino, and FIAT. The foundation was granted legal recognition by Presidential Decree D.P.R. n. 94 of 1 March 1966. It is distinct from the similarly named foundation in Rome. The foundation's mission is to promote research in the social, economic, historical, and political sciences, and to "keep alive the values of Luigi Einaudi, his principles of cultural and intellectual freedom." It manages a substantial cultural patrimony: a library of approximately 70,000 monographs and the historical archive of Luigi Einaudi. Since its inception, it has awarded annual renewable scholarships to support the post-university training of young scholars and has provided research grants. It also organizes conferences and seminars, and publishes academic works. Its publishing activity includes three book series and, from 1967 to 2016, the «Annali». In 2017 the journal was renamed «Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi», radically renewed, published in English, and aimed at facilitating communication and exchange among scholars in history, economics, political science, and the social sciences more broadly. The foundation has hosted numerous international conferences over the decades, covering topics such as the North-South divide in Italy, anarchism, the history of the Communist International, European unification, the Italian crisis, political economy, and globalization. The foundation is governed by a president and a scientific committee. Its presidents have included Giuseppe Grosso, Luciano Jona, Antonio D'Aroma, Enrico Filippi, and Domenico Siniscalco. The scientific committee has been chaired by figures such as Mario Einaudi, Franco Venturi, Luigi Firpo, Terenzio Cozzi, Massimo L. Salvadori, Marcello Carmagnani, Roberto Marchionatti, and Edoardo Tortarolo. Its members have included prominent intellectuals like Federico Caffè, Carlo M. Cipolla, and Piero Sraffa. Today the foundation continues to operate from Palazzo d'Azeglio, offering library and archive services, organizing events, and engaging in digital projects such as an AI-powered dialogue with Luigi Einaudi. It remains a reference point for free and inclusive research in the social sciences.

The Luigi Einaudi Foundation was established in 1964 in Turin on the initiative of Luigi Einaudi's heirs, who donated the library of the eminent economist, along with the Province and Municipality of Turin, Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino, and FIAT. Its purpose was to create a cultural institution capable of enhancing the great cultural heritage in the socio-economic sciences, constituted by the library (70,000 monographs) and the archive of Luigi Einaudi, and to use this initial patrimony to foster the development of economic, historical-economic, political, and social studies. After some years in temporary locations (including Palazzo Ceriana Racca), Gianni Agnelli offered Palazzo d'Azeglio, which has housed the foundation since 1970. The foundation received legal recognition by D.P.R. n. 94 of 1 March 1966. From the beginning, the foundation allocated substantial financial resources to support the post-university training of generations of young scholars through annual renewable scholarships and research grants. Its scientific committee has included prominent figures such as Federico Caffè, Carlo M. Cipolla, Luigi Firpo, Francesco Forte, Augusto Graziani, Franco Momigliano, Siro Lombardini, Claudio Napoleoni, Luigi Pasinetti, Alessandro Passerin d'Entrèves, Rosario Romeo, Piero Sraffa, Leo Valiani, and Franco Venturi. Over the decades, the foundation has organized numerous international conferences. Early examples include "Nord e Sud nella società e nell'economia italiana di oggi" (1967), "Anarchici e anarchia nel mondo contemporaneo" (1969), "Problemi di storia dell'Internazionale comunista 1919-1939" (1972), and "L'idea dell'unificazione europea dalla prima alla seconda guerra mondiale" (1974). Later conferences addressed topics such as political economy and national realities (1992), the thirty years of the foundation (1994), the courage of reason: Franco Venturi (1996), Europeism and federalism in Piedmont (1997), Vilfredo Pareto (1997), information and intellectual property (2006), the Turin School of Economics (2007), Luigi Einaudi in 20th-century culture and politics (2009), a great depression again? (2013), the 50th anniversary of the foundation (2014), Cesare Beccaria (2014), Franco Venturi centenary (2015), migrations in Europe (2016), the relevance of Keynes (2016), globalization in historical perspective (2017), the fragmentation of economics (2017), globalization and international conflict (2018), Germany in Europe (2019), and happiness, well-being and (de)growth. In terms of publications, the foundation has produced three book series and, from 1967 to 2016, the «Annali». In 2017 the journal was renamed «Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi», radically renewed, published in English, with the aim of facilitating communication and encouraging a fertile exchange of ideas among scholars engaged in research in history, economics, political science, and more generally the social sciences. The foundation continues to operate from Palazzo d'Azeglio, maintaining its library and archive, awarding scholarships, and organizing events. It has also embraced digital innovation, launching a project that allows users to dialogue with an AI representation of Luigi Einaudi.

• 2017

  The journal is renamed «Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi», renewed and published in English.

• 1970

  Palazzo d'Azeglio, offered by Gianni Agnelli, becomes the foundation's permanent home.

• 1967

  Publication of the «Annali» begins (continues until 2016).

• 1966

  Legal recognition granted by D.P.R. n. 94 of 1 March 1966.

• 1964

  Foundation established in Turin by the heirs of Luigi Einaudi, the Province and Municipality of Turin, Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino, and FIAT.

A non-profit cultural foundation dedicated to free and inclusive research in the social sciences, preserving and promoting the intellectual legacy of Luigi Einaudi.

• Annual renewable scholarships

  Financial support for post-university training of young scholars.

• Library and historical archive

  A library of 70,000 monographs and the archive of Luigi Einaudi, open to researchers.

• Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi

  English-language academic journal published since 2017 (formerly «Annali», 1967–2016).

• Book series

  Three book series published by the foundation.

1. 1Homepage IT - Fondazione Luigi Einaudifondazioneeinaudi.it
2. 2Wikidata: Luigi Einaudi Foundation of Torinowikidata.org
3. 3Wikipedia IT: Fondazione Luigi Einaudi di Torinoit.wikipedia.org