This is the first social and cultural study of the principal ‘free’ professions in Italy between unification and the First World War. It is a major contribution both to our understanding of the history of the bourgeoisie in Italy and to the developing role of professions in modern European society. The first section discusses the formation of modern Italian engineering, notarial occupations, law, and medicine, and the close involvement of members of the professions with the State and the university. The second section makes an important contribution to the study of Italian society of the period. It analyses the interrelation between the professions, the nobility and Parliament, and examines the social status of members of the professions – how they saw themselves, and how they were viewed by others. The collection as a whole offers a fresh review of the modern Italian bourgeoisie.