Abstract

The new international economic policy of the Sardinian states in the early 1850s adopted foreign trade as a driving force in the process of the kingdom’s economic and institutional modernization. A visible sign of the success of the Piedmontese “development modelµ during the Cavour decade was the rapid increase in the flow of exports of primary and semi-finished products. These exports propelled the growth of the economy, stimulating its structural transformation. Institutional changes, the acquisition from abroad of cultural, financial, and business organization models, and innovative business organizational practices were also important. Significant, too, was the huge influx of foreign capital which helped to expand the Sardinian balance of payments, as well as the growing importance of banking, insurance, and state-of-the-art specialized commercial organizations for the exchange of goods and capital