La polizia del territorio urbano nel primo Ottocento. Il contributo delle finanze comunali

This study analyses the organization and financial aspects of modern urban police in Italy in the Napoleonic and Austrian era. Under the Napoleonic administration (Kingdom of Italy, 1805-1814), municipal governments were called to make a strong contribution towards the costs of public order. They had to pay all the costs for the new Police commissioners and National Guard and were also called to contribute towards the costs of the army’s sleeping quarters and the Gendarmerie, and for an increasing and relevant share of the municipal budget. This allowed however to define a sphere of municipal police functions. During the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, under the Austrian Empire, the pressure put upon by the central government on municipalities decreased. Therefore the costs of the city police became a burden only for the Treasury, and police functions became exclusive to the central state administration.