Vincenzo Azzolini

Vincenzo Azzolini was an Italian economist. He served as Governor of the Bank of Italy between 1931 and 1944 in succession to Bonaldo Stringher. It was a challenging time politically, economically and internationally. Commentators conclude that he confronted the difficulties he encountered as Bank Governor with considerable skill and dexterity. Towards the end of 1944 he was dismissed from office. He was accused of High Treason and was convicted of handing the Italian gold reserves over to the Germans. On 14 October 1944 he was sentenced to a thirty-year jail term. Slightly under two years later, on 28 September 1946, he was released under the terms of the Togliatti amnesty. By 1948 passions had cooled a little and the Supreme Court of Cassation reversed the original conviction, stating that his failure to prevent the German Army from removing the Italian gold to Berlin in 1943 did not amount to a crime.