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 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. The second section provides an analysis of the interrelation among the professions, the nobility and Parliament, and examines the social status of members of the professions.