IGNAZIO FLORIO
Ignazio Florio, born in Palermo on 18 December 1838, following the death of his father Vincenzo, in 1868, bought his sisters Giuseppina and Angelina’s share of the estate and focused on consolidating and developing the “Casa Florio” businesses, including the wine production in Marsala.
He restructured the wine production facilities introducing the latest steam machines and set up an internal entrepreneurial organization that increased production and sales without compromising on the quality of the wine.
He built a cableway line to connect the shipping divisions with the area where the wine barrels were loaded directly on the ships from an iron pier.
Around 1870, “Marsala” wine was in growing demand and with its 300 workers the “Florio” winery was the size of a large agricultural and industrial production plant and its “Marsala” ageing cellars kept growing larger and larger.
To secure a constant wine supply, he started buying new plots of land in the Castelvetrano, San Giuliano (today Erice), and Salemi areas, which he then turned into vineyards.
Florio’s “Marsala” business reached maximum production capacity around 1890, under the management of an Englishman, J. Gordon, who contributed to the success of “Marsala Floro” both in Italy and abroad by establishing international relationships with the aim of putting Sicily on the European map.
Like his father, Ignazio was a Senator of the Kingdom of Italy[1] from 1883 until his sudden death on 17 May 1891.