[169] Reviewing the principal phases in the economic fortunes of the Florio family in Sicily, Trasselli claimed that by the mid-19th century 'the whole Sicilian economy passed through the portals of the Via dei Materassai, n. 46', the street in Palermo where the company's head offices were located. In the course of a century Vincenzo Florio (1799-1868) - the son of the Paolo..... - his son Ignazio (1838-1891) and his grandson Ignazio (1868-1957) were involved in a whole series of commercial, financial, and entrepreneurial operations which went far beyond the regional context in which they were born and acquired an important place in the international economy of that period. No longer small traders in colonial goods, as at the end of the 18th century, the Florio family became major investors and a fundamental feature of the Sicilian economy,being deeply involved in Italy's economic and political development. During the 19th century were added to the original Florio apothecary and drug store the Florio tuna fish factory, the Florio marsala wine factory, textile factories, the Oretea iron foundery, the Florio ship-yards, the General Italian Navigation Co., the Florio Bank and the newpaper L'Ora. And these cover only a few of the more important branches of economic activity which enabled this family of entrepreneurs ......