"… Thus any study of the territorial distribution of the revenues and expenditure of the State encounters infinite difficulties …
If I have succeeded in conducting an absolutely impartial enquiry and in overcoming the obstacles presented by such
a complex and thorny issue,then my efforts will have been amply repaid and I will have prepared the ground for others to
venture further…This study …is not intended to be a complete examination, but rather the initial outline of a study, the
general lines of a project for which the energy of a single individual is insufficient …those who are able to bring it to fruition with
greater resources and more extensive preparation than I will have rendered a true and great service to science and history.

F.S. Nitti, Il bilancio dello Stato dal 1862 al 1896-98
(Prime linee di una inchiesta sulla ripartizione territoriale delle entrate e delle spese pubbliche in Italia. Napoli, 1900)