First issue of L'Osservatore Romano

Background. Following the defeat of papal troops at Castelfidardo in September 1860, which reduced the Pope's temporal power, Catholic intellectuals gathered in Rome to serve Pope Pius IX. By July 1860, Deputy Minister of the Interior Marcantonio Pacelli planned to supplement the official Giornale di Roma with a semi-official rhetorical publication. This initiative aimed to defend the Papal States through a polemical and propagandistic approach, adopting the name of a private pamphlet financed by a French Catholic legitimist group.

Editorial Approval. In early 1861, controversialist Nicola Zanchini and journalist Giuseppe Bastia were granted editorial direction of Pacelli's newspaper. Official permission to publish was sought on 22 June 1861. Four days later, on 26 June, Pius IX gave his approval for the regulation of L'Osservatore. This approval preceded the publication of the first issue on 1 July 1861, a few months after the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed.

Initial Format. The first edition was entitled "L'Osservatore Romano – a political and moral paper" and cost five baiocchi. The original intent was unabashedly polemical and propagandistic in defence of the Papal States. The "political and moral paper" epithet was dropped before 1862, adding instead the two Latin mottoes that still appear under the masthead today. The newspaper is owned by the Holy See but is not an official publication.