Why did some regions modernize earlier than others? The answer is often linked to the role of institutions in the tradition of Nobel prize Douglass North. Inspired by New Economic History, this book explores the legacy of Napoleonic rule in shaping Italy's long-term development. By combining historical data and economic analysis, it shows how the uneven diffusion of French reforms - especially in education - helped create lasting institutional differences across regions. Provinces more exposed to Napoleonic governance developed stronger bureaucracies and higher human capital, laying the foundations for modern growth. Others, less affected, retained extractive structures that slowed progress.