Ferdinando Martini (30 July 1840 – 24 April 1928) was an Italian writer and politician. He was governor of Eritrea for from late 1897 to early 1907.

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Ferdinando Martini
Born	(1840-07-30)30 July 1840 Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Died	24 April 1928(1928-04-24) (aged 87) Monsummano Terme, Tuscany, Italy
Occupation	Writer, editor, politician
Parliamentarian of the Kingdom of Italy
In office 1876 (1876)–1919 (1919)
Minister of the Colonies
In office 21 March 1914 (1914-03-21) – 18 June 1916 (1916-06-18)
Prime Minister	Antonio Salandra
Preceded by	Pietro Bertolini
Succeeded by	Gaspare Colosimo
Minister of Public Education
In office 15 May 1892 (1892-05-15) – 15 December 1893 (1893-12-15)
Prime Minister	Giovanni Giolitti
Preceded by	Pasquale Villari
Succeeded by	Guido Baccelli
Governor of Eritrea
In office 16 December 1897 (1897-12-16) – 25 March 1907 (1907-03-25)
Preceded by	Antonio Baldissera
Succeeded by	Giuseppe Salvago Raggi
Senator of the Kingdom of Italy
In office 1 March 1923 (1923-03-01) – 28 April 1928 (1928-04-28)

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Born in Florence, he worked as journalist and writer. He collaborated with Il Fanfulla and in 1879 he founded the Fanfulla della domenica literary supplement, for which he was editor until 1882; he was also editor of La Domenica letteraria from 1882 until 1885 and professor at the University of Pisa. He founded Giornale per i bambini in 1881 and was its editor until 1883.

In 1876 he was elected to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy, a position he held for 43 years. He was Minister of the Colonies in the Salandra I and Salandra II cabinets, and Minister of the Public Instruction in the first Giolitti cabinet. Martini was also governor of Eritrea from 1897 to 1907, a country that received the name from him.

On 1 March 1923 he was appointed to the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1925 he was one of the signers of Giovanni Gentile's Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals.

In 1920 he wrote his famous literary masterpiece, about his years as governor of Eritrea:Il Diario Eritreo.^[1]

He died at Monsummano Terme in 1928.

• Cavaliere dell' Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro
• Commendatore dell' Ordine della Corona d'Italia
• Cavaliere dell' Ordine Civile di Savoia

• Chi sa il gioco non l'insegni. Proverbio in un atto in versi, Pisa, 1871
• Ad una donna. Versi, Venezia, Visentini, 1872
• Il primo passo e' quello dell' uscio. Milano, 1874.
• Fra un sigaro e l'altro: chiacchiere di Fantasio, Milano, G. Brigola, 1876
• Cose africane, da Saati ad Abba Carima, discorsi e scritti, Milano, F.lli Treves, 1896
• Confessioni e ricordi, Firenze, Bemporad, 1922 (e successive edizioni)
• Lettere (1860-1928), Milano, Mondadori, 1934
• Nell'Affrica italiana, Milano, Treves, 1891
• Il Quarantotto in Toscana. Firenze, Bemporad, 1918.
• Il Diario Eritreo. Roma. Vallecchi editore. 1920.
• A Pieriposa, novella antica. Milano, Treves, 1923.