Paolo di Montagliari

Giovanni Paolo di Montagliari (1871–1956) was born in Dresden and studied law at Pisa. His first Washington assignment was as an honorary attaché in 1895; he returned in 1908 after European postings. ¹

As chargé, he pursued protection for Italian workers’ families. In March 1910 he challenged the consequences of the Supreme Court’s Maiorano decision, which prevented a nonresident relative from recovering damages for a death in Pennsylvania. He proposed either an additional agreement clarifying treaty rights or arbitration. His argument explicitly connected compensation rights with employers’ incentives to protect workers. ²

He also pressed for the extradition of Porter Charlton, who had confessed to killing his wife near Como. Montagliari sought provisional detention and, in July 1910, forwarded the Italian court papers with a formal extradition request. ³

By November 1918 he represented Italy to Montenegro’s exiled king in Paris. Reporting to Sonnino, he accused French authorities of obstructing a telegram inviting Montenegro to the Geneva Yugoslav conference. ⁴