Benedetto Croce (1866-1952) was an Italian critic, idealist philosopher, and politician. He wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy of history and aesthetics, and was a prominent liberal, although he opposed laissez-faire free trade. He was made Minister of Public Education, and later moved to the Italian Senate, a lifelong position. He was an open critic of Italy's participation in World War I, feeling that it was a suicidal trade war. Though this made him initially unpopular, his reputation was restored after the war and he became a well-loved public figure. He was also instrumental in the Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III's move to the Palazzo Reale in 1923. Heavily influenced by Hegel and other German Idealists, such as Fichte, Croce produced what was called, by him, the Philosophy of Spirit. He was an ardent idealist, and denied any reality other than "pure concept", or simply ideas. He rejected all forms of religion as not logical enough and came to view most metaphysics in the same manner. He also held great esteem for Vico, and shared his view that history should be written by philosophers.