From a young age he held highly prestigious judicial and administrative positions within the administration of the Kingdom of Naples, up to that of Minister of Finance, under Ferdinand I, and Minister of the Interior during the French government (1806 –1815) and during the riots of 1820. As Minister of the Interior, Giuseppe managed the process of abolition of feudalism, decreed with a series of provisions approved by the sovereigns Joseph Bonaparte and Gioacchino Murat between 1806 and 1811.
He decreed the transfer of disputes between the barons and the municipality to the feudal commission, removing them from the ordinary judiciary. The commission, an extraordinary judiciary whose procedures reflected the vertical logic typical of the executive and whose sentences were final, proved to be much faster and more effective in resolving disputes and in executing the law.
A staunch supporter of the need for a radical change in the system of government, Giuseppe, through his personal life experience, knew first-hand the ills that afflicted the populations of the South. In addition to the economic and social problems of his homeland, Molise, he had a thorough knowledge of the conditions of Calabria, where he stayed on two occasions: the first time, as a member of the commission set up to investigate the earthquake of 1783, and a second time, in 1790, when he was a judge of the Gran Corte della Vicaria.
On this occasion he was given the task of carrying out a survey of the "defenses" of the Regia Sila and a verification of the occupations and usurpations of various lands carried out by local owners to the detriment of the royal state property.[5]
Francesco Daniele; etal. (Palatine Printing House). "ALL'ECCELLENZA DEL SIGNOR FRANCESCO ZUROLO, COMMENDATORE DEL REAL ORDINE DELLE DUE SICILE, CONSIGLIERE DI STATO, E MINISTRO DELL'INTERNO" [TO THE EXCELLENCE OF MR FRANCESCO ZUROLO, COMMANDER OF THE ROYAL ORDER OF THE TWO SICILES, STATE COUNCILOR, AND MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR]. In in the Palatine Printing House (ed.). Pe' funerali dell'eccellentissimo signor Cristoforo Saliceti ... celebrati nella chiesa di S. Giacomo degli Spagnuoli il di 29. di Dicembre 1809 inscrizioni di Francesco Daniele[For the funeral of the most excellent Mr Cristoforo Saliceti ... celebrated in the church of S. Giacomo degli Spagnuoli on 29 December 1809 inscriptions by Francesco Daniele] (in Latin). nella Stamperia Palatina. p.III.
Gennaro Zurolo (2021). "IV". Giuseppe Zurlo, ministro del Regno delle Due Sicilie, fonti per la storia degli Uomini Illustri del Regno di Napoli[Giuseppe Zurlo, minister of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, sources for the history of the Illustrious Men of the Kingdom of Naples] (in Italian).
Gennaro Zurolo (2024). "IV". Giuseppe Zurlo, ministro del Regno delle Due Sicilie, fonti per la storia degli Uomini Illustri del Regno di Napoli[Giuseppe Zurlo, Minister of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, sources for the history of the Illustrious Men of the Kingdom of Naples] (in Italian).
Alessandro Cutolo (1937). "ZURLO, Giuseppe, Enciclopedia Italiana (1937)"[ZURLO, Giuseppe, Italian Encyclopedia (1937)]. TRECCANI (in Italian). The entire story of the Italian minister and jurist Giuseppe Zurlo. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
Pasquale Stanislao Mancini (1838). "Giuseppe Zurlo" [Giuseppe Zurlo]. L'Omnibus pittoresco, enciclopedia letteraria ed artistica · Volume 1[The Picturesque Omnibus, literary and artistic encyclopedia · Volume 1] (in Italian). nr. 45. pp.370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 375 and 376. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
Luigi Alberto Trotta (1870). Unione typ.-publishing press (ed.). Vita di Giuseppe Zurlo[Life of Giuseppe Zurlo] (in Italian). Turin (TO). Retrieved September 5, 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Pasquale Villani (1955). Giuseppe Zurlo e la crisi dell'antico regime nel regno di Napoli[Giuseppe Zurlo and the crisis of the ancient regime in the kingdom of Naples] (in Italian). Vol.VII. Naples (NA). pp.57, 127 and 158. Retrieved September 6, 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Gennaro Zurolo (2021). "IV". Giuseppe Zurlo, ministro del Regno delle Due Sicilie, fonti per la storia degli Uomini Illustri del Regno di Napoli[Giuseppe Zurlo, minister of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, sources for the history of the Illustrious Men of the Kingdom of Naples] (in Italian). p.118.
