 As an unofficial government agency, the "Stefani" followed different transfers of Italian capital cities, from Turin to Florence in 1865, then to Rome in 1871

In 1881, Hector Friedländer took control and kept it for 37 years.Under his direction, the agency remained close to the government, contributing strongly to blunting the opinions of the press towards the controversial events of the era, such as Battle of Adwa (1896), Bava-Beccaris massacre (1898), the assassination of Umberto I of Italy (1900), Italo-Turkish War (1911-1912) and the casual changes in international alliances preceding the First World War.In 1888, Agenzia Stefani was key to Italy's diplomatic strategies; the Triple Alliance "potenziamento", coordinated by Prime Minister Francesco Crispi, tried to separate Agenzia Stefani from French influence (by then it was 50%-owned by the French news agency Havas) in favour of an alliance with Prussian and Austro-Hungarian agencies.