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{{short description|First Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy from March to June in 1861}}
]
{{about|the 19th-century Italian statesman|ships bearing his name|Italian battleship Conte di Cavour|and|Italian aircraft carrier Cavour (550)}}
'''Count Camilio Benso di Cavour''' (], ] - ], ]) was the statesman who presided over ], the architect of the ] ], and the first ] of the new Kingdom of Italy.
{{More citations needed|date=February 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = The Count of Cavour
| honorific-suffix = ], ], ]
| image = Camillo Benso Cavour di Ciseri.jpg
| caption = Portrait by ], 1861
| office = 1st ]
| monarch = ]
| term_start = 23 March 1861
| term_end = 6 June 1861
| predecessor = ''Himself'' as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia
| successor = ]
| office1 = ]
| monarch1 = Victor Emmanuel II
| term_start1 = 21 January 1860
| term_end1 = 23 March 1861
| predecessor1 = ]
| successor1 = ''Himself'' as Prime Minister of Italy
| monarch2 = Victor Emmanuel II
| term_start2 = 4 November 1852
| term_end2 = 19 July 1859
| predecessor2 = ]
| successor2 = Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora
| office3 = Minister of Finances
| monarch3 = Victor Emmanuel II
| primeminister3 = Massimo D'Azeglio
| term_start3 = 19 April 1851
| term_end3 = 11 May 1852
| predecessor3 = ]
| successor3 = ]
| office4 = Minister of Agriculture and Trade
| monarch4 = ]
| primeminister4 = Massimo D'Azeglio
| term_start4 = 11 October 1850
| term_end4 = 11 May 1852
| predecessor4 = ]
| successor4 = ] (1861)
| office5 = Member of the ]
| term_start5 = 30 June 1848
| term_end5 = 17 March 1861
| constituency5 = ]
| birth_name = Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1810|8|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = Turin, ]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1861|6|6|1810|8|10|df=y}}
| death_place = Turin, ]
| nationality = Italian
| party = ]
| signature = Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour Signature.svg
}}


'''Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri''' ({{IPA|it|kaˈmillo ˈbɛnso|lang}}; 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as the '''Count of Cavour''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|v|ʊər}} {{respell|kə|VOOR}}; {{langx|it|Conte di Cavour}} {{IPA|it|ˈkonte di kaˈvur|}}) or simply '''Cavour''', was an Italian ], ], ], ], and ], and a leading figure in the movement towards ].<ref>. biography.yourdictionary.com</ref> He was one of the leaders of the ] and Prime Minister of the ] from 1852, a position he maintained (except for a six-month resignation) until his death, throughout the ] and ]'s campaigns to unite Italy. After the declaration of a united ], Cavour took office as the first ]; he died after only three months in office and did not live to see the ] solved through the complete unification of the country after the ] in 1870.
==Growth and Studies==


Cavour put forth several economic reforms in his native region of ], at that time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, in his earlier years and founded the political newspaper '']''. After being elected to the ], he quickly rose in rank through the Piedmontese government, coming to dominate the Chamber of Deputies through a union of ] and ] politicians. After a large rail system expansion program, Cavour became prime minister in 1852. As prime minister, Cavour successfully negotiated Piedmont's way through the ], the ], and Garibaldi's ], managing to manoeuvre Piedmont diplomatically to become a new ] in Europe, controlling a nearly united Italy that was five times as large as Piedmont had been before he came to power.
Cavour was born in ], the principal city of ] in north-western Italy, and at that time the capital of the Kingdom of ] (also known as the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia), ruled by the Italian House of ]. Born into a noble Piedmontese family, he was expected to enter a respectable career, which he did, becoming a ] ] in the Sardinian Army. However, because of his radically ] views, he was pressured to leave the army and resigned in ]. After his military career he travelled across ] studying ] and ].


English historian ] says Cavour was the most successful parliamentarian in Italian history, but he was not especially democratic. Cavour was often dictatorial, ignored his ministerial colleagues and parliament, and interfered in parliamentary elections. He also practised '']'' and other policies which were carried over into post-Risorgimento Italy.<ref>Denis Mack Smith, "Cavour and Parliament" ''Cambridge Historical Journal'' 13#1 (1957): 37–57</ref><ref name="Denis Mack Smith 1985">Denis Mack Smith, ''Cavour'' (1985).</ref>
Cavour's studies of government and his experiences during the July ] ] in ] reinforced his liberal views. The successful ] set up under ] convinced him of the effectiveness of ]. Cavour, caught up in the ] fervor of the early ] also yearned for a united Italy. Cavour's study of agriculture excited his interest in ] and ]. These three attributes - a strong belief in liberalism, an extensive knowledge of technology, and the dream of a unified Italy - allowed him to modernize Italy both politically and technologically.


==Biography==
==Early Political Career==
===Early life===
Cavour was born in ] during ] rule, into a family which had acquired estates during the ]. He was the second of two sons of Michele Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Benso, 4th ] of ] and ] of ] and ], ] of ], ], ], ] and ], Co-Lord of ], ] and ], ], ], ], ] and ], 1st ] of the ] (1781–1850), and his wife (1805) Adélaïde (Adèle) Suzanne, Marchioness of Sellon (1780–1846), herself of French origin. His godparents were Napoleon's sister ], and her husband, Prince ], after whom Camillo was named.<ref name=coppa></ref>


Camillo and his older brother Gustavo were initially educated at home. He was sent to the Turin Military Academy when he was only ten years old. In July 1824 he was named a page to ], the King of Piedmont (1831–1849). Cavour frequently ran afoul of the authorities in the academy, as he was too headstrong to deal with the rigid military discipline. He was once forced to live three days on bread and water because he had been caught with books that the academy had banned.{{specify|date=December 2020}} He was found to be apt at the mathematical disciplines, and was therefore enlisted in the ] in the ] in 1827. While in the army, he studied the English language as well as the works of ] and ], developing ] tendencies which made him suspect to police forces at the time.<ref>Beales and Biagini, ''The Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy'', p. 106.</ref> He resigned his commission in the army in November 1831,<ref name=coppa/> both because of boredom with military life and because of his dislike of the reactionary policies of King Charles Albert. He administered the family estate at Grinzane, some forty kilometres outside the capital, serving as mayor there from 1832 to the revolutionary ].
With the election of the liberal ] to the papacy in ], Cavour felt that the chance for him to advocate reform had come. In ] he founded '']'' ("The Resurgence," later to become a general term for the unification of Italy), a newspaper espousing liberalism, constitutionalism, and unification. As editor, he soon became a powerful figure in Sardinian politics.


] of the ]: "Argent on a chief gules three scallop shells or."]]
During ], a wave of violent revolutions swept Europe. The uprising in the ] terrified ] of Piedmot-Sardinia. Pressured by the influence of ''Il Risorgimento'' and by the mood of dissent in his kingdom, Charles Albert granted Sardinia a Charter of Liberties on ], ]. Exhilarated with this success, Cavour then turned to urging Charles Albert to decalre war against ], which at that time ruled much of Italy through petty ] vassals. The perfect opportunity arose on ] when news arrived in Turin that ] was in revolt against its Hapsburg ruler. On ], caving in to pressure from Cavour and his party, Charles Albert declared war on Austria.
Cavour then lived for a time in ], with his relatives in ]. He then travelled to Paris where he was impressed by parliamentary debates, especially those of ] and ], confirming his devotion to a political career. He next went to London, where he was much more disappointed by British politics, and toured the country, visiting ], ], ], ], ], and ]. A quick tour through the ], ], and Switzerland (the German part and the ] area) eventually landed him back in Turin.


Cavour believed that economic progress had to precede political change, and stressed the advantages of railroad construction in the peninsula.<ref name=coppa/> He was a strong supporter of transportation by ], sponsoring the building of many railroads and canals. Between 1838 and 1842 Cavour began several initiatives in attempts to solve economic problems in his area. He experimented with different agricultural techniques on his estate, such as growing ], and was one of the first Italian landowners to use chemical fertilizers.<ref>Beales & Biagini, ''The Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy'', p. 108.</ref> He also founded the Piedmontese Agricultural Society. In his spare time, he again travelled extensively, mostly in France and the United Kingdom.
Although Sardinia was defeated by Austria at the ] and Italian revolutions were crushed in ], Venetia, and Milan, liberalism and nationalism in Italy were still resurgent - in the July elections of ], Cavour won a seat in the Sardinian Chamber of Deputies, and after his defeat by the Austrians, Charles Albert abdicated in favor of his more liberal and powerful son, ]. Under Victor Emmanuel's monarchy, Cavour's political career flourished. He became Minister of Agriculture and ] in 1850 and Minister of ] in ].


===Early political career===
After the failure of the ] to overrun monarchies in Europe, Cavour reassessed his liberal beliefs and decided to abandon his idealism for ]. Cavour reasoned that even if Italy could not be united by revolution, strong and calculating leadership might stand a chance. In his first two government positions, Cavour worked hard to strengthen Sardinia, reorganizing its army, legal system, financial system, and ]. He also encouraged the development of industry, including building railroads and factories, making Sardinia one of the most modernized European states of the time.
]


The first apparently liberal moves of ] and the ] spawned a new movement of Italian liberalism, allowing Cavour to enter the political arena, no longer in fear of the police. He then gave a speech in front of numerous journalists in favour of a constitution for Piedmont, which was ]. Cavour, unlike several other political thinkers, was not at first offered a position in the new ], as he was still a somewhat suspicious character to the nation.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith 1985"/>
==Path to Unification==


Cavour never planned for the establishment of a united country, and even later during his premiership, his objective was to expand Piedmont with the annexation of ], rather than a unified Italy. For example, during the conservative period, he gained a reputation as a non-revolutionary progressive. He was a poor public speaker. Cavour then lost the next election, while the Piedmontese army was destroyed at the ], leading Charles Albert to abdicate, passing the throne to his son, ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Harry Hearder|title=Cavour|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYyrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA59|year=1994|pages=57–62|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317901402}}</ref>
In November ] Cavour became Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia. As Prime Minister, Cavour finally had an opportunity to extend his power into the realm of foreign affairs. In ], at the outbreak the ], he saw his opportunity to enhance his nation's international standing. Sardinia entered the war {February ]} as an ally of ] and France in exchange for promises that the future of Italy would be seriously considered as an international issue. After the war, Cavour used the ] as an opportunity to denounce the neutral Austria's occupation of Italy.


Cavour was then brought back into Parliament by the voters, where he was much more successful. His knowledge of European markets and modern economics earned him the positions of Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Commerce, and Minister of the Navy in 1850. Cavour soon came to dominate the cabinet of Prime Minister ]. Cavour united the Right Center and the Left Center in the chamber to show dominance there as well. In 1851, Cavour gained a Cabinet promotion to ] by working against his colleague from inside the Cabinet in a somewhat disreputable takeover, although this was to Piedmont's advantage because of his many economic reforms. It allowed Cavour to begin his railway expansion program, giving Piedmont 800 kilometres of track by the year 1860, one-third of the railways in Italy at the time. He took the lead in legislation weakening the powers of the Church to own land, control the schools and supervise marriage laws. When the bishops protested, they were punished or exiled, making Cavour the hero of liberal anticlerical elements across Italy.<ref>Harry Hearder, ''Cavour'' (1994) pp. 62–63, 111–12.</ref>
Cavour was not the only important leader to rise to power in 1852 - that same year, ] became Emperor of France. Napoleon, a quasi-liberal, sympathized with Cavour's plan for Italian unification, and in July ] the two met at ] to shape Italy's future. At the meeting, Napoleon agreed that if Austria was to attack Sardinia, France would protect her. Cavour immediately set to provoking Austria into war, and in April ] Austria attacked the small Italian state. However, after extremely costly victories at ] and ], Napoleon III decided to withdraw from the war with the ]. The treaty allowed the Austrians to keep ] and transferred the territories conquered by the Sardinians to their former rulers. Sardinia received only Lombardy. Although Cavour was furious at Napoleon, the situation soon reversed itself when the citizens of ], ], ], ], and ] voted through plebiscites in March of ] to become part of Sardinia. Napoleon recognized these annexations in return for ] and ].


===Prime Minister of Piedmont–Sardinia===
Soon after, the Italian patriot ] led his famous army of a thousand red-shirted adventurers into the Hapsburg-Controlled Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (May ]), and Victor Emmanuel led his troops into the province of ]. The kingdoms voted for union with Sardinia, and the ] was proclaimed in March of ]. Cavour's territorial aims were complete except for ] and ] - two months later, the Prime Minister died, his dream of a united Italy nearly fulfilled. Venetia was added to the kingdom in ], and ] in ].
{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2017}}<!--7 paragraphs have no citations-->
]
Cavour formed a coalition with ] known as the ''Connubio'' ("marriage"), uniting the moderate men of the Right and of the Left, and brought about the fall of the d'Azeglio cabinet in November 1852. The King reluctantly accepted Cavour as prime minister, the most conservative possible choice, but their relationship was never an easy one.<ref>Mack Smith, ''Cavour'', pp. 61–67.</ref>


Cavour was generally liberal and believed in ], freedom of opinion, and secular rule, but he was an enemy of republicans and revolutionaries, whom he feared as disorganized radicals who would upset the social order. Cavour dominated debate in Parliament but is criticized for the controversial methods he used while Prime Minister, including excessive use of emergency powers, employing friends, bribing some newspapers while suppressing others, and rigging elections, though these were fairly common practices for the time. The national debt soared by a factor of six because of his heavy spending on modernizing projects, especially railways, and building up the army and the ]. When he became Prime Minister Piedmont had just suffered a major defeat by Austria, but when he died, ] ruled a state five times as large, which dominated Italy and ranked among Europe's ]s.
] ]

The allied powers of Britain and France asked Piedmont to enter the ], partially to encourage Austria to enter, which it would not do unless it was certain that Piedmontese troops were not available to attack Austrian positions in Italy. Cavour, who hoped that the allies would support Piedmont's expansion in Italy, agreed as soon as his colleagues' support would allow and entered the war on 10 January 1855. This was too late to truly distinguish themselves militarily, but the 18,000-man contingent earned Piedmont a position at the ] that ended the war.

In January 1858, the Italian ]'s attempted assassination of ] paradoxically opened an avenue of diplomacy between France and Piedmont. While in jail awaiting trial, Orsini wrote a public letter to the Emperor of the French, ending with, "Remember that, so long as Italy is not independent, the peace of Europe and Your Majesty is but an empty dream... Set my country free, and the blessings of twenty-five million people will follow you everywhere and forever."<ref>Norwich, ''The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean'', p. 523.</ref> Orsini was still executed, but Napoleon III began to explore the possibility of a joint operation with Piedmont against Austria. Cavour and Napoleon met in July 1858 at ], and the two ] that Piedmont would attempt to provoke war with the ], obliging Austria to enter, and France would then aid Piedmont. In return, Cavour reluctantly agreed to cede ] (the seat of the ]) and the ] to France, and also arranged a royal marriage between ] and ], surprisingly without Victor Emmanuel's consent.<ref>Norwich, ''The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean'', p. 524.</ref> In the same year, Cavour sent his cousin, the famous beauty, photographic artist, and secret agent ], to further the interests of Italian unification with the emperor by whatever means possible, and by all accounts she succeeded, famously becoming the mistress of Napoleon.

]
Both France and Piedmont began to prepare for war, but diplomatic support diminished rapidly. Napoleon III quickly soured on the plot, and Britain, Prussia, and Russia proposed an international congress, with one likely goal the disarmament of Piedmont. Piedmont was saved by Austria's sending an ultimatum on 23 April, demanding that Piedmont disarm itself, thus casting Austria as an aggressor. France mobilised and slowly began to enter Italy, but Piedmont needed to defend itself for a short period. Fortunately, rainstorms and Austrian indecision under ] gave time for France to arrive in force.

], ]]]
The battles of ] and ] left Franco-Piedmontese forces in control of Lombardy, but the Austrians remained confident of defending their "fortress ]" area, with four fortresses in ], ], ], and ]. These defences, the horrors of the Battle of Solferino, the possibility of ] entry into the war, and the potential for an over-strong Piedmontese state convinced Napoleon to sign a separate peace with Austria in the ] on 11 July 1859, ending the ]. Victor Emmanuel accepted the peace, but Cavour was so infuriated after reading the terms of the treaty that he tendered his resignation. He soon regained his optimism, however, as several of the terms, such as the restoration to power of the rulers of ] and Modena, and the establishment of an Italian Confederation including Austria, were not actually carried out.

] succeeded to Cavour's post and insisted on following the treaty terms, even sending a letter to Tuscany asking that they restore their Grand Duke. ], virtual dictator of Tuscany at the time, wrote about this appeal to his brother, saying: "Tell General La Marmora that I have torn his letter into a thousand pieces."<ref>Holt, ''The Making of Italy: 1815–1870'', p. 221.</ref> France continued direct talks with Piedmont on the destiny of the central Italian states, all of whose provisional governments supported unification with Piedmont but were restrained by the treaty, which called for the restoration of their old rulers.

Cavour had retired to his estate at ], out of politics but concerned about the King's alliance with Garibaldi's revolutionaries and his desire to renew the war with Austria without allied support.<ref>Mack Smith, ''Cavour'', pp. 180–83.</ref> When the weak La Marmora cabinet resigned, Victor Emmanuel was reluctant to have Cavour as premier again due both to their quarrel over the Armistice of Villafranca and Cavour's success in preventing the king from marrying his mistress after the queen's death. But Cavour was sent for on 20 January 1860.

] and Cavour making Italy in a satirical cartoon of 1861; the boot is a well-known reference to the shape of the ]]]
Cavour agreed with Napoleon to cede Savoy and Nice to France, in order to annex Tuscany and ] to Piedmont. ] were arranged with huge majorities in all these provinces to approve the changes.<ref>Mack Smith, ''Cavour'', pp. 203, 206.</ref> Cavour managed to convince most that uniting Italy would make up for these territorial losses. With this, the first stage of unification was completed. It was now up to Garibaldi to overthrow the ] ] and bring southern Italy into Piedmont's control.

Garibaldi was furious that his birthplace, Nice, had been ceded to France, and wished to recapture the city, but a popular insurrection in ] on 4 April 1860 diverted him southward. He requested a brigade of Piedmontese to take Sicily, but Cavour refused. So instead, Garibaldi raised a force of a thousand (''I Mille'') ] volunteers. They landed at ] in ] on 11 May and won the battles of ] and ], gaining control of Sicily. Cavour attempted to annex Sicily to Piedmont, but Garibaldi and his comrade ] would not allow it.

Cavour persuaded Victor Emmanuel to write a letter to Garibaldi, requesting that he not invade the mainland; the letter was indeed sent, but the King secretly wished Garibaldi to invade. He wrote another letter asking him to go ahead, but this was apparently never sent.<ref>Norwich, ''The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean'', p. 530; The letter was allegedly still sealed when found.</ref> Cavour meanwhile attempted to stir up a liberal revolution in ], but the populace was unreceptive. Garibaldi invaded, attempting to reach Naples quickly before Cavour found a way to stop him. On 7 September he entered Naples, at that time the largest city in Italy, and unilaterally declared Victor Emmanuel the ].<ref>Mack Smith, ''Cavour'', p. 222.</ref> Garibaldi was now military dictator of southern Italy and Sicily, and he imposed the Piedmontese constitution but publicly demanded that Cavour be removed, which alienated him slightly from Victor Emmanuel.

Garibaldi was unwilling to stop at this point, and planned an immediate invasion of the ]. Cavour feared France in that case would declare war to defend the Pope and successfully stopped Garibaldi from initiating his attack. Garibaldi had been weakened by the ], so Cavour quickly invaded the Papal regions of ] and ]. This linked the territories conquered by Piedmont with those taken by Garibaldi. The King met with Garibaldi, who handed over control of southern Italy and Sicily, thus uniting Italy.

The relationship between Cavour and Garibaldi was always fractious: Cavour likened Garibaldi to "a savage" while Garibaldi memorably called Cavour "a low intriguer".<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Aspects of European History, 1789–1980|author=Lee, S.J.|date=1982|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415034685|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wCRllpy87ucC|page=82|access-date=18 October 2014}}</ref>

===Prime Minister of Italy===
{{see|Cavour IV Cabinet}}

In 1861, ] declared the ], making Cavour ]. Cavour had many difficult issues to consider, including how to create a national military, which legal institutions should be retained in what locations, and especially the future of Rome. Most Italians thought Rome must be the capital of a united Italy, but this conflicted with the ] and also the independence of ]. Cavour believed that Rome should remain the seat of "a free church in a free state", which would maintain its independence but give up temporal power.<ref>Holt, ''The Making of Italy: 1815–1870'', p. 266; Beales & Biagini, ''The Risorgimento and Unification of Italy'', p. 154.</ref> These issues would become known as the "]". Still Austrian ] was also a problem. Cavour recognized that ] must be an integral part of Italy but refused to take a stance on how to achieve it, saying "Will the deliverance of Venice come by arms or diplomacy? I do not know. It is the secret of Providence."<ref>Holt, ''The Making of Italy: 1815–1870'', p. 265.</ref> A motion approving of his foreign policy passed by a huge majority, basically only opposed by left-wing and right-wing extremist groups.]Creating Italy was no easy task, but ruling it proved a worse strain on the Prime Minister. In 1861, at the peak of his career, months of long days coupled with insomnia and constant worry took their toll on Cavour. He fell ill, presumably of ], and to make matters worse insisted upon being bled. His regular doctor would have refused, but he was not available; so Cavour was bled several times until it was nearly impossible to draw any blood from him. He was buried in ], near ].

After his death, Italy would gain Venice in 1866 in the course of the ], connected to the ]. The ] completed the unification of Italy (aside from ] and ]) in 1870.

==Legacy==
]
Today, many Italian cities, including Turin, Trieste, Rome, Florence, and Naples, have important streets, squares, piazzas, and metro stations named after Cavour, as well as Mazzini and Garibaldi.<ref>Trevor James, "Out and About with Garibaldi." ''Historian'' #123 (2014): 42–43.</ref> The ], '']'', the battleship ], which fought both in ] and ], and the new '']'' ] ] is also named in his honour.

In 1865, the ''Collegio dei Nobili'', the oldest high school in Turin (founded 1568), and among the oldest and most prominent ones in Italy, was renamed the ''Liceo Ginnasio statale "Camillo Benso di Cavour"'' ('']'').{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}

== See also ==
*]
*]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
]
* Beales, Derek & Eugenio Biagini. ''The Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy.'' Second Edition. London: ], 2002. {{ISBN|0-582-36958-4}}
* Braun, Martin. "'Great Expectations': Cavour and Garibaldi: 1859–1959.” ''History Today'' (Oct. 1959) 9#10 pp 687–692; historiography
* Dal Lago, Enrico. "Lincoln, Cavour, and National Unification: American Republicanism and Italian Liberal Nationalism in Comparative Perspective." ''Journal of the Civil War Era'' 3#1 (2013): 85–113.
* Di Scala, Spencer. ''Italy: From Revolution to Republic, 1700 to the Present''. (Boulder, ], 2004. {{ISBN|0-8133-4176-0}}
* Hearder, Harry. ''Cavour'' (1994) , a scholarly biography
* Holt, Edgar. ''The Making of Italy: 1815–1870''. New York: Murray Printing Company, 1971.
* Kertzer, David. ''Prisoner of the Vatican''. Boston: ], 2004. {{ISBN|0-618-22442-4}}
* Mack Smith, Denis. ''Cavour''. New York: ], 1985. {{ISBN|0416421806}}, a scholarly biography, quite critical of Cavour ;
* Mack Smith, Denis. ''Italy: A Modern History''. Ann Arbor: The ], 1959.
* Martinengo-Cesaresco, Evelyn, Countess. ''Cavour'', ], Milano, 1901; Macmillan, London, 1904.
* Murtaugh, Frank M. ''Cavour and the Economic Modernization of the Kingdom of Sardinia'' (1991).
* Norwich, John Julius. ''The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean''. New York: ], 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-385-51023-3}}
* {{cite book|author=Thayer, William Roscoe |title=The Life and Times of Cavour vol 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zfwNAQAAMAAJ |year=1911}} old interpretations but useful on details; vol 1 goes to 1859];

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour}}
{{Commons|Count Camillo Benso di Cavour}}
{{Wikisource author}}

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Latest revision as of 04:00, 13 December 2024

First Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy from March to June in 1861 This article is about the 19th-century Italian statesman. For ships bearing his name, see Italian battleship Conte di Cavour and Italian aircraft carrier Cavour (550).
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The Count of CavourSOMHA, OSML, COS
Portrait by Antonio Ciseri, 1861
1st Prime Minister of Italy
In office
23 March 1861 – 6 June 1861
MonarchVictor Emmanuel II
Preceded byHimself as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia
Succeeded byBettino Ricasoli
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia
In office
21 January 1860 – 23 March 1861
MonarchVictor Emmanuel II
Preceded byAlfonso Ferrero La Marmora
Succeeded byHimself as Prime Minister of Italy
In office
4 November 1852 – 19 July 1859
MonarchVictor Emmanuel II
Preceded byMassimo D'Azeglio
Succeeded byAlfonso Ferrero La Marmora
Minister of Finances
In office
19 April 1851 – 11 May 1852
MonarchVictor Emmanuel II
Prime MinisterMassimo D'Azeglio
Preceded byGiovanni Nigra
Succeeded byLuigi Cibrario
Minister of Agriculture and Trade
In office
11 October 1850 – 11 May 1852
MonarchVictor Emmanuel II
Prime MinisterMassimo D'Azeglio
Preceded byPietro De Rossi di Santarosa
Succeeded byGiuseppe Natoli (1861)
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
30 June 1848 – 17 March 1861
ConstituencyTurin
Personal details
BornCamillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso
(1810-08-10)10 August 1810
Turin, First French Empire
Died6 June 1861(1861-06-06) (aged 50)
Turin, Kingdom of Italy
NationalityItalian
Political partyHistorical Right
Signature

Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (Italian: [kaˈmillo ˈbɛnso]; 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as the Count of Cavour (/kəˈvʊər/ kə-VOOR; Italian: Conte di Cavour [ˈkonte di kaˈvur]) or simply Cavour, was an Italian politician, statesman, businessman, economist, and noble, and a leading figure in the movement towards Italian unification. He was one of the leaders of the Historical Right and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1852, a position he maintained (except for a six-month resignation) until his death, throughout the Second Italian War of Independence and Giuseppe Garibaldi's campaigns to unite Italy. After the declaration of a united Kingdom of Italy, Cavour took office as the first Prime Minister of Italy; he died after only three months in office and did not live to see the Roman Question solved through the complete unification of the country after the Capture of Rome in 1870.

Cavour put forth several economic reforms in his native region of Piedmont, at that time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, in his earlier years and founded the political newspaper Il Risorgimento. After being elected to the Chamber of Deputies, he quickly rose in rank through the Piedmontese government, coming to dominate the Chamber of Deputies through a union of centre-left and centre-right politicians. After a large rail system expansion program, Cavour became prime minister in 1852. As prime minister, Cavour successfully negotiated Piedmont's way through the Crimean War, the Second Italian War of Independence, and Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand, managing to manoeuvre Piedmont diplomatically to become a new great power in Europe, controlling a nearly united Italy that was five times as large as Piedmont had been before he came to power.

English historian Denis Mack Smith says Cavour was the most successful parliamentarian in Italian history, but he was not especially democratic. Cavour was often dictatorial, ignored his ministerial colleagues and parliament, and interfered in parliamentary elections. He also practised trasformismo and other policies which were carried over into post-Risorgimento Italy.

Biography

Early life

Cavour was born in Turin during Napoleonic rule, into a family which had acquired estates during the French occupation. He was the second of two sons of Michele Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Benso, 4th Marquess of Cavour and Count of Isolabella and Leri, Lord of Corveglia, Dusino, Mondonio, Ottiglio and Ponticelli, Co-Lord of Castagnole, Cellarengo and Menabi, Cereaglio, Chieri, San Salvatore Monferrato, Santena and Valfenera, 1st Baron of the French Empire (1781–1850), and his wife (1805) Adélaïde (Adèle) Suzanne, Marchioness of Sellon (1780–1846), herself of French origin. His godparents were Napoleon's sister Pauline, and her husband, Prince Camillo Borghese, after whom Camillo was named.

Camillo and his older brother Gustavo were initially educated at home. He was sent to the Turin Military Academy when he was only ten years old. In July 1824 he was named a page to Charles Albert, the King of Piedmont (1831–1849). Cavour frequently ran afoul of the authorities in the academy, as he was too headstrong to deal with the rigid military discipline. He was once forced to live three days on bread and water because he had been caught with books that the academy had banned. He was found to be apt at the mathematical disciplines, and was therefore enlisted in the Engineer Corps in the Royal Sardinian Army in 1827. While in the army, he studied the English language as well as the works of Jeremy Bentham and Benjamin Constant, developing liberal tendencies which made him suspect to police forces at the time. He resigned his commission in the army in November 1831, both because of boredom with military life and because of his dislike of the reactionary policies of King Charles Albert. He administered the family estate at Grinzane, some forty kilometres outside the capital, serving as mayor there from 1832 to the revolutionary upheaval of 1848.

Coat of arms of the Count of Cavour: "Argent on a chief gules three scallop shells or."

Cavour then lived for a time in Switzerland, with his relatives in Geneva. He then travelled to Paris where he was impressed by parliamentary debates, especially those of François Guizot and Adolphe Thiers, confirming his devotion to a political career. He next went to London, where he was much more disappointed by British politics, and toured the country, visiting Oxford, Liverpool, Birmingham, Chester, Nottingham, and Manchester. A quick tour through the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland (the German part and the Lake Geneva area) eventually landed him back in Turin.

Cavour believed that economic progress had to precede political change, and stressed the advantages of railroad construction in the peninsula. He was a strong supporter of transportation by steam engine, sponsoring the building of many railroads and canals. Between 1838 and 1842 Cavour began several initiatives in attempts to solve economic problems in his area. He experimented with different agricultural techniques on his estate, such as growing sugar beets, and was one of the first Italian landowners to use chemical fertilizers. He also founded the Piedmontese Agricultural Society. In his spare time, he again travelled extensively, mostly in France and the United Kingdom.

Early political career

An early portrait of Cavour

The first apparently liberal moves of Pope Pius IX and the Revolutions of 1848 spawned a new movement of Italian liberalism, allowing Cavour to enter the political arena, no longer in fear of the police. He then gave a speech in front of numerous journalists in favour of a constitution for Piedmont, which was eventually granted. Cavour, unlike several other political thinkers, was not at first offered a position in the new Chamber of Deputies, as he was still a somewhat suspicious character to the nation.

Cavour never planned for the establishment of a united country, and even later during his premiership, his objective was to expand Piedmont with the annexation of Lombardy and Venetia, rather than a unified Italy. For example, during the conservative period, he gained a reputation as a non-revolutionary progressive. He was a poor public speaker. Cavour then lost the next election, while the Piedmontese army was destroyed at the Battle of Novara, leading Charles Albert to abdicate, passing the throne to his son, Victor Emmanuel II.

Cavour was then brought back into Parliament by the voters, where he was much more successful. His knowledge of European markets and modern economics earned him the positions of Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Commerce, and Minister of the Navy in 1850. Cavour soon came to dominate the cabinet of Prime Minister Massimo d'Azeglio. Cavour united the Right Center and the Left Center in the chamber to show dominance there as well. In 1851, Cavour gained a Cabinet promotion to Minister of Finance by working against his colleague from inside the Cabinet in a somewhat disreputable takeover, although this was to Piedmont's advantage because of his many economic reforms. It allowed Cavour to begin his railway expansion program, giving Piedmont 800 kilometres of track by the year 1860, one-third of the railways in Italy at the time. He took the lead in legislation weakening the powers of the Church to own land, control the schools and supervise marriage laws. When the bishops protested, they were punished or exiled, making Cavour the hero of liberal anticlerical elements across Italy.

Prime Minister of Piedmont–Sardinia

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Official portrait of Cavour in 1852

Cavour formed a coalition with Urbano Rattazzi known as the Connubio ("marriage"), uniting the moderate men of the Right and of the Left, and brought about the fall of the d'Azeglio cabinet in November 1852. The King reluctantly accepted Cavour as prime minister, the most conservative possible choice, but their relationship was never an easy one.

Cavour was generally liberal and believed in free trade, freedom of opinion, and secular rule, but he was an enemy of republicans and revolutionaries, whom he feared as disorganized radicals who would upset the social order. Cavour dominated debate in Parliament but is criticized for the controversial methods he used while Prime Minister, including excessive use of emergency powers, employing friends, bribing some newspapers while suppressing others, and rigging elections, though these were fairly common practices for the time. The national debt soared by a factor of six because of his heavy spending on modernizing projects, especially railways, and building up the army and the Royal Sardinian Navy. When he became Prime Minister Piedmont had just suffered a major defeat by Austria, but when he died, Victor Emmanuel II ruled a state five times as large, which dominated Italy and ranked among Europe's great powers.

The allied powers of Britain and France asked Piedmont to enter the Crimean War, partially to encourage Austria to enter, which it would not do unless it was certain that Piedmontese troops were not available to attack Austrian positions in Italy. Cavour, who hoped that the allies would support Piedmont's expansion in Italy, agreed as soon as his colleagues' support would allow and entered the war on 10 January 1855. This was too late to truly distinguish themselves militarily, but the 18,000-man contingent earned Piedmont a position at the Congress of Paris that ended the war.

In January 1858, the Italian Felice Orsini's attempted assassination of Napoleon III paradoxically opened an avenue of diplomacy between France and Piedmont. While in jail awaiting trial, Orsini wrote a public letter to the Emperor of the French, ending with, "Remember that, so long as Italy is not independent, the peace of Europe and Your Majesty is but an empty dream... Set my country free, and the blessings of twenty-five million people will follow you everywhere and forever." Orsini was still executed, but Napoleon III began to explore the possibility of a joint operation with Piedmont against Austria. Cavour and Napoleon met in July 1858 at Plombières-les-Bains, and the two agreed that Piedmont would attempt to provoke war with the Duchy of Modena, obliging Austria to enter, and France would then aid Piedmont. In return, Cavour reluctantly agreed to cede Savoy (the seat of the Piedmontese royal family) and the County of Nice to France, and also arranged a royal marriage between Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy and Prince Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte, surprisingly without Victor Emmanuel's consent. In the same year, Cavour sent his cousin, the famous beauty, photographic artist, and secret agent Virginia Oldoïni, to further the interests of Italian unification with the emperor by whatever means possible, and by all accounts she succeeded, famously becoming the mistress of Napoleon.

Cavour as Prime Minister of Sardinia in the 1850s

Both France and Piedmont began to prepare for war, but diplomatic support diminished rapidly. Napoleon III quickly soured on the plot, and Britain, Prussia, and Russia proposed an international congress, with one likely goal the disarmament of Piedmont. Piedmont was saved by Austria's sending an ultimatum on 23 April, demanding that Piedmont disarm itself, thus casting Austria as an aggressor. France mobilised and slowly began to enter Italy, but Piedmont needed to defend itself for a short period. Fortunately, rainstorms and Austrian indecision under Ferenc Gyulay gave time for France to arrive in force.

Cavour's desk in the Château de Thorens, Savoy

The battles of Magenta and Solferino left Franco-Piedmontese forces in control of Lombardy, but the Austrians remained confident of defending their "fortress quadrilateral" area, with four fortresses in Verona, Legnago, Peschiera, and Mantua. These defences, the horrors of the Battle of Solferino, the possibility of Prussian entry into the war, and the potential for an over-strong Piedmontese state convinced Napoleon to sign a separate peace with Austria in the Armistice of Villafranca on 11 July 1859, ending the Second Italian War of Independence. Victor Emmanuel accepted the peace, but Cavour was so infuriated after reading the terms of the treaty that he tendered his resignation. He soon regained his optimism, however, as several of the terms, such as the restoration to power of the rulers of Tuscany and Modena, and the establishment of an Italian Confederation including Austria, were not actually carried out.

Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora succeeded to Cavour's post and insisted on following the treaty terms, even sending a letter to Tuscany asking that they restore their Grand Duke. Bettino Ricasoli, virtual dictator of Tuscany at the time, wrote about this appeal to his brother, saying: "Tell General La Marmora that I have torn his letter into a thousand pieces." France continued direct talks with Piedmont on the destiny of the central Italian states, all of whose provisional governments supported unification with Piedmont but were restrained by the treaty, which called for the restoration of their old rulers.

Cavour had retired to his estate at Leri, out of politics but concerned about the King's alliance with Garibaldi's revolutionaries and his desire to renew the war with Austria without allied support. When the weak La Marmora cabinet resigned, Victor Emmanuel was reluctant to have Cavour as premier again due both to their quarrel over the Armistice of Villafranca and Cavour's success in preventing the king from marrying his mistress after the queen's death. But Cavour was sent for on 20 January 1860.

Giuseppe Garibaldi and Cavour making Italy in a satirical cartoon of 1861; the boot is a well-known reference to the shape of the Italian Peninsula

Cavour agreed with Napoleon to cede Savoy and Nice to France, in order to annex Tuscany and Emilia to Piedmont. Plebiscites were arranged with huge majorities in all these provinces to approve the changes. Cavour managed to convince most that uniting Italy would make up for these territorial losses. With this, the first stage of unification was completed. It was now up to Garibaldi to overthrow the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and bring southern Italy into Piedmont's control.

Garibaldi was furious that his birthplace, Nice, had been ceded to France, and wished to recapture the city, but a popular insurrection in Palermo on 4 April 1860 diverted him southward. He requested a brigade of Piedmontese to take Sicily, but Cavour refused. So instead, Garibaldi raised a force of a thousand (I Mille) redshirt volunteers. They landed at Marsala in Sicily on 11 May and won the battles of Calatafimi and Milazzo, gaining control of Sicily. Cavour attempted to annex Sicily to Piedmont, but Garibaldi and his comrade Francesco Crispi would not allow it.

Cavour persuaded Victor Emmanuel to write a letter to Garibaldi, requesting that he not invade the mainland; the letter was indeed sent, but the King secretly wished Garibaldi to invade. He wrote another letter asking him to go ahead, but this was apparently never sent. Cavour meanwhile attempted to stir up a liberal revolution in Naples, but the populace was unreceptive. Garibaldi invaded, attempting to reach Naples quickly before Cavour found a way to stop him. On 7 September he entered Naples, at that time the largest city in Italy, and unilaterally declared Victor Emmanuel the King of Italy. Garibaldi was now military dictator of southern Italy and Sicily, and he imposed the Piedmontese constitution but publicly demanded that Cavour be removed, which alienated him slightly from Victor Emmanuel.

Garibaldi was unwilling to stop at this point, and planned an immediate invasion of the Papal States. Cavour feared France in that case would declare war to defend the Pope and successfully stopped Garibaldi from initiating his attack. Garibaldi had been weakened by the Battle of the Volturno, so Cavour quickly invaded the Papal regions of Umbria and Marche. This linked the territories conquered by Piedmont with those taken by Garibaldi. The King met with Garibaldi, who handed over control of southern Italy and Sicily, thus uniting Italy.

The relationship between Cavour and Garibaldi was always fractious: Cavour likened Garibaldi to "a savage" while Garibaldi memorably called Cavour "a low intriguer".

Prime Minister of Italy

Further information: Cavour IV Cabinet

In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II declared the Kingdom of Italy, making Cavour Prime Minister of Italy. Cavour had many difficult issues to consider, including how to create a national military, which legal institutions should be retained in what locations, and especially the future of Rome. Most Italians thought Rome must be the capital of a united Italy, but this conflicted with the temporal power of the Pope and also the independence of the Church. Cavour believed that Rome should remain the seat of "a free church in a free state", which would maintain its independence but give up temporal power. These issues would become known as the "Roman Question". Still Austrian Venetia was also a problem. Cavour recognized that Venice must be an integral part of Italy but refused to take a stance on how to achieve it, saying "Will the deliverance of Venice come by arms or diplomacy? I do not know. It is the secret of Providence." A motion approving of his foreign policy passed by a huge majority, basically only opposed by left-wing and right-wing extremist groups.

Ten pesos banknote, printed in Uruguay in 1887, with the image of Cavour and Garibaldi

Creating Italy was no easy task, but ruling it proved a worse strain on the Prime Minister. In 1861, at the peak of his career, months of long days coupled with insomnia and constant worry took their toll on Cavour. He fell ill, presumably of malaria, and to make matters worse insisted upon being bled. His regular doctor would have refused, but he was not available; so Cavour was bled several times until it was nearly impossible to draw any blood from him. He was buried in Santena, near Turin.

After his death, Italy would gain Venice in 1866 in the course of the Third Italian War of Independence, connected to the Austro-Prussian War. The Capture of Rome completed the unification of Italy (aside from Trentino and Trieste) in 1870.

Legacy

Monument of Cavour in Rome

Today, many Italian cities, including Turin, Trieste, Rome, Florence, and Naples, have important streets, squares, piazzas, and metro stations named after Cavour, as well as Mazzini and Garibaldi. The clipper ship, Camille Cavour, the battleship Conte di Cavour, which fought both in World War I and World War II, and the new Marina Militare aircraft carrier Cavour is also named in his honour.

In 1865, the Collegio dei Nobili, the oldest high school in Turin (founded 1568), and among the oldest and most prominent ones in Italy, was renamed the Liceo Ginnasio statale "Camillo Benso di Cavour" (Liceo classico Cavour).

See also

References

  1. Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour (Italian statesman). biography.yourdictionary.com
  2. Denis Mack Smith, "Cavour and Parliament" Cambridge Historical Journal 13#1 (1957): 37–57
  3. ^ Denis Mack Smith, Cavour (1985).
  4. ^ Coppa, Frank J., "Cavour, Count Camillo Benso di (1810–1861)", Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions, Ohio University, 1998
  5. Beales and Biagini, The Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy, p. 106.
  6. Beales & Biagini, The Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy, p. 108.
  7. Harry Hearder (1994). Cavour. Routledge. pp. 57–62. ISBN 9781317901402.
  8. Harry Hearder, Cavour (1994) pp. 62–63, 111–12.
  9. Mack Smith, Cavour, pp. 61–67.
  10. Norwich, The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean, p. 523.
  11. Norwich, The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean, p. 524.
  12. Holt, The Making of Italy: 1815–1870, p. 221.
  13. Mack Smith, Cavour, pp. 180–83.
  14. Mack Smith, Cavour, pp. 203, 206.
  15. Norwich, The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean, p. 530; The letter was allegedly still sealed when found.
  16. Mack Smith, Cavour, p. 222.
  17. Lee, S.J. (1982). Aspects of European History, 1789–1980. Routledge. p. 82. ISBN 978-0415034685. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  18. Holt, The Making of Italy: 1815–1870, p. 266; Beales & Biagini, The Risorgimento and Unification of Italy, p. 154.
  19. Holt, The Making of Italy: 1815–1870, p. 265.
  20. Trevor James, "Out and About with Garibaldi." Historian #123 (2014): 42–43.

Further reading

Scritti di economia, 1962
  • Beales, Derek & Eugenio Biagini. The Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy. Second Edition. London: Longman, 2002. ISBN 0-582-36958-4
  • Braun, Martin. "'Great Expectations': Cavour and Garibaldi: 1859–1959.” History Today (Oct. 1959) 9#10 pp 687–692; historiography
  • Dal Lago, Enrico. "Lincoln, Cavour, and National Unification: American Republicanism and Italian Liberal Nationalism in Comparative Perspective." Journal of the Civil War Era 3#1 (2013): 85–113.
  • Di Scala, Spencer. Italy: From Revolution to Republic, 1700 to the Present. (Boulder, Westview Press, 2004. ISBN 0-8133-4176-0
  • Hearder, Harry. Cavour (1994) excerpt, a scholarly biography
  • Holt, Edgar. The Making of Italy: 1815–1870. New York: Murray Printing Company, 1971.
  • Kertzer, David. Prisoner of the Vatican. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. ISBN 0-618-22442-4
  • Mack Smith, Denis. Cavour. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985. ISBN 0416421806, a scholarly biography, quite critical of Cavour online review; online review
  • Mack Smith, Denis. Italy: A Modern History. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1959.
  • Martinengo-Cesaresco, Evelyn, Countess. Cavour, Fratelli Treves, Milano, 1901; Macmillan, London, 1904.
  • Murtaugh, Frank M. Cavour and the Economic Modernization of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1991).
  • Norwich, John Julius. The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean. New York: Doubleday, 2006. ISBN 978-0-385-51023-3
  • Thayer, William Roscoe (1911). The Life and Times of Cavour vol 1. old interpretations but useful on details; vol 1 goes to 1859]; volume 2 online covers 1859–62

External links

Political offices
Preceded byMassimo d'Azeglio Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia
1852–1859 		Succeeded byAlfonso Ferrero La Marmora
Preceded byAlfonso Ferrero La Marmora Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia
1860–1861 		Succeeded byPiedmont-Sardinia absorbed into Kingdom of Italy
Preceded byNone Prime Minister of Italy
1861 		Succeeded byBettino Ricasoli
Preceded byNone Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1861 		Succeeded byBettino Ricasoli
Preceded byNone Italian Minister of the Navy
1861 		Succeeded byLuigi Federico, Count Menabrea
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