Economic writing and parliamentary politics
Cavour was born in Turin on 10 August 1810 into a Piedmontese noble family and entered military school as a boy. His later interests included agriculture, finance and railways. Writings during the 1840s examined agricultural management, Ireland and British legislation on the grain trade.
He helped found Il Risorgimento in December 1847 and became its editor. Elected to the Sardinian parliament in 1848, he entered government as minister of agriculture, commerce and the navy in October 1850. Journalism, parliamentary debate and administration became connected arenas of reform.
Parliamentary coalition and European diplomacy
Trade treaties with Belgium and Britain followed in 1851. Cavour’s parliamentary cooperation with Rattazzi’s center-left, known as the connubio, helped establish the basis for his first ministry in November 1852.
Sardinian participation in the Crimean War in 1855 brought access to the Paris Congress in 1856. Cavour met Napoleon III at Plombières in 1858, before French-Sardinian war against Austria in 1859. The unexpected settlement at Villafranca produced a confrontation with the king and his resignation, exposing the limits of diplomatic partnership.
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An evolving project of unification
Returning to office in January 1860, Cavour pursued central Italian annexations and signed the cession of Nice and Savoy to France. Garibaldi’s southern expedition created opportunities and political competition. Royal intervention in the Marche and Umbria also sought to contain the risks of a move against Rome.
Cavour introduced the royal-title bill in February 1861 and formed the new kingdom’s first ministry in March. He died on 6 June. In a 2010 commemorative address, President Napolitano stressed the evolving character of Cavour’s unification project, shaped by revolutionary action and changing European circumstances.