Enrico Guicciardi was an Italian colonel and politician during the 19th century. He was known for being a

Senator of the Kingdom of Italy The Senate of the Kingdom of Italy () was the upper house of the bicameral parliament of the Kingdom of Italy, officially created on 4 March 1848, acting as an evolution of the original Subalpine Senate. It was replaced on 1 January 1948 by the ...

during its 10th legislature, a Deputy of the Kingdom of Italy during its 8th, 9th and 10th legislatures and the main colonel at the Operations in Valtellina during the

Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence ( it, Terza Guerra d'Indipendenza Italiana) was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in ...

Family

Enrico Guicciardi comes from a family that has been in Ponte in Valtellina since the 12th century and held important offices such as that of Valtellina Talcanzler and others. The family was linked to the most important noble families in the valley through clever marriage policies. Representatives of the family included lawyers, church people and politicians. Enrico was the legitimate son of (1756–1837) and Teresa Guicciardi.

First Italian War of Independence

After graduating at law from the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...

, he was a notary in

Sondrio Sondrio (; lmo, Sùndri; rm, Sunder; archaic german: Sünders or ; la, Sundrium) is an Italian city and ''comune'' and Provincial Capital located in the heart of the Valtellina. , Sondrio counts approximately 21,876 inhabitants (2015) and it is ...

from 1846–1848. He participated in the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

by sharing

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

's ideals for a united Italy. He then participated with his cousin Torelli in the

Five Days of Milan The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan, and in five days of street fighting ...

. On March 22, 1848, the Municipal Deputation of Ponte in Valtellina decided to form the Civic Guard and gave the command to Enrico Guicciardi who led 150 men to defend the

Tonale Pass Tonale Pass ( it, Passo del Tonale) (el. 1883 m./6178 ft.) is a high mountain pass in northern Italy across the Rhaetian Alps, between Lombardy and Trentino. It connects Valcamonica and Val di Sole. It is delimited by the Ortler Al ...

. With the fall of the Stelvio-Tonale Republic, he fled to

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

where he was in command of the Bersaglieri Valtellinesi battalion which distinguished itself in the Battle of Novara and was decorated with a medal for valor. A lover of the mountains and a good mountaineer, in 1853 he became the first Italian to reach the summit of

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

Political career

Meanwhile, the Austrians seized his assets at Ponte in Valtellina and placed a bounty on him. Having freed the commune, in 1859 he was placed at the head of the

Province of Sondrio The Province of Sondrio ( it, provincia di Sondrio) is in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Sondrio. As of 2017, it has a population of 181,403. History The Province was established in 1815, within ...

by the Count of Cavour with the task of establishing the new political-administrative systems. After the proclamation of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

, he was deputy to the first Italian parliament. He distinguished himself as Prefect of Cosenza from 1862 in the fight against banditry for the proposals that went towards involving citizens in the fight against brigands. It was he who insisted on raising funds for the establishment of an anti-brigandage fund to compensate for the damage caused by the brigands. An Advisor and ally of him was the priest while his firm opponent was the deputy Francesco Martire for several years mayor of Cosenza, deputy and supporter of the Sila Law which recognized ancient agrarian usurpations, but also the civic uses of the presilani and cosentini peasants. He supported prevention, social promotion of populations and dialogue more than military repression. He resigned due to conflicts with the military commander who didn't respect his promise of a saved life in exchange for the surrender of a famous band of brigands. He was then sent as prefect to

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, where he had already committed himself against the mafia but then resigned bitterly.

Third Italian War of Independence

In 1866, during the

, with the rank of colonel he commanded the 44th Battalion of the "Mobile National Guard", organizing the defense of the valley at the

Sondalo Sondalo (''Sondel'' in Valtellinese dialect) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Sondrio. Sondalo borders the following municipali ...

squeeze, repelling the Austrians under and during the Operations in Valtellina. For this, he was decorated with the

Military Order of Savoy The Military Order of Savoy was a military honorary order of the Kingdom of Sardinia first, and of the Kingdom of Italy later. Following the abolition of the Italian monarchy, the order became the Military Order of Italy. History The origin of ...

on December 6, 1866.

Later years

After being a deputy for three legislatures for the colleges of Sondrio and Tirano, in 1868 he was appointed Senator of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1872, he was appointed national president of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

, in 1873, he promoted the constitution of the Valtellinese section of the CAI. In 1872, he was one of the primary founders behind the Italian Alpine Club. After returning to Ponte in Valtellina, he devoted himself entirely to his administration as from 1873 until his death, he was mayor of the commune. He died in his house at Ponte in Valtellina from a sudden fever on July 1, 1895.Il contributo valtellinese all’Unità d’Italia

Awards

, Officer (December 6, 1866) *

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus ( it, Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the wo ...

, Knight *

Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy The Italian Risorgimento was celebrated by a series of medals set up by the three kings who ruled during the long process of unification - the Commemorative Medal for the Campaigns of the War of Independence and the various versions of the Commemor ...

(awarded 2 times)

References

{{Authority Control 1812 births 1895 deaths Italian Army officers People from the Province of Sondrio Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy People of the First Italian War of Independence People of the Third Italian War of Independence Knights of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Officers of the Military Order of Savoy Deputies of Legislature VIII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature IX of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature X of the Kingdom of Italy Italian colonels