Federico Sclopis di Salerano (10 January 1798 – 8 March 1878) was an Italian

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

, best remembered for his role in the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...

and his adjudication in the

Alabama claims The ''Alabama'' Claims were a series of demands for damages sought by the government of the United States from the United Kingdom in 1869, for the attacks upon Union merchant ships by Confederate Navy commerce raiders built in British shipyards ...

Life

Born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, to a noble family, Sclopis graduated in law and became an official in the administration of

Prospero Balbo Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to sea ...

. In 1822 he became

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

and later president of the Court of Cassation. While still comparatively young he was appointed Attorney-General to the Sardinian Senate, and took part in the compilation of the new codes. An advocate of

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

ideas and reform, he proclaimed the necessity for a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, and was himself one of the authors of the '' Statuto albertino'', or Sardinian charter of 1848, which became the constitution 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 ...

. The introduction is said to be entirely the work of Sclopis. Sclopis also wrote the proclamation in which Charles Albert announced to the people of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

and Venetia his war against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. He was minister in the first Sardinian constitutional ministry under the presidency of

Cesare Balbo Cesare Balbo, Conte di Vinadio (21 November 1789 – 3 June 1853), was an Italian writer and statesman. Balbo was born in Turin on 21 November 1789. His father, Prospero Balbo, who belonged to a noble Piedmontese family, held a high position i ...

, and afterwards president of the senate. In 1871 he was sent to

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title o ...

's representative on the ''Alabama'' arbitration, and was appointed president of that tribunal. The last years of his life were mainly occupied with municipal affairs and charitable administration in

Honours

At the age of thirty Sclopsis was elected member of the

Turin Academy of Sciences Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, of which he became life president in 1864. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1876. He was also foreign member of the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

. On his return from the Geneva arbitration, the King conferred on him the

Order of the Annunziata The Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation ( it, Ordine Supremo della Santissima Annunziata) is a Roman Catholic order of chivalry, originating in Savoy. It eventually was the pinnacle of the honours system in the Kingdom of Italy, which ...

Works

Between 1819 and 1878 he published over seventy works on

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, in Italian,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. His most important work is his ''Storia della legislazione Italiana dalle origini fino al 1847'' (Turin, 1840), issued as a sequel to his ''Storia dell' antica legislazione del Piemonte'', published in 1833. Among his other writings are: * ''Ricerche sui Longobardi in Italia'' (1827); * ''Delle relazioni politiche fra la dinastia di Savoia e il governo Britannico dal 1240 al 1815'' (1853); * ''Rimembranze sul Conte di Cavour'' (1876); and * ''Considerazioni storiche sulle antiche assemblee rappresentative del Piemonte e della Savoia'' (1878).

Bibliography

* * * * (in the ''Archivio storico Italiano'', ser. iv. tom. ii. p. 331 seq.)

References

External links

Politecnico di Torino page on Sclopis

Page on monument in Turin

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sclopis, Federico 1798 births 1878 deaths Politicians from Turin 19th-century Italian politicians Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy Knights of the Order of Saint Joseph Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa Deputies of Legislature I of the Kingdom of Sardinia 19th-century Italian judges Jurists from Turin