Filiberto Avogadro di Collobiano (25 May 1797 – 5 June 1868) was an Italian courtier and politician who was an advisor to King Charles Felix of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, who conferred on him the

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

title of

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, and a member of the royal court of King Charles Albert. He was a member of the

Subalpine Senate The Subalpine Senate () was the upper house of the Kingdom of Sardinia and one of the two houses of its bicameral parliament, the other being the Chamber of Deputies. It was set up in 1848 following the fusion of the Savoyard states. It became th ...

for 20 years.

Early life

Filiberto Avogadro di Collobiano was born on 25 May 1797 in

Ivrea Ivrea (; pms, Ivrèja ; ; lat, Eporedia) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley (part of the medieval Via Francigena), it stradd ...

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

, in the Kingdom of Sardinia. His father was Count Luigi Ottavio and his mother was Marianna Caresana di Carisio. He studied at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe and continues to play an impo ...

and then entered the

Piemonte Reale Cavalleria it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in the Royal Sardinian Army in 1815, with the rank of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

. In 1820, he was made a lieutenant in the

Royal Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

Courtier

In 1821, Avogadro entered into service of the royal court of Sardinia and became King Charles Felix's second

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...

. Three years later, he was promoted to first secretary of the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. He eventually became the

gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

of the royal chamber, a position he held until the king's death in 1831. Charles Felix sent Avogadro di Collobiano to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1827 as

ambassador extraordinary An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to address the alienation of ecclesiastical property in Piedmont and

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, which was resolved by March of the following year. On 1 April 1829, Avogadro was made

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Valdengo Valdengo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southeast of Biella. Valdengo borders the following municipalities: Candelo, Cerreto Castello, Piatto, Q ...

and

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

Collobiano Collobiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Vercelli. Collobiano borders the following municipalities: Albano Vercellese, Casanova ...

. As a courtier, he became a trusted advisor to Charles Felix. On 11 August 1829, he married Carolina Arborio Biamino di Caresana, who was a

lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

of the royal court of Queen Consort Maria Cristina in

Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...

. Upon Charles Felix's death in 1831, Avogadro and other members of his family were expelled from the court by his successor, King Charles Albert, who mistrusted the advisors and courtiers of his predecessor. As a result, he went to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

with the widowed Maria Cristina. Over time, Charles Albert's mistrust of the Avogadro family diminished, and Filiberto was appointed to his court and was made

Grand Cordon Grand Cross is the highest class in many order (distinction), orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Gr ...

of the

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 ...

and first secretary of the order. Avogadro became the vice president of the powerful Subalpine Agrarian Association in Turin. The liberals and

radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

fiercely contested the selection of the organization's president in 1846, and Charles Albert intervened by appointing Avogadro as president, with the support of the radicals. Avogadro then fell out of favor with the radicals, who accused him of opposing their political goals at the congresses of Mortara in 1846 and

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the v ...

in 1847. On 3 April 1848, Avogadro was appointed a member of the

. He was made a Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

on 22 April 1868. He died in Turin on 5 June 1868.

References

Citations

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Avogadro di Collobiano, Filiberto 1797 births 1868 deaths People from Ivrea Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Sardinia Counts of Italy Italian courtiers University of Turin alumni Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus