Ruggero Bonghi (20 March 1826 – 22 October 1895) was an Italian scholar, writer and politician. Ruggero Bonghi was born in

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 ...

and after being widowed his mother remarried in 1840 to Saverio Baldacchini, a major influence on Bonghi. Exiled from his native city in consequence of the movement of 1848, he took refuge in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, whence he was compelled to flee to

Turin Turin ( , 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 from 1861 to 1865. The ...

on account of a pungent article against the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

. At Turin he resumed his philosophic studies and his translation of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

, but in 1858 refused a professorship of Greek at

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

, under the Austrian government, only to accept it in 1859 from the Italian government after the liberation of Lombardy. In 1860, with the Cavour party, he opposed the work of Giuseppe Garibaldi, Francesco Crispi and

Agostino Bertani Agostino Bertani (19 October 1812 – 10 April 1886) was an Italian revolutionary and physician during Italian unification. Revolutionary Bertani was born in Milan on 19 October 1812. His father was an administrator for the Napoleonic govern ...

at Naples. He became secretary of

Luigi Carlo Farini Luigi Carlo Farini (22 October 1812 – 1 August 1866) was an Italian physician, statesman and historian. Biography Farini was born at Russi, in what is now the province of Ravenna. After completing a brilliant university course at Bolo ...

, during the latter's lieutenancy, but in 1865 assumed contemporaneously the editorship of the '' Perseveranza'' of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and the chair of

Latin literature Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. Elected deputy in 1860 he became celebrated by the biting wit of his speeches, while, as journalist, the acrimony of his polemical writings made him a redoubtable adversary. Though an ardent supporter of the historic right, and, as such, entrusted by the

Lanza Lanza may refer to: People Surname * Adam Lanza (1992–2012), American spree killer and perpetrator of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting * Alcides Lanza (born 1929), Canadian composer * Andrew Lanza (born 1964), New York State senato ...

cabinet with the defence of the

Law of Guarantees The Law of Guarantees ( it, Legge delle guarentigie), sometimes also called the Law of Papal Guarantees, was the name given to the law passed by the senate and chamber of the Italian parliament, 13 May, 1871, concerning the prerogatives of the Hol ...

in 1870; his caustic tongue did not spare friend nor foe. Appointed minister for public instruction in 1873, he feverishly reformed the Italian educational system, suppressed the privileges of the

University of Naples The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...

, founded the Vittorio Emanuele library in Rome, and prevented the establishment of a Catholic university in the capital. Upon the fall of the Right from power, in 1876 he joined the opposition, and, with characteristic vivacity, protracted during two months the debate on Baccellis University Reform Bill, single-handedly securing its rejection. A bitter critic of King Humbert, both in the ''Perseveranza'' and in the '' Nuova Antologia'', he was, in 1893, excluded from court, only securing readmission shortly before his death. In foreign policy a

Francophile A Francophile, also known as Gallophile, is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuisin ...

, he opposed the Triple Alliance, and took considerable part in the organization of the inter-parliamentary peace conference.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonghi, Ruggero 1826 births 1895 deaths 19th-century Neapolitan people 19th-century Italian writers 19th-century male writers Writers from Campania Education ministers of Italy