Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora (; 18 November 18045 January 1878) was an Italian general and statesman. His older brothers include soldier and naturalist Alberto della Marmora and

Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora (27 March 1799 – 7 June 1855) was an Italian general who is best remembered for founding the military unit known as the Bersaglieri. Two of his brothers were Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora and Alberto Ferrero la Ma ...

, founder of the branch of the Italian army now called the

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, whi ...

Biography

Alfonso La Marmora litografia Archivio Storico Torino

Born in

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 ...

, he entered the

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 ...

n army in 1823, and was a captain in March 1848, when he gained distinction and the rank of major at the . On 5 August 1848 he liberated Charles Albert of Sardinia from a revolutionary mob in

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 in October was promoted general and appointed Minister of War. After suppressing the revolt of

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

in 1849, he again assumed in November 1849 the portfolio of war, which, save during the period of his command of the Crimean expedition, he retained until 1859. This cites G. Massani, ''Il generale Alfonso La Marmora'' (Milan, 1880) He took part in the war of 1859 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 ...

; and in July of that year succeeded Cavour in the premiership. In 1860 he was sent to Berlin and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

to arrange for the recognition 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 Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

and subsequently he held the offices of governor of Milan and royal lieutenant at

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 ...

, until, in September 1864, he succeeded

Marco Minghetti Marco Minghetti (18 November 1818 – 10 December 1886) was an Italian economist and statesman. Biography Minghetti was born at Bologna, then part of the Papal States. He signed the petition to the Papal conclave, 1846, urging the electio ...

as premier. In this capacity he modified the scope of the

September Convention The September Convention was a treaty, signed on 15 September 1864, between the Kingdom of Italy and the French Empire, under which: * French Emperor Napoleon III would withdraw all French troops from Rome within two years. * King Victor Emmanuel ...

by a note in which he claimed for Italy full freedom of action in respect of national aspirations to the possession of Rome, a document of which Visconti-Venosta afterwards took advantage when justifying the Italian occupation of Rome in 1870. In April 1866 La Marmora concluded an alliance with

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

against

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, and, on the outbreak of 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 ...

in June, took command of an army corps. He is largely credited of the hesitant conduct of the first phases of the Italian invasion, which, despite the large Italian superiority, led to the defeat in the battle of Custoza on 23 June. Accused of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

by his fellow countrymen, in particular by other high rank generals, and of duplicity by the Prussians, he eventually published in defence of his tactics (1873) a series of documents entitled ''Un po' più di luce sugli eventi dell'anno 1866'' ("More light on the events of 1866"), a step which caused irritation in Germany, and exposed him to the charge of having violated state secrets. Meanwhile, he had been sent to Paris in 1867 to oppose the French expedition to Rome, and in 1870, after the occupation of Rome by the Italians, had been appointed lieutenant-royal of the new capital. He died in

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 ...

on 5 January 1878. La Marmora's writings include ''Un episodio di risorgimento italiano'' (1875) and ''Il segreto di stato nel governo costituzionale'' (1877).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Marmora 1804 births 1878 deaths Military personnel from Turin Prime Ministers of Italy Italian people of the Italian unification Foreign ministers of Italy Prime ministers of the Kingdom of Sardinia Politicians from Turin People of the Crimean War Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Kingdom of Italy) 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 Deputies of Legislature XI of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XII of the Kingdom of Italy People of the First Italian War of Independence People of the Second Italian War of Independence People of the Third Italian War of Independence Italian generals