The Associazione Agraria Subalpina (Subalpine Agrarian Association), was founded on 31 May 1842, under the sponsorship of

Carlo Alberto Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Statuto Albertino, Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian ...

, king of

Piedmont-Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

, by a group of 36 intellectuals, landowners and politicians belonging to the

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

ese

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

and bourgeoisie. They included

Camillo Benso di Cavour Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement t ...

, Carlo Ilarione Petitti di Roreto,

Cesare Alfieri di Sostegno Cesare Alfieri di Sostegno (13 August 1799 – 16 April 1869) was an Italian politician and diplomat. He was prime minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 27 July 1848 to 15 August 1848. Biography Born in Turin, the cousin of poet Vittorio Al ...

(its first president) and

Giovenale Vegezzi Ruscalla Giovenale Vegezzi Ruscalla (4 December 1799, Turin, Italy - December 1885, Turin), was a liberal Italian journalist, foreign honorary member of the Romanian Academy, and secretary to the Subalpine Agrarian Association. He traveled to Transylvania ...

(its first

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

). Its primary aim was the promotion of efficient agricultural practices in Piedmont, but in the absence of effective political organisation in the kingdom—where there was no parliament, no political parties, no elections and no free press prior to the

Statuto Albertino The Statuto Albertino (English: ''Albertine Statute'') was the constitution granted by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to the Kingdom of Sardinia on 4 March 1848 and written in Italian and French. The Statute later became the constitution of t ...

of 1848—it also provided a focus for passionate political debate.

References

{{authority control Organizations established in 1842 Kingdom of Sardinia History of Turin Agricultural organisations based in Italy Italian unification 1842 in Italy Learned societies of Italy 1842 establishments in the Kingdom of Sardinia