Eugenio Brunetta d'Usseaux

Count Eugenio Brunetta d'Usseaux (14 December 1857 – 8 January 1919) was an Italian nobleman. His father, the count Carlo Augusto Brunetta of

Usseaux Usseaux ( oc, Ussiau,Lucie Amaro-Péguy, ''L’occitan alpin d’Usseaux; description d’une langue en danger, en contact avec deux aires dialectales (francoprovençale et piémontaise), et sous l’influence de deux langues standards (français e ...

was a high-degree official of the

Royal Sardinian Army The Royal Sardinian Army (also the Sardinian Army, the Royal Sardo-Piedmontese Army, the Savoyard Army, or the Piedmontese Army) was the army of the Duchy of Savoy and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was active from 1416 until it became th ...

, headquartered in the same city. The mother was Carolyne Mattone of

Benevello Benevello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 451 and an area of .All demographics a ...

also come from an Italian noble family who owned the Castle of

Mazzè Mazzè is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin. Mazzè borders the following municipalities: Vische, Candia Canavese, Moncrivello, Caluso, Cigliano, Villareggi ...

(near

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 ...

), related to the family Valperga since seven centuries before. Born 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, ...

into a family of French origin, Brunetta d'Usseaux was educated in

. After the beginning of the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

, he had gone on living here with his mother, because their home based in Vercelli was too near the

military front In a military context, the term front can have several meanings. According to official US Department of Defense and NATO definitions, a front can be "the line of contact of two opposing forces."Leonard, B. (2011). Department of Defense Dictio ...

, as the border of

Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia ( la, links=no, Regnum Langobardiae et Venetiae), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" ( it, links=no, Regno Lombardo-Veneto, german: links=no, Königreich Lombardo-Venetien), was a constituent land ...

. At the end of the studies in the exclusive Nobles College located in the modern Academy of Science of Turin, Brunetta married the countess Catherine Zeyffart, a landowner of enormous plots in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, which was descendant from an ancient and noble Russian family, maybe linked to the

Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...

dynasty of Zar. When she died in 1897, count Eugenio Brunetta went to live in Paris, where by many years he was living nine months a year in his property home, just coming in Italy during the summer. Himself an active rower and rider, the count was very interested in sports, and was in Paris that he met with Baron

Pierre de Coubertin Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (; born Pierre de Frédy; ...

interested to him, for the reinstatement of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. His engagement for the sports (ideals) was so very close to him, that in 1897 Brunetta d'Usseaux become member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC), which he remained until his death, as

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

since 1908. Till the 21st century, he was the only Italian person recovering this charge. He succeeded in bringing the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

to Rome, but Italy had to forfeit the organization of the Olympics in 1906, due to financial and organisational problems. The 1908 Games were held in London instead. That same year, Brunetta d'Usseaux was appointed secretary of the IOC. In this position, he tried to get winter sports on the Olympic programme, and suggested to have a separate winter sports week attached to the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

in Stockholm. This was opposed by the Swedish organizers, but Brunetta d'Usseaux managed to get a winter sports week scheduled for 1916. Due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, these Olympics were never organized. The count died, under unclear circumstances, in France in 1919, and would not live to see the first

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

in 1924, maybe in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

. At that time, he would to come in Russia for acknowledging the family of his wife, after the start of

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

. He would to be buried in

Pinerolo Pinerolo (; pms, Pinareul ; french: Pignerol; oc, Pineròl) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary be ...

, but never come there. He was appointed as Bailiff of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunetta Dusseaux, Eugenio 1857 births 1919 deaths People from Vercelli