Giovanni Battista Varè (

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, 12 September 1817 –

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 20 April 1884) was an Italian lawyer, politician and patriot.

Biography

Varè took part in the anti-Austrian revolt of 1848 which led with

Daniele Manin Daniele Manin (13 May 180422 September 1857) was an Italian patriot, statesman and leader of the Risorgimento in Venice. Early and family life left, House in Venice where Daniele Manin lived Daniele Manin was born Daniele Fonseca in Ramo A ...

to the restoration of the

Republic of San Marco The Republic of San Marco () or the Venetian Republic () was an Italian revolutionary state which existed for 17 months in 1848–1849. Based on the Venetian Lagoon, it extended into most of Venetia, or the '' Terraferma'' territory of the f ...

and was a member of the Assembly of Deputies of the short-lived new republic. After the restoration of Austrian government in Venice he fled to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

where, in 1850, he became friends with

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, ; ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the ...

. The two collaborated on the newspaper ''L'Italia del Popolo''. Mazzini also made use of his legal expertise in financial transactions, commissioning him to organize an international loan to support the Italian cause. The Swiss authorities became concerned about their country's neutrality vis-a-vis the neighboring

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, revoked Varè's asylum and expelled him with a decree of 26 February 1851. He moved to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, where he collaborated again with Mazzini on the newspaper ''Italia e Popolo''. Soon the authorities there also opposed his stay and in September 1851 he moved to

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 city is main ...

. After this he moved away from Mazzini and the radical nationalists, opposing the uprising in Genoa in June 1857, though he was briefly interned as a suspect along with his friend :it:Domenico Giuriati. He was first elected to the

Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy The Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy () was the main legislative body of the Kingdom of Italy descended from the Chamber of Deputies (Kingdom of Sardinia), lower house of the Kingdom of Sardinia, but supplemented with deputies from te ...

from the constituency of

Portogruaro Portogruaro (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, northern Italy. The city is the centre of a district, made up of 11 ''comuni'', which form the Venezia Orientale with the San Donà di Piave district. History ...

in 1866. After losing his seat in the next election he was re-elected for

Palmanova Palmanova () is a town and (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northeast Italy. The town is an example of a star fort of the late Renaissance, built up by the Venetian Republic in 1593. Th ...

in January 1871 and was elected vice president of the chamber. He was also briefly

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the second Cairoli government (14 July-25 November 1879). He was the father of the diplomat and writer Daniele Varè.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varè, Giovanni Battista 1817 births 1884 deaths Lawyers from the Austrian Empire 19th-century Italian lawyers 19th-century Italian politicians Deputies of Legislature IX of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XI of the Kingdom of Italy Ministers of justice of Italy