Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Luigi Corti (24 October 1823 – 19 February 1888),

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

diplomat, was born at

Gambarana Gambarana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km southwest of Milan and about 35 km southwest of Pavia. As of 31 December 2021, it had a population of 199 and an ...

in the

Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" (; ), was a constituent land (crown land) of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866. It was created in 1815 by resolution of the Congress of Vienna in recogniti ...

(present-day

Province of Pavia The province of Pavia () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is Pavia. , the province has a population of 548,722 inhabitants and an area of ; the town of Pavia has a population of 72,205. History T ...

). represented Italy at the Congress of Berlin in 1878 together with Edoardo de Launay.

Biography

Luigi Corti belonged to a noble and ancient Piedmontese family. Early involved with

Benedetto Cairoli Benedetto Cairoli (28 January 1825 – 8 August 1889) was an Italian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Italy for 2 years. Biography Cairoli was born at Pavia, Lombardy. From 1848 until the completion of Italian unity in 1870, his whol ...

in anti-

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n conspiracies, he was exiled 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 ...

, where he entered the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

ese foreign office. After serving as artillery officer through the campaign of 1848, he was in 1850 appointed secretary of legation in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He held this post until 6 April 1864, when he was appointed

resident minister A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of ind ...

to the King of Sweden and Norway. Three years later, in 1867, he was promoted envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, and went in this capacity to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, where he successfully concluded a treaty with the Queen of Spain for the reciprocal extradition of criminals between the two kingdoms. In 1870 he was transferred to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in the same capacity, and during the six years he resided in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

he did much to render the already amicable relations that existed between Italy and that country closer and more cordial. In recognition of his eminent services, in 1875 he was appointed ambassador to Constantinople, representing Italy at the 1876

Constantinople Conference The 1876–77 Constantinople Conference ( "Shipyard Conference", after the venue ''Tersane Sarayı'' "Shipyard Palace") of the Great Powers (Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia) was held in Constantinople (now Istanbul) f ...

. pp. 215-216 Called by Cairoli to the direction of foreign affairs in 1878, he represented the Kingdom of Italy in the

Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...

, but unwisely declined

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United K ...

's offer for an Anglo-Italian agreement in defence of common interests. At Berlin, he sustained the cause of Greek independence, but in all other respects remained isolated, and excited the wrath of his countrymen by returning to Italy with empty hands. For a time he withdrew from public life, but in 1881 was again sent to Constantinople by Cairoli, where he presided over the futile conference of ambassadors upon the Egyptian question. In 1886, he was transferred to the London embassy but was recalled by Crispi in the following year after a misunderstanding.

Honours

Grand cordon of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corti, Luigi 1823 births 1888 deaths People from the Province of Pavia Ministers of foreign affairs of Italy Ambassadors of Italy to the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Italian diplomats

Biography

Honours

See also

References

Bibliography