ALFONSO LA MARMORA
Alfonso Ferrero della Marmora, or Alfonso della Marmora or more commonly Alfonso La Marmora (Turin, November 18, 1804 - Florence, January 5, 1878), was an Italian general and politician. Collaborator of the king of Sardinia Carlo Alberto, he fought in the first war of independence (1848-1849). Appointed several times minister of war, between 1849 and 1857 he radically reorganized the Royal Sardinian Army.
First military adviser to Prime Minister Cavour, in 1855-1856 he successfully led the Piedmontese contingent in the Crimean War and was Minister of War during the Second War of Independence. He was Prime Minister on various occasions from 1859 to 1866, first of the Kingdom of Sardinia and then of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1866 he directed the negotiations that led to the Italo-Prussian alliance and to the third war of independence, during which he was head of the army. Despite the conflict Italy had obtained the Veneto, La Marmora was hit by serious controversy for the defeat of Custoza. Also abandoned by the court, he retired to private life.
Its name is also linked to other important events of the Risorgimento: the revolt in Genoa of 1849, the fight against banditry (from 1861 to 1864), the Aspromonte day, the consequences of the September convention, the conclusion of the armistice of Cormons and direct relations with Napoleon III of France. He is sometimes confused with his brother Alessandro, founder of the Bersaglieri.
