AZEGLIO, MASSIMO TAPARELLI, MARQUIS D' (1798 1866), Italian statesman and author, was born at Turin of a noble Piedmontese family. In Rome, where his father was special envoy to the Vatican, he acquired a love of art and music and became an artist, to the horror of his narrow-minded and aristo cratic family. From 1831 to 1843 he lived in Milan, where he married a daughter of Manzoni, and turned to literature. His writings, whether novels or pamphlets, aimed at exposing the evils of foreign domination in Italy and awakening the national con sciousness.
D'Azeglio fought in the first war of independence, and was twice expelled from Tuscany. He formed the first cabinet under Victor Emmanuel II., concluded peace, and remained in office for three years. D'Azeglio conducted the affairs of the country with tact and ability, improving its diplomatic relations, and opposing the claims of the Roman Curia. He invited Count Cavour, then a rising young politician, to enter the ministry in 185o. Cavour and Farini, also a member of the cabinet, made certain declarations in the Chamber (May 1852) which led the ministry in the direc tion of an alliance with Rattazzi and the Left. Of this d'Azeglio disapproved, and therefore resigned office, but on the king's request he formed a new ministry, excluding both Cavour and Farini. In October, however, he retired into private life, sug gesting Cavour to the king as his successor. For the next four years he lived modestly at Turin, devoting himself once more to art, although Cavour always consulted him on matters of moment. In 1855 he was appointed director of the Turin art gallery. In 1859 he was given various political missions, including one to Paris and London to prepare the basis for a general congress of the powers on the Italian question. When war between Piedmont and Austria appeared inevitable, he returned to Italy, and was sent as royal commissioner by Cavour to Romagna, whence the papal troops had been expelled. Af ter the peace of Villafranca, d'Azeglio was recalled with orders to withdraw the Piedmontese garrisons; but he saw the danger of allowing the papal troops to reoccupy the province, and after a severe inner struggle left Bologna without the troops. The king approved of his action, and said that his orders had not been accurately expressed; thus Romagna was saved. Early in 186o Cavour appointed him gover nor of Milan, evacuated by the Austrians after the battle of Magenta. But, disapproving of the government's policy with regard to Garibaldi's Sicilian expedition and the occupation by Piedmont of the kingdom of Naples as inopportune, he resigned office.
The death of his two brothers in 1862 and of Cavour in 186r caused d'Azeglio great grief, and he subsequently led a compara tively retired life. As deputy and as writer, he occupied himself chiefly with the Roman question and the relations of Piedmont (now th' kingdom of Italy) with Mazzini and the other revolu tionists. In his opinion Italy was to be unified by means of the Franco-Piedmontese army alone, all connection with the con spirators being eschewed, while the pope should enjoy nominal sovereignty over Rome, with full spiritual independence, the capital of Italy being established elsewhere, but the Romans being Italian citizens (see his letters to E. Rendu and his pamphlet Le questioni urgenti). He strongly disapproved of the convention of 1864 between the Italian government and the pope. D'Azcglio died at his villa of Cannero on Jan. 15, 1866, leaving his auto biographical memoirs, I Miei Ricordi, unfinished. Massimo d'Azeglio was a very attractive personality, as well as an absolutely honest patriot, and a characteristic example of the best type of Piedmontese aristocrat. He was cautious and conservative ; in his general ideas on the liberation of Italy he was wrong, and to some extent he was an amateur in politics, but of his sincerity there is no doubt. As an author his political writings are trenchant and clear, but his novels, Ettore Fieramosca (1833) and Niccolo dei La pi (1841) , are somewhat heavy and old-fashioned, and are interesting only if one reads the political allusions between the lines.