Gioberti, Vincenzo

Gioberti, Vincenzo

(vēnchān`tsō jōbĕr`tē), 1801–52, Italian philosopher and political writer, b. Turin. Ordained (1825) a priest, he went into exile (1833–48) in Paris and Brussels because of his liberal political ideas. His treatise The Civil and Moral Primacy of the Italians (1843), an influential exposition of Italian nationalism and the need for papal political leadership, brought Gioberti recognition as an advocate of the primacy of religion in civilization. In 1848 he became first deputy and then premier of the kingdom of Sardinia, but he resigned after the Austrian victory over the Sardinians at Novara (1849). He served briefly as minister to Paris, then retired to private life. At first a republican, favoring a federation of Italian states under papal arbitration, he later advocated the complete unification of Italy as a constitutional monarchy.

Gioberti, Vincenzo

 

Born Apr. 5, 1801, in Turin; died Oct. 26, 1852, in Paris. Italian politician and philosopher.

In his book On the Moral and Civil Primacy of the Italian Race (1843), Gioberti proposed the unification of Italian states within a confederation headed by the pope. This illusory and basically conservative idea (neo-Guelphism) was enthusiastically received by the moderate liberals among the Italian bourgeoisie. Giobertïs book exerted a great influence on public opinion in Italy and served as the banner of the liberal Catholic wing of the national movement that supported the unification of Italy from above. From December 1848 to February 1849, Gioberti headed the government of Piedmont.

WORKS

Opere, vols. 1-37. Naples-Turin, 1861-66.
Scritti scelti. [Turin] 1970.

REFERENCE

Candeloro, G. Istoriia sovremennoi Italii, vol. 2. Moscow, 1961.
Chapter 5. (Translated from Italian.)