AVOGADRO DELLA MOTTA, EMILIANO. - Writer and politician, born at Vercelli on 8 Oct. 1798, died on 9 Feb. 1865. Doctor of law, reformer of schools, promoter of historical, philosophical, and juridical studies, especially among the young, in 1848 he devoted himself to political action and Catholic journalism, following the directives of J. de Maistre. A contributor to the Armonia and the Unità Cattolica, he published a Rivista
retrospettiva (Vercelli 1848) to encourage Catholics to combat liberalism, and the Saggio intorno al socialismo (Turin 1851), highly praised by Fr. Taparelli, which went through many editions. Connected with this is the essay Sul valore scientifico e le pratiche conseguenze del sistema filosofico dell'abate Rosmini (4th ed., Naples 1877), in which the Author sees a new form of pantheism. Deputy to Parliament (1853–60), he was allied with Solaro della Margherita. Against divorce and civil marriage he composed a vigorous Teorica sulla istituzione del matrimonio (Turin 1859). His religious and social studies were published posthumously under the title: Gesù Cristo al sec. XIX (Modena 1873). Egilberto Martire