Azeglio, Cesare Taparelli, Marquis d'

AZEGLIO, CESARE TAPARELLI, marquis d'.—Zealous apostle of the Catholic press, father of the well-known writers Luigi (v. TAPARELLI) and Massimo (v. sotto), b. at Turin on 10 February 1763, d. at Genoa on 26 November 1830. He was undoubtedly one of the leading representatives of the Piedmontese Catholic laity in the first half of the nineteenth century, renowned for the loyalty with which he served the Church and the Crown. He took part in the war against the French (1795–96) and was taken prisoner; from 1800 to 1808 he lived in voluntary exile in Florence; in 1814 he was chosen to represent his sovereign before Pius VII, and subsequently, among other offices, he was governor of the province of Casale, superior inspector of public charitable institutions (21 March 1820), and Grande di Corona (14 November 1828). He met Father de Diessbach and was directed by the Lanteri (v.); through these two apostles of the Catholic press he was guided toward this activity. Indeed, he became a highly active member of two societies devoted precisely to this purpose: Amicizia Cristiana (v.) of Turin and Florence, and the Amicizia Cattolica of Turin, of which he was secretary, that is, president, from its foundation until its suppression by Carlo Felice (1817–28). He introduced into Piedmont the then newly established Society for the Propagation of the Faith (1824–25). The most original work carried out by d'A. in support of the Catholic press was the founding (1822) of Piedmont's first modern Catholic journal: L'Amico d'Italia, giornale morale di lettere, scienze ed arti (16 vols.), which he directed until 1829, when its publication ceased. Most of the articles were written by the editor, but well-known writers such as Rosmini, Staffella, Tommaseo, Pindemonte, and others also contributed.