BOGINO, GIAMBATTISTA LORENZO. - Born in Torino on 21 July 1701 and died there on 9 February 1784. An eminent statesman, he was a faithful servant of the Piedmontese monarchy, both in peace and in war. As counsellor to Carlo Emanuele III, he brought several negotiations with the Holy See to completion, obtaining from it as well a substantial endowment for the University of Torino. He received the title of count in 1737, the office of minister of War in 1750, and was minister of Sardinia from 1759 to 1773. For the benefit of the island, which was in a most miserable condition, he carried out work of the greatest importance, reorganizing justice, the economy, finances, and public education, curbing feudal privileges, and obtaining reforms also in favour of the clergy, which at that time was exceedingly numerous, impoverished, and too lax in its way of life. His moral uprightness, which made him contemptuous of worldly considerations, rendered him disliked by the nobility and the military; Vittorio Amedeo III therefore, as soon as he ascended the throne, removed him from every office. He then retired into private life, devoting himself to historical and political works.
Renata Orazi Ausenda