CAMPELLO, POMPEO. — Minister of State, b. at Spoleto on 5 February 1803, d. there on 22 June 1884. In 1831 he was given command of the civic guard and took part in the insurrectionary movement; he subsequently became president of the provisional government of Spoleto. When the movement failed, he was arrested by the Austrians and imprisoned in Venice, from which he was soon released through the intercession of his father-in-law, Prince Ruspoli of Vignanello. When the Consulta di Stato was established in Rome by Pius IX, C. represented Spoleto in it, and in June 1848 was appointed minister of arms. On 6 August, during the Austrian invasion, he published, without authorization, an impassioned proclamation urging the people to take up arms. Forced to resign as a result, he was nevertheless recalled to the ministry in November. Following the fall of the Roman Republic, he attempted to flee, but was arrested again and only with difficulty managed to obtain permission to take refuge in Corfu. After various vicissitudes, he succeeded in reaching France. In 1860 he returned to Spoleto, and the following year was appointed senator and Foreign Minister in the Rattazzi cabinet, an office he held until 1867.
C. was responsible for the contrived diplomatic attempt aimed at exacerbating the Roman question over General Dumont’s inspection of the Antibes Legion serving with the Pontiff; and also, to a considerable extent, for the fruitless effort to prevent, contrary to the spirit and letter of the convention of September 1864, the intervention of imperial troops to protect the dominions of the Holy See in the autumn of 1867.