The second Ricasoli government of the Kingdom of Italy, also known as the Government of National Reconciliation () because it led the country during the Third Italian War of Independence, held office from 20 June 1866 until 10 April 1867, a total of 294 days, or 9 months and 21 days. Composed of the Historical Right and Historical Left, it was led by Bettino Ricasoli of the Historical Right.
History As Prime Minister of Italy, Ricasoli refused Napoleon III's offer to cede Veneto (at that time part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia) to Italy on condition that Italy should abandon the Prussian alliance, and also refused the Prussian decoration of the Black Eagle because Alfonso Ferraro La Marmora, author of the alliance, was not to receive it. Upon the departure of the French troops from Rome at the end of 1866, he again attempted to conciliate the Holy See with a convention in virtue of which Italy would have restored to the Catholic Church the property of the suppressed religious orders in return for the gradual payment of 24,000,000. To mollify the Vatican, he conceded the exequatur to forty-five bishops inimical to the Italian government. The Vatican accepted his proposal; however, the Chamber of Deputies proved refractory, and although dissolved by Ricasoli, it returned more hostile than before. Without waiting for a vote, Ricasoli resigned from office and practically disappeared from political life. Endnotes: Tabarrini and Gotti, Lettere e documenti del barone Bettino Ricasoli, 10 vols. (Florence, 1886–1894) Passerini, Genealogia e storia della famiglia Ricasoli (ibid. 1861) Gotti, Vita del barone Bettino Ricasoli (ibid. 1894).
Government parties
PartyIdeologyLeader Historical Right Conservatism Bettino Ricasoli Historical Left Liberalism Urbano Rattazzi
Composition Office NameParty Term Prime Minister Bettino Ricasoli Historical Right (1866–1867) Minister of the Interior Bettino Ricasoli Historical Right (1866–1867)Minister of Foreign Affairs Bettino Ricasoli Historical Right (1866–1866) Emilio Visconti Venosta Historical Right (1866–1867)Minister of Grace and Justice Francesco Borgatti Historical Right (1866–1867) Bettino Ricasoli Historical Right (1867–1867) Filippo Cordova Historical Right (1867–1867)Minister of Finance Antonio Scialoja Historical Right (1866–1867) Agostino Depretis Historical Left (1867–1867)Minister of War Ignazio De Genova Military (1866–1866) Efisio Cugia Military (1866–1867)Minister of the Navy Agostino Depretis Historical Left (1866–1867) Giuseppe Biancheri Historical Right (1867–1867) Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce Filippo Cordova Historical Right (1866–1867)Minister of Public Works Stefano Jacini Historical Right (1866–1867) Giuseppe Devincenzi Historical Right (1867–1867)Minister of Public Education Domenico Berti Historical Right (1866–1867) Cesare Correnti Historical Right (1867–1867)
References