Cavour, Camillo Benso, Conte di

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Cavour, Camillo Benso, Conte di (1810–61) Piedmontese politician, instrumental in uniting Italy under Savoy rule. From 1852 he was prime minister under Victor Emmanuel II. He engineered Italian liberation from Austria with French aid, expelled the French with the help of Giuseppe Garibaldi, and finally neutralized Garibaldi's influence. This led to the formation of the kingdom of Italy (1861). See also Risorgimento