Balzarino Litta Biumi Resta

Balzarino Litta Biumi Resta was born in Milan in 1832 and entered diplomacy in 1862. His postings included Constantinople, German courts, Stockholm, and Japan before Washington. ¹

In Japan in 1873, Litta handled the visit of Prince Tommaso of Savoy-Genoa. A letter by naval officer Camillo Candiani describes how delayed instructions from Rome left the acting diplomat to arrange the visit as an official court occasion, although the voyage had originally been intended for the prince’s training. ²

In Washington, Litta investigated the case of Largomarsino, an Italian born man claiming American citizenship who had been required to serve in the Italian army after returning to Italy. An American dispatch of August 1877 records Litta’s earlier inquiry to Rome and the information it produced. ³

Litta also helped publicize the 1878 International Congress of Orientalists in Florence, asking the State Department in May 1877 to circulate its scholarly prize announcement. He died while still in service in New York in March 1880. ^{4, 1}