Giuseppe Bertinatti

Giuseppe Bertinatti, born near Ivrea in 1808, first pursued theology and law. Expelled from the seminary after a theological dispute, he became a close associate of Vincenzo Gioberti and spent years in Paris and Brussels, editing and translating philosophical writing. Gioberti’s rise to office opened a diplomatic career for him in 1849. He subsequently handled relations with the Holy See before taking up Sardinia’s American mission in 1855. ¹

Bertinatti represented the transition from the Kingdom of Sardinia to a united Italy in Washington. The United States recognized the new kingdom when it accepted his credentials on April 11, 1861. He persuaded Secretary of State William H. Seward to replace an initially cool acknowledgment with a warmer message of recognition. ^{2, 1}

During the American Civil War, Bertinatti favored the Union and regarded slavery as an obstacle to economic and political development. He also served as an arbitrator in a dispute between Costa Rica and the United States. After Lincoln’s assassination, Foreign Minister Alfonso La Marmora instructed him to convey the Italian Parliament’s condolences and the government’s sympathy to Congress and the President. ^{1, 3}

After leaving America, Bertinatti represented Italy in Constantinople, where he worked on Italian schools, and undertook an unsuccessful mission to improve relations with the papal court. He became minister at The Hague in 1870 and died there in August 1881. ¹