Efisio Cugia di Sant'Orsola (27 April 1818 in

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

– 13 February 1872 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

) was an Italian general and politician.

Military career

Born into a family of Sardinian nobility, he embarked on a military career. After completing his studies at the :it: Accademia Reale di Torino, he was appointed Second Lieutenant in the artillery. In 1848 he participated in the

first Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence (), part of the ''Risorgimento'' or unification of Italy, was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other conse ...

and on May 30, in the battle of Goito, he was wounded, which earned him a silver

medal of military valor The Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: ''Medaglia al valor militare'') is an Italian medal, originally established as a Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinian award. It is awarded to military personnel, units above the level of Company (milita ...

. He went on to earn a second at the battle of Novara. During the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

. he fought alongside General

Enrico Cialdini Enrico Cialdini, Duca di Gaeta (10 August 18118 September 1892) was an Italian soldier, politician and diplomat. Biography He was born in Castelvetro, in the province of Modena, Kingdom of Italy. He was the son of a civil engineer Mageli, Paul ...

in the IV division, earning the knight's cross in the Military Order of Savoy for his bravery at the

battle of Palestro The Battle of Palestro was fought on 30–31 May 1859 between the Austrian Empire and the combined forces of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and Second French Empire, France. The Franco-Piedmontese forces were victorious. It was fought just sout ...

. After the

armistice of Villafranca The Armistice of Villafranca, concluded by Napoleon III of France and Franz Joseph I of Austria on July 11, 1859, set the stage for the end of the Second Italian War of Independence. It was the consequence of a unilateral decision by Second Fren ...

, he was assigned by king

Vittorio Emanuele II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 u ...

to organize the military college of Milan. General in 1860, he was chosen as chief of staff of the army corps; appointed on 12 December of the same year as director for war affairs in southern Italy, relinquishing this post to

Genova Giovanni Thaon di Revel Count Genova Giovanni Battista Thaon di Revel (Genoa, 21 November 1817 – Como, 3 September 1910) was an Italian nobleman, soldier, politician, diplomat and historian. He took part in the Risorgimento campaigns and the Crimean War. He carried o ...

when Vittorio Emanuele II, assigned him instead the position of extraordinary commissioner in Sicily, which he held until 21 August 1862. In 1866 he commanded the VIII Division at the Battle of Custoza as a lieutenant general. Subsequently, up to his death in 1872, Cugia held the office of first aide-de-camp to the then crown prince, and later king,

Umberto I Umberto I (; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination in 1900. His reign saw Italy's expansion into the Horn of Africa, as well as the creation of the Triple Alliance among Italy, Germany an ...

Political career

During the fifth legislature of the

Subalpine Parliament The Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (), also called Subalpine Parliament (), was the bicameral parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia. History It was established in 1848 by the Albertine Statute and became the Parliament of the Kingdom of ...

he was elected to represent the constituency of

Lanusei Lanusei (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in Sardinia in the Province of Nuoro The province of Nuoro (; ) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital is the city of Nuoro. It has an area of , and, , a total popul ...

, which renewed his mandate also in the sixth. In the seventh he represented

Senorbì Senorbì is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cagliari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari. It is the main center of Trexenta, located in an area traditionally devoted to the cultivation of cereals. The ...

. In the eighth legislature - the first of the new Kingdom of Italy - he returned to Lanusei, while in the ninth, tenth and eleventh he chose

Macomer Macomer () is a town and ''comune'' of Sardinia (Italy) in the province of Nuoro. It is situated on the southern ascent to the central plateau (the Campeda) of this part of Sardinia, at the junction of narrow-gauge lines branching from the main ra ...

, although he was also re-elected several times in Lanusei. He was Prefect of

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, in charge of infantry and cavalry weapons during the ministry led by

Manfredo Fanti Manfredo Fanti (23 February 1806 – 5 April 1865) was an Italian general; he is known as the founder of the Royal Italian Army. Biography Manfredo Fanti was born at Carpi (Emilia-Romagna) and educated at the military college of Modena. In 1831 ...

. He held the position of Minister of the Navy in the

first Minghetti government The Minghetti I government of Italy held office from 24 March 1863 until 28 September 1864, a total of 554 days, or 1 year, 6 months and 4 days. Government parties The government was composed by the following parties: Composition References ...

from 20 April 1863. As Navy Minister he instituted a school of cannonry on board the frigate

Partenope ''Partenope'' (''Parthenope''), HWV 27, is an opera by George Frideric Handel, first performed at the King's Theatre in London on 24 February 1730. Although following the structure and forms of opera seria, the work is humorous in character ...

and commissioned two armoured gunboats, later named the ''Alfredo Cappellini'' and the ''Faà di Bruno''. He then served as

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

in the

second Ricasoli government The Ricasoli II government of Italy held office from 20 June 1866 until 10 April 1867, a total of 294 days, or 9 months and 21 days. It was also known as the ''Government of National Reconciliation'' because it led Italy during the Third War of ...

from 22 August 1866. Under his administration, the War School was established in Turin. He also established a commission of enquiry into the reasons for the poor military performance in the

Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence () was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in Austria giving the region of Venetia (p ...

. Cugia died in Rome on 13 February 1872. He was buried in the family chapel in the

monumental cemetery of Bonaria The Monumental Cemetery of Bonaria is located in Cagliari, Sardinia. In use between 1829 and 1968, this monumental cemetery originally occupied an area at the base of the hill of Bonaria, and over time expanded upwards. The main entrance is lo ...

in Cagliari.

Honours

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cugia, Efisio 1818 births 1872 deaths People from Cagliari Italian Army generals Ministers of war of Italy Ministers of the navy of Italy Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Kingdom of Italy)