Massimo Taparelli, Marquess of Azeglio (24 October 1798 – 15 January 1866), commonly called Massimo d'Azeglio (), was a Piedmontese-Italian statesman, novelist and painter. He was Prime Minister of Sardinia for almost three years, until his rival Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour succeeded him. D'Azeglio was a moderate liberal who hoped for a federal union between Italian states. As Prime Minister, he consolidated the parliamentary system, getting the young king to accept his constitutional status, and worked hard for a peace treaty with Austria. Although himself a Roman Catholic, he introduced freedom of worship, supported public education, and sought to reduce the power of the clergy in local political affairs. As senator, following the annexation of the United Provinces of Central Italy, Azeglio attempted to reconcile the Vatican with the new Italian Kingdom. His brother Luigi Taparelli d'Azeglio was a Jesuit priest. Early life Massimo Taparelli, Marquis d'Azeglio, was born in Turin on 24 October 1798. He was descended from an ancient and noble Piedmontese family. His father, Cesare d'Azeglio, an officer in the Piedmontese army, held a high position at court. On the return of Pope Pius VII to Rome after the abdication of Napoleon, Cesare was sent as special envoy to the Holy See and took his son, then sixteen years of age, with him as an extra attaché. Young Massimo was given a commission in a cavalry regiment, which he soon relinquished on account of his health. During his residence in Rome, Massimo acquired a love for art and music and decided to become a painter, to the horror of his conservative, aristocratic family. His father reluctantly consented, and Massimo settled in Rome, devoting himself to art. Early political career He led an abstemious life in Rome, maintaining himself by painting Romantic landscapes which frequently included historical subjects. He also painted scenes for a self-composed opera. In 1830 he returned to Turin and, after his father's death in 1831, moved to Milan. He resided in Milan for twelve years, moving in the city's literary and artistic circles and, in 1834, helped to organise the Salotto Maffei salon, hosted by Clara Maffei. He became an intimate of Alessandro Manzoni the novelist, whose daughter he married. At that point, literature instead of art became his chief occupation; he produced two historical novels, Niccolò dei Lapi and Ettore Fieramosca, in imitation of Walter Scott. The novels had a strong political