Coriolano Ponza di San Martino
Coriolano Cesare Luigi Ponza di San Martino, Conte di San Martino (born October 9, 1842 in Turin , † January 6, 1926 in Cuneo , province of Cuneo ) was a lieutenant general of the Royal Army (Regio Esercito) and politician in the Kingdom of Italy , the member of the Senate of the Kingdom ( Senato del Regno ) and Minister of War between 1900 and 1902.
Life
Family origins and promotion to lieutenant general
Coriolano Cesare Luigi Ponza di San Martino, son of the politician Gustavo Ponza di San Martino and his wife Luisa Minervina Malingri di Bagnolo, had three brothers and three sisters. One of his brothers was the future Senator Cesare Ponza di San Martino . After attending the military school (Scuola militare) on August 20, 1857, he began an officer training at the Turin Military Academy (Accademia militare di Torino) . After graduation, he joined the Royal Army of the Kingdom of Sardinia (Regia Armata Sarda) as a lieutenant (Sottotenente) on October 6, 1860 and was promoted to first lieutenant (Tenente) on March 23, 1862 . After his promotion to captain (Capitano) on June 19, 1866, he took part in the Third Italian War of Independence (June 20 to August 12, 1866) against the Austrian Empire . After various posts as an officer, he was an instructor at the artillery and engineering school (Scuola di applicazione d'artiglieria e genio) between November 4, 1875 and August 26, 1877 .
On August 26, 1877 Ponza di San Martino was promoted to Major (Maggiore) and received the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy on January 4, 1880 . He acted between September 18, 1882 and December 18, 1884 as head of a department in the War Ministry and was promoted to lieutenant colonel (tenente colonnello) during this time . In addition, he received on January 16, 1883 and the Knight's Cross of the Equestrian Order of St. Maurice and Lazarus , on 18 December 1883, the Officer's Cross , and a year later, on 18 December 1884, the dignity as a commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy. In the following years he was promoted to Colonel (Colonnello) on September 26, 1886 and received the Officer's Cross of the Knightly Order of Saints Mauritius and Lazarus on May 24, 1888. He was promoted to major general (Maggiore generale) on March 8, 1894 and took part in the First Italo-Ethiopian War from December 1895 to October 1896 . During this time he became adjutant general in the Royal General Staff on February 13, 1895.
Coriolano Ponza di San Martino was raised to count (Conte di San Martino) on June 30, 1896 in the nobility . On December 3, 1896, he also received the dignity of Commander of the Order of the Knights of Saints Mauritius and Lazarus and on April 11, 1898 the dignity of Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy. After his promotion to Lieutenant General (Tenente generale) on October 19, 1898, he became Honorary Adjutant General in the Royal General Staff.
Minister of War and Senator
On April 7, 1900, Coriolano Cesare Luigi Ponza di San Martino became Minister of War (Ministro della guerra) in the Pelloux II cabinet . He held the office of Minister of War between June 24, 1900 and February 14, 1901 in the Saracco cabinet and from February 15, 1901 to April 27, 1902 in the Zanardelli cabinet . He was also appointed a member of the Senate ( Senato del Regno ) on April 8, 1900 , of which he was a member until his death on January 6, 1926. There he belonged to the group of Liberal Democrats and later to the Unione democratica .
Then Ponza di San Marino acted between 1904 and 1909 as commanding general of an army corps and temporarily as vice-chief of the army general staff. He was also awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy and on January 14, 1909, the Grand Cross of the Knightly Order of Saints Mauritius and Lazarus. His marriage to Maria Gabriella Valburga del Carretto di Millesimo resulted in a son and two daughters.
Web links
- Entry on the homepage of the Senato del Regno
- Entry in the Enciclopedia Italiana di scienze, lettere ed arti (online version)
- I Governi d'Italia 1861-1900
- I Governi d'Italia 1900-1945
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ponza di San Martino, Coriolano |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ponza di San Martino, Coriolano Cesare Luigi (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian politician and lieutenant general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 9, 1842 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Turin |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 6, 1926 |
| Place of death | Cuneo , Province of Cuneo |