Italian Carlo Alberto
born Oct. 2, 1798, Turin, Piedmont, French Republic
died July 28, 1849, Oporto, Port.
King of Sardinia-Piedmont (183149).
A member of the house of Savoy , he ascended the throne after the death of Charles Felix in 1831. He mitigated the harsh administration of his country and accelerated its economic and social development. The spread of revolutionary ideas forced him to grant a statute for representative government in 1848. After the election of Pius IX as pope and the Austrian occupation of Ferrara, he sought to lead the liberation of Italy. He went to war against Austria in 1848 and again in 1849, but, after his defeat in the Battle of Novara , he abdicated in favor of his son, Victor Emmanuel II .