Statuto Albertino

The Statuto Albertino (English: Albertine Statute) was the constitution granted by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to the Kingdom of Sardinia on 4 March 1848 and written in Italian and French. The Statute later became the constitution of the unified Kingdom of Italy and remained in force, with changes, until 1948. Charles Albert did not want to grant a Constitutional Charter so he attempted to maintain as much power as he could even though the Statute marked the end of his absolute monarchy. The Statute was proclaimed only because of concern at the revolutionary insurrection agitating Italy in 1848. At the time, Charles Albert was only following the example of other Italian rulers, but his Statute was the only constitution to survive the repression that followed the First War of Independence (1848–49). The Statute remained the basis of the legal system after Italian unification was achieved in 1860 and the Kingdom of Sardinia became the Kingdom of Italy. Even though it suffered deep modifications, especially during the fascist government of Benito Mussolini (who ruled with the tacit approval of King Victor Emmanuel III), the Statute lasted mostly unaltered in the structure until the implementation of the republican constitution in 1948, which superseded several primary features of the document, with specific regard to those of monarchical nature. The preamble of the Statute consists of an enacting formula that reaffirms the authority of the King, in the context of the unrest that was sweeping across Europe and the Kingdom, by stating: CARLO ALBERTO, by the grace of God, KING OF SARDINIA, OF CYPRUS, AND OF JERUSALEM Etc., Etc., Etc. With regal loyalty and fatherly love We come today to accomplish what We had announced to Our most beloved subjects with Our proclamation of the 8th of the February last, with which We wanted to demonstrate, in the midst of the extraordinary events which surround the country, how Our confidence in them increases with the gravity of the circumstances and, heeding only of the impulses of Our heart, how determined is Our intention to adapt their destiny to the spirit of the times, for the interest and for the dignity of the Nation.