Gioberti, Vincenzo (vēnchān`tsō jōbĕr`tē), 1801–52, Italian philosopher and political writer, b. Turin. Ordained (1825) a priest, he went into exile (1833–48) in Paris and Brussels because of his liberal political ideas. His treatise The Civil and Moral Primacy of the Italians (1843), an influential exposition of Italian nationalism and the need for papal political leadership, brought Gioberti recognition as an advocate of the primacy of religion in civilization. In 1848 he became first deputy and then premier of the kingdom of Sardinia, but he resigned after the Austrian victory over the Sardinians at Novara (1849). He served briefly as minister to Paris, then retired to private life. At first a republican, favoring a federation of Italian states under papal arbitration, he later advocated the complete unification of Italy as a constitutional monarchy.

Gioberti, Vincenzo

(born April 5, 1801, Turin, Piedmont—died Nov. 26, 1852, Paris, France) Italian philosopher and politician whose writings helped bring about the unification of the Italian states. Ordained a priest (1825), he became court chaplain of Sardinia (1831), but was briefly imprisoned (1833) for involvement in a republican plot. He exiled himself to Paris and Brussels, where he published works advocating a united Italy headed by the pope. He returned to Italy in 1847 and became premier of Sardinia-Piedmont (1848–49). His philosophy centered on his concept of being and is termed “ontologism.”