The Associazione Agraria Subalpina (Subalpine Agrarian Association), was founded on 31 May 1842, under the sponsorship of Carlo Alberto, king of Piedmont-Sardinia

Piedmont-Sardinia

Kingdom of Sardinia or Sardinia, also Piedmont-Sardinia, Sardinia-Piedmont or Piemonte, refers to the states of the House of Savoy from 1720 or 1723 onwards, following the award of the crown of Sardinia to King Victor Amadeus II of Savoy under the Treaty of The Hague...

, by a group of 36 intellectuals, landowners and politicians belonging to the Piedmont

Piedmont

Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

ese nobility

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 and bourgeoisie

Bourgeoisie

In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...

. They included Camillo Benso di Cavour, Carlo Ilarione Petitti di Roreto

Carlo Ilarione Petitti di Roreto

Carlo Ilarione Petitti count of Roreto was an Italian economist, academic, writer, counsellor of state, and senator of the Kingdom of Sardinia...

, Cesare Alfieri di Sostegno

Cesare Alfieri di Sostegno

Cesare Alfieri di Sostegno was an Italian politician and diplomat. He was prime minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 27 July 1848 to 15 August 1848.-Biography:...

 (its first president) and Giovenale Vegezzi Ruscalla (its first secretary

Secretary

A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...

). Its primary aim was the promotion of efficient agricultural practices in Piedmont, but in the absence of effective political organisation in the kingdom—where there was no parliament, no political parties, no elections and no free press prior to the Statuto Albertino

Statuto Albertino

The Statuto Albertino or Albertine Statute was the constitution that King Charles Albert conceded to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in Italy on 4 March 1848...

of 1848—it provided also a focus for passionate political debate.