Count Cavour was the prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia and the 'brain' of Italian unification.

He was a master of 'Realpolitik,' a political style based on pragmatic and material considerations rather than ideology.

His first step was to modernize Piedmont's economy, army, and administration to prepare it for a leadership role.

He used diplomacy to gain international allies, most notably by having Piedmont participate in the Crimean War.

His greatest diplomatic achievement was securing a secret alliance with Napoleon III of France to help drive Austria out of northern Italy.

He skillfully provoked the war with Austria in 1859, which led to Piedmont acquiring Lombardy.

While Garibaldi was conquering the south, Cavour arranged for the annexation of most of the central Papal States.

He outmaneuvered Garibaldi politically, ensuring that the new Italy would be a monarchy under Piedmont's king, not a republic.

Cavour's statecraft combined diplomacy, war, and political maneuvering to achieve unification from the top down.

He died shortly after the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861, having seen his life's work nearly completed.