Piedmont. From November 1852 until his death in 1861, Cavour remained almost uninterruptedly at the helm of the government, transforming Piedmont from a backward and absolutist state into a modern and advanced state, radically different from other Italian states, under the banner of consolidated bourgeois hegemony, worthy of standing on par with other liberal states in Western Europe. The railways were also greatly expanded and other public works were carried out, which, however, led to enormous public debt and tax burdens.
