crispi was a colourful and intensely patriotic character. he was a man of enormous energy but with a violent temper. his whole life, public and private, was turbulent, dramatic and marked by a succession of bitter personal hostilities. according to some crispi's "fiery pride, almost insane touchiness and indifference to sound methods of government" were due to his albanian inheritance. although he began life as a revolutionary and democratic figure, his premiership was authoritarian and he showed disdain for italian liberals. he was born as a firebrand and died as firefighter. at the end of the 19th century, crispi was the dominant figure of italian politics for a decade. he was saluted by giuseppe verdi as 'the great patriot'. he was a more scrupulous statesman than cavour, a more realistic conspirator than mazzini, a more astute figure than garibaldi. his death resulted in lengthier obituaries in europe's press than for any italian politician since cavour.