[1] A student of the Royal Academy of Turin, he took part in the First Italian War of Independence as a captain, earning an honorable mention for the siege of Peschiera del Garda[2] and the silver medal of military valor at the battle of Novara.

[3] In 1862 he assumed command of the "Parma" brigade; the following year, appointed major general, he became director of the Military Academy of Modena, returning to active service during the Third Italian War of Independence.

[3] Successive Italian cabinets struggled with questions about the size of the army, the expense of building fortifications and the scale of military spending generally.

In 1881 Bernardino Milon died in office while serving as War Minister and two senior generals, it: Teresio Bocca and Luigi Mezzacapo both declined the role because the government was not prepared to guarantee the military spending they felt necessary.

Eventually Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli offered the post to Ferrero whom he had met the previous year in a royal visit to Apulia.

His time in office was marked by significant developments that had a bearing on Italy’s military posture, notably the French conquest of Tunisia and the signing of the Triple Alliance with the German Empire and Austria-Hungary.