Felice Cavallotti
Encyclopedia
Felice Cavallotti was an Italian
politician, poet and dramatic author.
, Cavallotti fought with the Garibaldian Corps
in their 1860 and 1866 campaigns during the Italian Wars of Independence.
Following his military service he created a series of anti-monarchical lampoons in the Gazzetta di Milano and in the Gazzettina Rosa between 1866 and 1872. He also commented Garibaldi's deeds in the Neapolitan Indipendente, directed by Alexandre Dumas, père
.
as deputy for Corteolona
. When sworn in Cavallotti took the oath of allegiance, despite having lampooned the oath in his articles. Eloquent and turbulent, his combativeness in and out of Parliament secured for him the leadership of the extreme Left on the death of Agostino Bertani
in 1886.
During his twelve years' leadership his party increased in number
from twenty to seventy, and at the time of his death his parliamentary influence was greater than ever before.
Although he was ambitious and used defamatory methods of personal attack, Cavallotti's eloquent advocacy of democratic reform and apparent generosity of sentiment secured for him a popularity surpassed by that of no Italian political contemporary save Francesco Crispi
.
Services rendered in the cholera
epidemic of 1885, his numerous lawsuits and thirty-three duel
s, his bitter campaign against Crispi, and his championship of French
interests combined to enhance his notoriety and to increase his political influence.
By skillful alliances with the Marquis Antonio di Rudinì he more than once obtained practical control of the Italian government and exacted notable concessions to Radical demands.
In 1889 he contributed to the erection of the statue of Giordano Bruno
in Campo de' Fiori
at Rome
, a symbol of the lay struggle against the unceasing encroachment of the Holy See
in the Italian politics.
issued a celebrative discourse for his death. Cavallotti was buried in the cemetery of Dagnente, on the Lake Maggiore
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
politician, poet and dramatic author.
Early career
Born in MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Cavallotti fought with the Garibaldian Corps
Hunters of the Alps
The Hunters of the Alps were a special military corps created by Giuseppe Garibaldi in Cuneo on February 20, 1859 to help the regular Sardinian army to free the northern part of Italy in the Second Italian War of Independence....
in their 1860 and 1866 campaigns during the Italian Wars of Independence.
Following his military service he created a series of anti-monarchical lampoons in the Gazzetta di Milano and in the Gazzettina Rosa between 1866 and 1872. He also commented Garibaldi's deeds in the Neapolitan Indipendente, directed by Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
.
Political career
In 1872 Cavallotti was elected to the Italian ParliamentParliament of Italy
The Parliament of Italy is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members . The Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members is the lower house. The Senate of the Republic is the upper house and has 315 members .Since 2005, a party list electoral law is being...
as deputy for Corteolona
Corteolona
Corteolona is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 40 km southeast of Milan and about 15 km east of Pavia...
. When sworn in Cavallotti took the oath of allegiance, despite having lampooned the oath in his articles. Eloquent and turbulent, his combativeness in and out of Parliament secured for him the leadership of the extreme Left on the death of Agostino Bertani
Agostino Bertani
Agostino Bertani was an Italian revolutionary and physician during Italian unification.-Revolutionary:Bertani was born at Milan on October 19, 1812. He took part in the revolutions of 1848, but he was opposed to the fusion of Lombardy with the Kingdom of Sardinia...
in 1886.
During his twelve years' leadership his party increased in number
from twenty to seventy, and at the time of his death his parliamentary influence was greater than ever before.
Although he was ambitious and used defamatory methods of personal attack, Cavallotti's eloquent advocacy of democratic reform and apparent generosity of sentiment secured for him a popularity surpassed by that of no Italian political contemporary save Francesco Crispi
Francesco Crispi
Francesco Crispi was a 19th-century Italian politician of Arbëreshë ancestry. He was instrumental in the unification of Italy and was its 17th and 20th Prime Minister from 1887 until 1891 and again from 1893 until 1896.-Sicily:Crispi’s paternal family came originally from the small agricultural...
.
Services rendered in the cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic of 1885, his numerous lawsuits and thirty-three duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
s, his bitter campaign against Crispi, and his championship of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
interests combined to enhance his notoriety and to increase his political influence.
By skillful alliances with the Marquis Antonio di Rudinì he more than once obtained practical control of the Italian government and exacted notable concessions to Radical demands.
In 1889 he contributed to the erection of the statue of Giordano Bruno
Giordano Bruno
Giordano Bruno , born Filippo Bruno, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer. His cosmological theories went beyond the Copernican model in proposing that the Sun was essentially a star, and moreover, that the universe contained an infinite number of inhabited...
in Campo de' Fiori
Campo de' Fiori
Campo de' Fiori is a rectangular square near Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy, on the border of rione Parione and rione Regola. Campo de' Fiori, translated literally from Italian, means "field of flowers"...
at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, a symbol of the lay struggle against the unceasing encroachment of the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in the Italian politics.
Death
Aged 55, Cavallotti was killed in a duel with Count Ferruccio Macola, editor of the conservative Gazzetta di Venezia, whom he had insulted. Poet Giosuè CarducciGiosuè Carducci
Giosuè Alessandro Michele Carducci was an Italian poet and teacher. He was very influential and was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy. In 1906 he became the first Italian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.-Biography:...
issued a celebrative discourse for his death. Cavallotti was buried in the cemetery of Dagnente, on the Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
.