Antonio Carlo Napoleone Gallenga (1810–1895) was an Italian author and patriot.
Life
He was born at
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
on November 4, 1810. He was the eldest son of a
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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ese of good family, who served for ten years in the French army under
Masséna and
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
.
He had finished his education at the
University of Parma
The University of Parma ( it, Università degli Studi di Parma, UNIPR) is a public university in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is organised in nine departments. As of 2016 the University of Parma has about 26,000 students.
History
During the ...
, when the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
of 1830 caused a ferment in Italy.
He sympathized with the movement, and within a few months was successively a conspirator, a state prisoner, a combatant and a fugitive.
For the next five years he lived a wandering life in France, Spain and Africa.
In August 1836, he embarked for New York, and three years later he proceeded to England, where he supported himself as a translator and teacher of languages.
In 1854, through
Cavour's influence, he was elected a deputy to the Italian
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. He retained his seat until 1864, passing the summer in England and fulfilling his parliamentary duties at
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
in the winter. On the outbreak of the
Austro-Sardinian War
The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...
of 1859, he proceeded to
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
as
war correspondent of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
''. The campaign was so brief that the fighting was over before he arrived, but his connection with ''The Times'' endured for twenty years.
He was a forcible and picaresque writer, with a remarkable command of the English language. In 1876, he was the first to describe, along with
Edwin Pears
Sir Edwin Pears (18 March 1835 – 27 November 1919) was a British barrister, author and historian. He lived in Constantinople (now Istanbul) for about forty years and he is known for his 1911 book ''Turkey and its People''.
Early life
Pears wa ...
, the
Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria for the British public.
He materially helped to establish that friendly feeling towards Italy which became traditional in England.
In 1859, Gallenga purchased the Falls, at
Llandogo
Llandogo ( cy, Llaneuddogwy) is a small village in Monmouthshire, south Wales, between Monmouth and Chepstow in the lower reaches of the Wye Valley AONB, two miles north of Tintern. It is set on a steep hillside overlooking the River Wye and acro ...
on the
Wye, as a residence, and to there he retired in 1885. He died at this house on December 17, 1895. He was twice married.
Works
Among his chief works are
* ''Italy Past and Present'' (1848);
* ''Historical Memoir of Frá Dolcino and his Times'' (1853);
* ''History of Piedmont'' (3 vols., 1855;
** Italian translation, 1856);
* ''Country Life in Piedmont'' (1858);
* ''The Invasion of Denmark'' (2 vols., 1864);
* ''The Pearl of the Antilles
ravels in Cuba' (1873);
* ''Italy Revisited'' (2 vols., 1875);
* ''Two Years of the
Eastern Question''
vol. 1vol. 2, 1877);
* ''The Pope''
ius IX''and the King''
ictor Emmanuel(2 vols., 1879);
* ''South America'' (1880);
* ''A Summer Tour in Russia'' (1882);
* ''Iberian Reminiscences'' (2 vols., 1883);
* ''Episodes of my Second Life'' (1884);
* ''Italy, Present and Future'' (2 vols, 1887).
Gallenga's earlier publications appeared under the pseudonym of Luigi Mariotti.
References
Attribution:
Sources
Toni Cerutti: ''Antonio Gallenga. An Italian writer in Victorian England''. London
tc. Oxford University Press for the Univ. of Hull, 1974.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallenga, Antonio Carlo Napoleone
Italian male writers
University of Parma alumni
1810 births
1895 deaths