Carlo Cattaneo
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Carlo Cattaneo (; 15 June 1801 – 6 February 1869) was an Italian philosopher, writer, and activist, famous for his role in the
Five Days of Milan The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan, and in five days of street fighting ...
in March 1848, when he led the
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
during the rebellion.


Early life

Cattaneo was born in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
on 15 June 1801. He was the son of Melchiorre Cattaneo, a
goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...
, and Maria Antonia Sangiorgi. After attending school in Milan he studied law at the
University of Pavia The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...
, graduating in 1824. A republican in his convictions, during his youth Cattaneo had taken part in the
Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...
movement in
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 ...
. He devoted himself to the study of philosophy, with the hope of regenerating Italian people by withdrawing them from romanticism and rhetoric, and turning their attention to the positive sciences. In this period, Cattaneo met philosopher Giandomenico Romagnosi and he "was especially attracted by Romagnosi's emphasis on practical solutions and interdisciplinary work". Developing some intuitions coming from his mentor, Cattaneo expounded his ideas in a review founded by him in Milan in 1839, called ''Il Politecnico''. He resided at the Palazzo Gavazzi from 1840 until 1848.


1848 revolution

When the revolution of 1848 broke out, Cattaneo became one of the leaders of the insurrection against the Austrians, known as the
Five Days of Milan The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan, and in five days of street fighting ...
(18–22 March 1848). Together with the young democrats Enrico Cernuschi, Giulio Terzaghi and Giorgio Clerici he formed a council of war which, having its headquarters at Palazzo Taverna in via Bigli, directed the operations of the insurgents. When on March 18 Field Marshal
Radetzky Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz ( en, John Joseph Wenceslaus Anthony Francis Charles, Count Radetzky of Radetz; cz, Jan Josef Václav Antonín František Karel hrabě Radecký z Radče; sl, Janez Jožef Vencelj ...
, feeling that the position of the Austrian garrison was untenable, sounded the rebels as to their terms, some of the leaders were inclined to agree to an armistice which would give time for the Piedmontese troops to arrive (Piedmont had just declared war), but Cattaneo insisted on the complete evacuation of Lombardy. Again, on 21 March, Radetzky tried to obtain an armistice, and Durini and Borromeo were ready to grant it, for it would have enabled them to reorganize the defences and replenish the supplies of food and ammunition, which could only last another day. However, Cattaneo replied:
The enemy having furnished us with munitions thus far, will continue to do so. Twenty-four hours of victuals and twenty-four hours of hunger will be many more hours than we shall need. This evening, if the plans we have just arranged should succeed, the line of the bastions will be broken. At any rate, even though we should lack bread, it is better to die of hunger than on the gallows.
On the expulsion of the Austrians the question arose as to the future government of Milan and Italy. Cattaneo was an uncompromising republican and a federalist; so violent was his dislike of the Piedmontese monarchy that when he heard that King
Charles Albert Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independence ...
had been defeated by the Austrians, and that Radetzky was marching back to reoccupy Milan, he exclaimed:
Good news, the Piedmontese have been beaten. Now we shall be our own masters; we shall fight a people's war, we shall chase the Austrians out of Italy, and set up a Federal Republic.


Exile and later career

When the Austrians returned, in August 1848, Cattaneo fled Milan and took refuge in the
canton of Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
, Switzerland. In 1852 he became a professor of philosophy at the new
lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...
of
Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
, where he taught until 1865, and played a decisive role in defining the institution's pedagogy. He wrote his ''Storia della Rivoluzione del 1848'' (History of the 1848 Revolution), the ''Archivio triennale delle cose d'Italia'' (3 vols., 1850–1855), then, early in 1860, he started publishing the ''Politecnico'' once more. In 1858, the
Grand Council of Ticino The Grand Council of Ticino (Italian: ''Gran Consiglio di Ticino'') is the legislature for the Swiss canton of Ticino. The 90-member council is elected every four years by proportional representation in a single constituency comprising the citiz ...
awarded Cattaneo an honorary
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
. Whiled exiled in Switzerland, Cattaneo continued to follow the events of
Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
. He strongly opposed the
Camillo Benso di Cavour Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement t ...
for his unitarian views and for the cession of Nice and Savoy to France in the Treaty of Turin. In 1860,
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
summoned him to
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
to take part in the government of the Neapolitan provinces, but he would not agree to the union with Piedmont without local autonomy. After the establishment of the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
he was frequently asked to stand for the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
, but always refused because he could not conscientiously take the
oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...
to the monarchy. In 1868 the pressure of friends overcame his resistance, and he agreed to stand, but at the last moment he drew back, still unable to take the oath, and returned to Switzerland. He died on 6 February 1869 in Castagnola, near Lugano. As a writer, Cattaneo was learned and brilliant, but some view him as being too bitter a partisan to be judicious, owing to his narrowly republican views; his ideas on local autonomy were wise, but, at a moment when unity was regarded as an absolute requisite, they were deemed inopportune.
Gaetano Salvemini Gaetano Salvemini (; 8 September 1873 – 6 September 1957) was an Italian Socialist and antifascist politician, historian and writer. Born in a family of modest means, he became an acclaimed historian both in Italy and abroad, particularly in ...
considered him one of 19th-century Italy's men of genius along with
Giacomo Leopardi Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (, ; 29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. He is considered the greatest Italian poet of the nineteenth century and one of ...
,
Camillo Benso di Cavour Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement t ...
, and Francesco de Sanctis.


Works

* ''Interdizioni israelitiche'', essay from the year 1836 *''La città considerata come principio ideale delle istorie italiane'' *''Dell'India antica e moderna'' *''Notizie naturali e civili su la Lombardia'' *''Vita di Dante di Cesare Balbo'' *''Dell'Insurrezione di Milano nel 1848 e della successiva guerra'' *


See also

*
Jessie White Mario Jessie White Mario (9 May 1832 in Hampshire, England – 5 March 1906 in Florence, Italy) was an English (and naturalized Italian) writer and philanthropist. She is sometimes referred to as "Hurricane Jessie" in the Italian press. She w ...


References

*


Further reading

*Norberto Bobbio, ''Una filosofia militante: studi su Carlo Cattaneo'', Einaudi, Torino 1971. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cattaneo, Carlo 1801 births 1869 deaths Writers from Milan Italian republicans Italian revolutionaries 19th-century Italian philosophers Italian people of the Italian unification Critics of the Catholic Church Burials at the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano Exiled Italian politicians Italian magazine founders People of the Revolutions of 1848 Italian expatriates in Switzerland University of Pavia alumni