Giuseppe Montanelli (21 January 1813 – 17 June 1862) was an Italianstatesman and author.
Montanelli was born atFucecchio, then part of theGrand Duchy of Tuscany. As a boy he was an organist and composer.[1] In 1840, he was appointed law professor atPisa after graduating law school when he was 18.[1] He contributed to theAntologia, a celebrated Florentine review, and in 1847 founded a newspaper calledL'Italia, the programme of which was "Reform and Nationality". In 1848, Montanelli served with the Tuscan student volunteers at thebattle of Curtatone, where he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Austrians.[2]
After being liberated, Montanelli returned to Tuscany, and thegrand duke Leopold II, knowing that he was popular with the masses, sent him toLivorno to quell the disturbances. In October, Leopold, much against his inclinations, asked him to form a ministry. He accepted, and on January 10, 1849, induced the grand duke to establish a nationalconstituent assembly. But Leopold, alarmed at the turn affairs were taking, fled from Florence, and Montanelli,Guerrazzi andMazzini were elected"triumvirs" of Tuscany. Like Mazzini, Montanelli advocated the union of Tuscany with Rome.[2]
After the restoration of the grand duke, Montanelli, who was in exile in Paris, was tried and condemned by default; he remained some years in France, where he became a partizan ofNapoleon III.[2] It was during this time that he was recruited to assistGiuseppe Verdi with the libretto of his 1857 opera which becameSimon Boccanegra, and this collaboration continued after Verdi left Paris to return to Italy.[3]
On the formation of theKingdom of Italy, he returned to Tuscany and was elected a member ofparliament.[2] Montanelli died at Fucecchio in 1862.[2] Although it has been reported thatIndro Montanelli, the 20th-century Italian journalist, is the grandson of Montanelli, there is in fact no relation between the two. Montanelli had no children, and the family name was passed down through his sister as Gori-Montanelli.[citation needed]
He translatedErnest Legouvé'sMédée, also on behalf of Ristori.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Montanelli, Giuseppe".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.