Antonio Aldini (27 November 1755, in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

– 30 September 1826, in

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

) was an Italian lawyer and politician, active in the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic (; ) was a sister republic or a client state of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized two ...

, the

Italian Republic Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

Biography

Antonio Aldini was born on 27 November 1755. When Bologna declared its independence from the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

, he was sent to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

by his fellow-citizens. He was a member of the council of ancients in the

, and was held in much esteem by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, who created him a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and made him secretary of state to the

. He built an elegant

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

in the park of Montmorency, near Paris, which was destroyed during the occupation of Paris in 1815. In 1814 he was sent together with Vincenzo Berni degli Antoni to the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

, to lobby on behalf of the Papal Legations. In May 1815, he was granted an audience with

Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ( ; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich () or Prince Metternich, was a Germans, German statesman and diplomat in the service of the Austrian ...

to beg that

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

and Bologna be annexed by the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. After the re-establishment of the former rulers in Italy, Aldini resided in

until his death, on 30 September 1826.

Works

* ''Le arti poemetto per le felicissime nozze del nobile uomo signor conte Camillo Malvezzi colla nobile donna signora contessa Teresa Legnani al nobile ed eccelso signor senatore co. Girolamo Legnani Ferri'', In Bologna, Nella Stamperia di S. Tommaso d'Aquino, 1772; * ''Allegazione di fatto, e di ragione per li signori coeredi Agazzani contro sua eccellenza il sig. conte Filippo Giuseppe Marchisio, ed il sig. dottore Anton-Maria Goldoni nella causa di pretesa simulazione nell'appalto delle ducali finanze pendente avanti l'illustrissimo supremo consiglio di giustizia'', In Modena, per gli eredi di Bartolomeo Soliani stampatori ducali, 1792; * ''Rappresentanza stata fatta dalli cittadini Serbelloni, ed Aldini deputati straordinari del governo cisalpino al primo console della Repubblica francese aggiuntavi una lettera del cittadino Vincenzo Frignani modonese diretta ai medesimi deputati'', Senza note tipografiche, 1802? * ''Discorso pronunciato in Milano li 19 maggio 1805. a S.M.I. e R. Napoleone 1. dal sig. consigliere avvocato Antonio Aldini qual presidente del Collegio elettorale de' possidenti nella circostanza dell'inaugurazione al trono d'Italia di S.M.'', 1805? * ''Osservazioni sul discorso pubblicato per le stampe Marsigli di Bologna col titolo Delle risaje e de' pessimi loro effetti. Vi ha nel fine il predetto discorso'', Forlì, tipografia Casali, 1815; * ''Un testamento inedito di Antonio Aldini'', a cura di Nadia Penserini, Bologna, Azzoguidi, 1965, estratto da: "Bollettino del Museo del Risorgimento", anno 8., 1963.

Notes

Sources

* 1755 births 1826 deaths 18th-century Italian lawyers Politicians from Bologna Jurists from Bologna Cisalpine Republic 18th-century Italian politicians 19th-century Italian politicians Participants to the Congress of Vienna {{italy-politician-stub