AIROLDI, CESARE. - Politician, b. in Palermo on 2 Nov. 1774, d. in Florence on 28 Dec. 1858. He studied in Pavia, but upon the arrival of the French he returned to Sicily, where in 1796 he took the habit of a Knight of Malta. After the entry into force of the Sicilian Constitution of 1812, A. became one of the most authoritative members of the constitutional party and was elected president of the Chamber of Commons of the parliament. Following the fall of the Castelnuovo ministry, A. also resigned from his high office; but shortly thereafter he became minister of the Interior. When royal power was re-established in the hands of Ferdinand IV, A. followed the ministry to Milan, Paris, and Florence.
Bibl.: Obituary by F. Parlatore in Monitore Toscano, 1 Jan. 1859.