AZZANESI, ACHILLE. — Pontifical colonel, b. in Rome on 10 Aug. 1823, d. there in 1888. He entered service on 10 Aug. 1839, fought against the Austrians at Cornuda and Vicenza in May and June 1848, and the following year in Rome against the French. He distinguished himself at Castelfidardo (18 Sept. 1860), in the repression of brigandage (1864–67), and in defending and reoccupying the Viterbese during the autumn of 1867. On 20 Sept. 1870 he held command of the first defense zone, encompassing the Leonine City and the Vatican. He was one of the finest Roman figures of his time; he enjoyed a reputation as a cultured man.
BIBL.: G. Badii, s. V. in Diz. del Ris. Naz., I, Milan 1930, p. 135; P. Dalla Torre, Materiali per una storia dell'esercito pontificio, in Rass. Stor. del Ris., I (1941).