GALVANI, CESARE. — Priest and journalist,
born in Modena on 1 November 1801, died in Prague on 14 April 1863.
Of patrician family, after taking a degree in law and being admitted at a very young age to the ranks of the noble guard of Duke Francesco IV, G. began a brilliant administrative career, which he nevertheless interrupted in 1825, when he was appointed assistant librarian of the Estense and later director of the Lapidary Museum of Modena. He then assumed the direction of the court archives and contributed extensively to the important collection of Memorie di religione, di morale e di letteratura.
Ordained a priest in 1837, he was tutor to several princes of the Este and Bourbon houses, and a careful biographer of Francesco IV (Memoria storiche intorno la vita dell'orsiduca Francesco IV, 4 vols., Modena 1846–54). Remaining loyal to the sovereign even after the annexation of the duchy to the Kingdom of Sardinia, he followed him into exile in Prague. But G.’s name is particularly associated with the legitimist periodical La voce della verità, which he founded in 1831 after the uprising of Ciro Menotti and directed for five years. Initially published twice weekly and subsequently three times weekly, the periodical maintained an exceptionally combative character, opposing liberal ideologies. It vigorously opposed Italian unity, the doctrines of Mazzini, the July Monarchy, the “Christino” party in Spain, and the liberal policy of Great Britain, arousing wide interest in European journalism, as shown by the extremely violent polemics that G. conducted with periodicals from various countries.
In 1836, when England protested to Modena over certain writings by G. concerning British support for Isabella II against the Carlists, he asked to be relieved of the direction of the newspaper, which was assumed by Marco Antonio Parenti. This did not put an end to G.’s activity, with his numerous articles and pamphlets in defense of legitimism.