NEGRI, GAETANO. — Historian, born in Milan on 11 July 1838, died near Varazze on 31 July 1902.
He took part in the campaign of 1859 and in the struggle against brigandage in the South (1860), then, leaving the military life, he entered public life and became one of the leading representatives of the moderate party as a municipal councillor (1873), assessor, and mayor of Milan (1884–89). A deputy in Parliament, he entered the Senate in 1890.
He concerned himself with the religious issues most prominent in his time, following the direction marked by Renan in his works and willingly adopted in Italy by those who, abandoning every confessional tradition, proclaimed the maxim of free thought, while remaining distant from anticlerical sectarianism. However, his works, which at the time met with favour among the educated classes, are now outdated. Among those of a more philosophical character are: *Segni dei tempi* (1892), *Rumori mondani* (1892), *Meditazioni vagabonde* (1897), which were placed on the Index (decree of 9 September 1897). Of a more strictly religious and historical nature are: *Il cristianesimo nella storia* (1872), *La crisi religiosa* (1877), *La morale e la religione nella storia* (1879), *Il Vangelo dell'apostolo Paolo* (1882). His final work: *L'Imperatore Giuliano l'apostata* (1901), which went through four editions. Some biographies complete his historical output.