Cesare Bonelli

Cesare Amedeo Augusto Bonelli (3 January 1821 in Turin – 1 October 1904 in Orvieto) was an Italian politician and general, veteran of the Italian Wars of Independence. He was Senator of the Kingdom of Italy in the XIII legislature, and held the position of Minister of War in the first, second and third Cairoli government.

Early life He was born in Turin on 3 January 1821, son of the famous naturalist Franco Andrea Bonelli and Fernanda d'Ancona. Between 1830 and 1841 he attended the Accademia Reale di Torino, then completed his education at the Scuola di applicazione.

Military career Second lieutenant at the outbreak of the First Italian War of Independence, he obtained a silver medal for military valor for the courage shown during the battle of Goito (30 May 1848). Promoted to lieutenant he was assigned to service with the provisional government of Milan, subsequently participating in the short campaign of 1849. the President of the Council of Ministers Benedetto Cairoli invited him to replace General Giovanni Bruzzo as Minister of War. He retained this position in the subsequent Cairoli II and Cairoli III governments, also holding the role of Minister of the Navy in Cairoli II on an interim basis. He left the Ministry of War on 13 July 1880, his resignation prompted by parliamentary opposition to an increase in military spending he had requested by B. As minister, he was responsible above all for equipping Italian troops with the M1870 Italian Vetterli rifle, building field fortifications, and building the weapons factory in Terni.

He then returned to his previous role as commander of the territorial division of Verona. Between 1885 and 1889 he held the position of commander of the XI Army Corps of Bari, and was moved into an auxiliary role in November 1889. He died in Orvieto on 1 October 1904, and was later buried in the monumental area of the cemetery of Anagni, the city of his son-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel Enrico Sibilia.