Francesco Restelli

Francesco Restelli (5 October 1814 - 5 March 1890) was an Italian lawyer who became a patriot activist and, later, an Italian member of parliament.

Biography Francesco Restelli was born (and would eventually die) in Milan. He studied Law at the University of Pavia, though he preferred to devote himself to studying Social sciences. In 1840 he published a substantive essay in that discipline which had been written, in part, by Paolo Manio, a fellow student who had died aged just 24, leaving Restelli to finish the work. Four years later he was a participant at the Sixth Congress of Italian Scientists, which on that occasion was held in Milan. He attracted the interest of fellow delegates when he presented a detailed paper on commercial law, while highlighting contribution of industrial and commercial associations to public prosperity. For the next few years he worked as a lawyer. A couple of days later Field Marshal Radetsky withdrew the Austrian army from Milan, which left the city under the control of a hastily assembled provisional government. On 3 April 1848 Restelli was sent by the provisional government to Venice, which was under the control of its own provisional government, following Radetsky's strategic (and as matters turned out temporary) militarily withdrawal to the "Quadrilatero" forts. Restelli's mission was to foster agreement between Lombardy and Venice, while at the same time promoting the idea of a three way anti-Austrian union that would also include Sardinia-Piedmont. in the Committee of Public Defence which effectively replaced the provisional government. They managed to get it printed in Venice where, still in 1848, several reprints were produced.

Restelli's exile lasted for more than half a decade. He moved from Lugano to Genoa (which at this stage, following the failure of a revolt in April 1849, was still part of Sardinia-Piedmont). He then relocated to Florence, which was still under Austrian control. In 1854, thanks to an amnesty agreed by the authorities, he was able to return to Milan. After Lombardy was liberated from Austrian control it became part of Sardinia-Piedmont, and in March 1860 Restelli was elected a member of parliament. He was re-elected to membership of the lower house ("Chamber of deputies") in successive elections over the next twenty-five years. It is probably misleading to try and subdivide Sardinian/Italian members of parliament in terms of political parties, but Francesco Restelli was a member of the large group of parliamentarians generally identified, in retrospect, as the Historical Right ("Destra storica"). On 11 February 1863 his fellow parliamentarians elected him one of the seven vice-presidents of the "chamber of deputies": he received 120 of the 218 votes cast. In December 1866 only four parliamentary vice-presidents were elected: Restelli was one of them. In the end Francesco Restelli was elected a vice-president of the "chamber of deputies" five times during the 1860s and 1870s. On 7 June 1886 he was appointed a member of the senate. (Appointment to the senate was - at least nominally - in the gift of the king: senators remained in place till they died.)