Matteo Raeli

Matteo Raeli (Noto, 23 December 1812 – Noto, 26 November 1875) was an Italian patriot, jurist and politician. As Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Italy he was responsible for the Law of Guarantees.

Early life Matteo Raeli was born in Noto to a wealthy family; his father Paolo was a member of the Decuria of Noto. He graduated from the University of Catania, where he graduated in Law, and embarked on a legal career.

The uprisings of 1848-49 Raeli led the liberals of Neto in the Sicilian revolution of 1848 which soon led to the temporary expulsion of the Bourbons. The revolutionary committee called elections for deputies to the House of Commons of the revolutionary Parliament in Palermo in March 1848. In Noto, Raeli he was elected together with the marquis Giuseppe Trigona. The revolutionary Parliament acclaimed Ruggero Settimo as president and the new State of Sicily was established, in which Raeli assumed the position first of Minister of Finance, and then of the Interior and Security. His appointments were short-lived however as General Carlo Filangieri entered Palermo on 15 May, the young Sicilian State ceased to exist and king Ferdinand II was restored. The Bourbon restoration made itself felt in the form of death sentences and exiles for those who had led the rebellion.

Exile The eventual amnesty extended by the king to the rebels did not include Raeli because he had been a leader of the revolt, Raeli went into exile in Malta with Ruggero Settimo, sharing his fate until the latter's death. In Malta he was commissioned by the British government to draw up a code of colonial law but in the meantime he established relationships with refugees from Sicily and the rest of Italy. There he became friends with Nicola Fabrizi and together with him Raeli dealt with all the political and organizational aspects of the Italian patriotic movement in exile, maintaining contacts with the local secret committees of south-eastern Sicily. It may be during his time in Malta, or possibly earlier, that he became a Freemason. Raeli was also elected to the 12th legislature but his health had recently worsened, forcing him to resign. He retired to Noto where he died on 25 November 1875.

The city of Noto dedicated a monument to him, the work of the sculptor Francesco Saverio Sortino.

Honours

Knight of the Grand Cross awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus