Teresa Casati


Teresa Casati Confalonieri was an Italian noblewoman and revolutionist. She is known as the wife of revolutionist Federico Confalonieri, sister of former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Gabrio Casati, and as an important figure in the Risorgimento.

Biography

Early life

Teresa Casati was born in Milan into the Lombard noble Casati family. She was the eldest daughter of Count Gaspare Casati and his first wife Maria Orrigoni of Ello, and the elder sister of Gabrio Casati. Casati was raised by her father's second wife, Luigia dei Conti Settala. Casati was withdrawn during much of her youth, for her mother died when she was only six years old, but many people considered her beautiful. Giovanni Arrivabene wrote that she was a "donna in cui la bellezza, la grazia, i gentili modi armonizzavano mirabil- mente insieme" meaning "woman in whom beauty, grace and gentle manners harmonized wonderfully together", Ugo Foscolo wrote that she was "Giovinetta santa e bellissima", meaning "A young, holy and beautiful girl", and she was proposed to by the Duke of Pasquier, but was dissuaded by her father.

Marriage

After meeting at a ball Count Federico Confalonieri and Casati fell in love. His father's mother asked for Casati's hand in marriage, to which her father agreed, and in 1806, Teresa Casati married Count Federico Confalonieri, an aristocrat and figure in the Milanese patriotic movement. The couple had one son, Francesco, who died after being dropped.
Casati served as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Augusta of Bavaria, wife of Eugène de Beauharnais and daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, despite the Confalonieri family not being Bonapartist.

Role in the Risorgimento

Casati often acted as a go-between for her husband and other revolutionaries back in Milan when he was away, reading letters he would send and letting the others know. Others would also sometimes write to him from her desk.
In 1819 Casati and her husband petitioned the government to build schools in Milan. She was called "una fervida proteggitrice delle scuole di mutuo insegnamento", meaning "a fervent protector of mutual teaching schools", by Bianca Milesi. Later, in May of 1820, the Austrian authorities put a stop to the schools, worried that the educated masses would lead to revolt against them. They did not say this directly, instead pointing at the school's association with known revolutionaries.
Casati was part of the Carbonari, a secret society associated with the Risorgimento. In a letter to the Austrian authorities, the five anonymous authors claim that she offered to kill Ferdinand, Graf Bubna von Littitz with her own stiletto, which all Carbonari carry. Her husband, during an interrogation, denied these allegations.
In the middle of the night on the 13th of December 1821, Federico Confalonieri was arrested at his home in Milan by Austrian authorities and taken to the Santa Margherita prison, and later moved to another prison in Milan. Teresa was not allowed to see her husband for a year, and would often be seen wearing mourning dress. Only in the summer of 1823 were they allowed to see each other again. They were allowed visits, although they were guarded and short. They were, however, allowed to send letters. On Christmas Eve 1823 she traveled to Vienna, accompanied by her brother and her husband's father and brother, to ask for pardon from the Emperor of Austria, Francis I, but he only confirmed that he had already sent the death sentence, and cannot overturn that decision. Not giving up, she went to the Empress, Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, and convinced her to help. The Empress attempted to change the Emperor's mind, and eventually he relented and had the sentence suspended. On 21 January 1824, a new sentence was read before Confalonieri, life imprisonment in Špilberk Castle. Before leaving he was allowed to embrace his wife one last time. Casati asked Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma if she could ask her father, the Emperor, if she could move to Brünn to be close to the prison, but this request was declined. Many plans were made over the years to have him escape, but none succeeded.

Death

Teresa Casati Confalonieri died of consumption on 26 September 1830, before witnessing her husband’s release. She and her husband had continued exchanging letters for a while after he was sent to Špilberk, but when she died, for about four and a half months after, Confalonieri, not yet aware of the news, continued to send her letters. She was buried in the Casati family tomb.
An epitaph was inscribed on her tomb, written by Alessandro Manzoni.

Legacy

An exhibit at the Spazio Oberdan in Milan titled Rose d’Italia: “Il Risorgimento invisibile” lombardo, which opened on 28 September 2011, featured Teresa Casati Confalonieri.
The City of Muggiò Theatre Competition created an award named after Teresa Casati Confalonieri in 2024.

In film