Writer and patriot, born in Milan, Lombardy, N Italy. He participated in the first and second Italian Independence wars, edited the Unione, and was a deputy in the Italian parliament. He was a member of the scapigliatura literary movement which took its name from his novel, La scapigliatura e il 6 febbraio (1862). Works written in the verista mould include his memoirs Memorie di un soldato lombardo (1865), and the novels La canaglia felice (1885) and Nanà a Milano (1880). His plays in Milanese dialect include El barchett de Boffalora (1870).