Beltrami, Giacomo Constantino
- Samuel Willard Crompton
Extract
Beltrami, Giacomo Constantino (1779–06 January 1855), explorer, was born in Bergamo, Italy, the son of Giovanni Battista Beltrami, a Venetian customs official, and Margherita Carozzi. His early career was formed by the Napoleonic presence in northern Italy. Enamored of the ideals of the French Revolution and an admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, Beltrami joined the militia of the Cisalpine Republic in 1796 and rose to become a vice inspector of armies. In 1807 he became chancellor of the Department of Justice of Parma and served as a judge until 1813. As the Napoleonic empire began to crumble, Beltrami retired from the bench and became a member of the Florentine salon of Louise Maximilienne Caroline, the countess of Albany and the widow of Charles Edward Stuart, better known as the “Young Pretender” or “Bonnie Prince Charlie.” Beltrami also forged important relationships with Countess Giulia Spada de Medici and Countess Geronima Compagnoni....